My score: 9/10. Sound effects to me are so cool. I’ve always been interested in them. I recall they used to show how they made movie sounds in a pre-trailer ad for the Times. That was awesome, it made me realize that sound effects are cool. “The Berberian Sound Studio” is about sound effects in movies. There is also an underlying story that bridges horror with drama and a psychological twist. As an aside, I have changed my podcast name to “Why This Movie Works.” I explain why as an intro to this podcast. You can listen here.
Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Not Rated | 1h 32min | Drama, Horror, Thriller | 31 August 2012 (UK)
A sound engineer’s work for an Italian horror studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art.
Director: Peter Strickland
Writer: Peter Strickland
Stars: Toby Jones, Antonio Mancino, Guido Adorni
I see a common theme in this film with “The Shining” where the protagonist is spiraling down into madness. You also see this in the classic lit tale “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. This is common on many horror films. I think we are all worried about it to an extent.
In this film, a guy is hired to come in and do sound effects for film. He doesn’t know much about it. As he goes through his professional duties, we get to see how they make sound effects for movies. It is really cool! Later on in the film, we find out he is trapped there. He decides to take up his responsibility and just do the work.
The video of the film is never shown. We are kept guessing by the audio. It really shows how powerful audio is to movies.
I greatly enjoyed this film and I highly recommend it to you. I give it a 9/10. There is much more detail in the podcast you can listen to right here on this website.
