- Welcome to THE FRINGE - The Exciting New Cinematic Universe Coming from the Makers of PROSPECT
- Welcome to THE FRINGE - The Exciting New Cinematic Universe Coming from the Makers of PROSPECT
- Welcome to THE FRINGE - The Exciting New Cinematic Universe Coming from the Makers of PROSPECT
- Welcome to THE FRINGE - The Exciting New Cinematic Universe Coming from the Makers of PROSPECT
- A Man is Trapped in a Porta-Potty in HOLY SHIT! Trailer
- Teaser Trailer for PREY, Latest Predator Movie
- Teaser Trailer for Netflix's RESIDENT EVIL Series
- A tale of disappearance and horror in YELLOWBRICKROAD
- A tale of disappearance and horror in YELLOWBRICKROAD
- New EVENT HORIZON 4K Steelbook Available Now
- Re: Occupation, Australian Sci Fi movie
- Slice of Life, Blade Runner inspired short
- Is Snowpeircer a sequel to Willy Wonka?
- Re: Yesterday
- Re: Yesterday
- Yesterday
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- First Poster for Anticipated Apocalyptic Thriller VESPER
- Teaser Trailer for Netflix's RESIDENT EVIL Series
- Here's What's On Blu-ray and 4K This Week! [May 10, 2022]
- THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN Series Blends Post-Apocalypse with Epic Fantasy
- Turbo Kid Directors Apating THE ZOMBIES THAT ATE THE WORLD Comic Series
- Proto-Cyberpunk & Post-Apocalypse Meet in MONDOCANE [Trailer]
- Here's the WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE Trailer!
- Watch Richard Stanley's Rare Super 8 Version of Hardware called
- Epic Destruction in RESTART THE EARTH Trailer
- Carriers Directors David Pastor and Àlex Pastor Are Filming a BIRD BOX Spin-Off
- Richard Stanley's HARDWARE Continues as a Comic!
- VIFF 2021: THE IN-LAWS, MIRACLE, SALOUM, SECRETS FROM PUTUMAYO [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2021: SILENT NIGHT Review
- VIFF 2021: Documentary Preview [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2021: THE PINK CLOUD, THE HOLE IN THE FENCE [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2021: JAGGED Review
- TIFF 2021: SUNDOWN Review
- VIFF 2021: Animation Preview [Capsule Reviews]
- SAINT-NARCISSE is Bruce LaBruce at His Most Accomplished [Review]
- TIFF 2021: DASHCAM Review
- TIFF 2021: THE DAUGHTER Review
- New Red Band Trailer Gives First Look at HEAVY METAL SteelBook Edition 4K Blu-ray
- Trailer for Sci-Fi Prison Thriller CORRECTIVE MEASURES
- This Week on Blu-ray and DVD! [April 19, 2022]
- Disturbing Teaser for David Cronenberg's CRIMES OF THE FUTURE
- CHILDREN OF SIN Spooks up Amazon April 22
- Proto-Cyberpunk & Post-Apocalypse Meet in MONDOCANE [Trailer]
- This Week on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD! [April 12, 2022]
- Paul Schrader Penned THERE ARE NO SAINTS Trailer
- Full STRANGER THINGS Season 4 Trailer
- 3-Disc TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD Coming from Synapse Films
- This Week on Blu-ray & DVD [April 5, 2022]
- DOG SOLDIERS Collector's Edition 4K Blu-ray on the Way from Scream Factory
- Famous First Films: Robert Eggers' HANSEL AND GRETEL
- ‘Squid Game’ Director's Next is KLLING OLD PEOPLE CLUB
- Choose or Die: Netflix Movie Features a Killer Text Adventure Game
- New this week on Blu-ray and DVD! [March 29, 2022]
- Trailer for Horror Maestro Gustavo Hernandez's VIRUS:32
- V/H/S/94 Blu-ray Details Unearthed from RLJ
- Trailer for Atmospheric SHEPHERD
- Here's the WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE Trailer!
Jack In
Latest Comments
Latest Forum Posts
PA News
Latest Reviews
Older News
Crew
Marina Antunes
Editor in Chief
Vancouver, British Columbia
Christopher Webster
Managing Editor
Edmonton, Alberta
DN aka quietearth
Founder / Asst. Managing Editor
Denver, Colorado
Simon Read
UK Correspondent
Edinburgh, Scotland
Rick McGrath
Toronto Correspondent
Toronto, Ontario
Manuel de Layet
France Correspondent
Paris, France
rochefort
Austin Correspondent
Austin, Texas
Daniel Olmos
Corrispondente in Italia
Italy
Griffith Maloney aka Griffith Maloney
New York Correspondent
New York, NY
Stephanie O
Floating Correspondent
Quiet Earth Bunker
Jason Widgington
Montreal Correspondent
Montreal, Quebec
Carlos Prime
Austin Correspondent
Austin, TX
Latest news








Few things are more disappointing than movies that have a great premise that is squandered away. It's not only disappointing, but it's even infuriating and that's the case with Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio which takes a perfectly fantastic sounding premise and delivers a movie that loses steam thirty minutes in.
Toby Jones stars as Gilderoy, a well respected sound engineer who is hired by an Italian director to finish the sound mix on his new horror movie. Gilderoy arrives with little knowledge of the project he's going to be working on and from the moment he sees the first bit of footage it's clear that he's very uncomfortable. But he's a professional and so he pushes on, working obsessively on the movie until one of the actresses gets angry at the director and destroys the most of the film.
Strickland uses some very effective techniques to build suspense, perhaps the best of the bunch is the fact that he refrains from showing footage of the horror movie and instead, we experience Gilderoy's discomfort only via audio. It's an effective tool, one that underlines the fact that the movie is a thriller about a sound engineer who goes crazy while editing the sound on a horror movie (there's some slick meta angle at work here) but the fact that we don't see any footage is eventually a distraction, especially when Berberian Sound Studio loses steam and the audience is grabbing for something, anything, to revive dwindling interest. A peek at the movie footage that is so damaging to Gilderoy may have been the answer but we never get to see it and we'll never know whether it would be enough to salvage this great idea that is stretched too far.
The movie's lack of pulse is particularly disappointing considering how well it opens. The first act of Berberian Sound Studio, which introduces the players, the location and the general eeriness which permeates through the late 1070s studio is effective and watching the process of sound design from a by-gone area has its perks but any charm quickly disappears replaced by long takes of women reading lines, the director and other techie types acting inappropriately in scene after scene to the point where even the recording of sounds loses its appeal. The few truly creepy moments come when Gilderoy begins to have waking nightmares and soon it's not clear if he's awake or if we're walking through one of his dreams.
The concept and execution of Berberian Sound Studio is interesting but there isn't enough substance to keep the movie afloat for ninety minutes. It certainly doesn't help that partway through the movie loses the tension that is beautifully captured in the opening scenes. The final hour is scene after boring scene of Gilderoy recording sound, playing lackey to the overpowering Francesco and occasionally suffering from hallucinations and a constant fade to "Silenzio" which was effective the first time but which quickly turned into just another irritating thing in a movie full of irritating things. Hopefully Strickland's next will be more Katalin Varga and less Berberian Sound Studio.
You might also like






