Sound of Silence

I have never written a review before this but after watching this trash I felt morally compelled to create an account with IMDB and say something to spare others from wasting time with this filth. Some stylistic choices were made simply because "ooh scary" but which makes no sense whatsoever. For example, the people in this story live in perpetual darkness, like have they even heard about lights? A lady was making some food in the oven in the dark. They plod about in complete darkness like they were vampires (except they're not, they're morons) so while apparently they can function, the audience can't really see what's going on, not that there's anything to see. Don't even get me started on the dialogue. Even the characters seem to have this undertone of, "omg this is so stupid, but I gotta keep a straight face while saying it". I walked out of the cinema wanting to punch a tree, kick a bear in the balls and chew on glass to distract me from the fact that I just got raped by this movie. And when you breathe a sigh of relief thinking the movie is at an end, a seemingly better movie only very tenuously connected to the first takes its place for no reason whatsoever than to burn through whatever budget was remaining probably.

First, let's address the elephant in the room. This film doesn't have Oscar worthy performances. The acting isn't so bad that it takes away from the overall movie but it certainly leaves something to be desired. Now that we've got that out of the way. The remaining aspects of the film where actually quite good. I'm a horror fan and I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. While this film was obviously done on a smaller budget, at least compared to today's blockbuster standards, the effects are modest but well done. What starts as a simple ghost story soon leads to a film that is a commentary about people who are trapped in abusive relationships, or in situations in which they have no power. If your a horror buff looking for something that is lightly thought provoking and not the standard blood and guts fair. This was a very enjoyable film. The bonus horror short at the end, while not directly related to the events of the main feature, adds a nice surprise.

I normally don't go by reviews because sometimes their made by either paid trolls or simply haters against the production but after watching this amateurish bad acting film, it is truly safe to say that the negative reviews are spot on. This was by far one of the worst films I've watched in a long time. After an entire hour and a half of nothing and ridiculous dialogue, just to found out that this is nothing but a ghost story about domestic violence. Italian actors at their very worst, I kid you not. It's like watching dress rehearsal for people audition for a part and were cast who knew they was no real paycheck involved. Believe every last negative review because this film was just awful.... UGH!

Sound of Silence begins with a promising concept that, unfortunately, fails to live up to its potential. The film has its strengths, but notable shortcomings and absence of crucial elements that don't meet its promised expectations, I would like to delve into the fundamental points and concerns with why this film fails to entice the audience.

One glaring issue is the significant reduction in horror features. While not necessarily expecting excessive blood or gore, the film lacks deeply disturbing moments, jump scares, psychological emotions, or heightened tension. It opts for a soft touch approach, emphasizing more realism over supernatural in moments like deft human strangulation. However, it feels placid, and this choice fails to genuinely captivate the audience, leaving a lingering sense of disappointment and missed opportunities.

The film introduces intriguing props like static from a haunted antique radio, ghostly voices, the sound room, which could have had a more substantial impact on the story. Unfortunately, they feel underused and undervalued, failing to make a significant impression despite being catalysts for the narrative.

Acting performances were reasonable, contrary to some user reviews, the cast delivers without any significant faults. The scenery, except for the sound room and isolated kebab van, is monotonous and feels like you have seen the same setting hundreds of times before. There's an irrelevant scene involving a local Italian resident stealing a bike, and while he is seen in the final scenes of the film it adds little to the overall plot.

There is theme within the story being Angelica (Lucia Caporaso) being an impressive wannabee singer, again there is never discussed in acute depth and is throughout disconnected to the happenings concerning the main story.

The ending with the tormented picture is a nice touch, but it comes out of nowhere and contributes largely to the film's confusion. It feels like the director attempted to bundle multiple stories into a single film, resulting in a semi-lacklustre and disjointed experience.

While the concept of the antique radio is intriguing, the film lacks strong foundations. The initial potential is squandered due to a lack of a good story, flimsy information, poor character development, a safe and predictable story, and an ultimately clichéd ending.

In summary, Sound of Silence falls well short of recommendation. It hesitates to fully embrace its horror field and remains too safe to be classified as a thriller. Although it concludes on a somewhat positive note, venturing into more dangerous and engrossing territory could have significantly enhanced the experience.

Rating: 3/10.

When I stumbled upon the 2023 horror movie titled "Sound of Silence", of course I had to watch it, given my love and admiration of the horror genre. I had not heard about the movie prior to watching it, so I had no idea what I was in for, aside from it being a horror movie. But the movie's synopsis seemed fair enough.

I am amazed that four writers could collectively manage to come up with something as dull, slow paced and uninteresting as the script for "Sound of Silence". Writers and directors Alessandro Antonaci, Daniel Lascar, Stefano Mandalà and T3 really failed to concoct anything worthwhile watching here.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Sound of Silence", and while it definitely felt like the actresses and actors put on fair enough performances, they virtually had nothing to work with in terms of anything remotely interesting in the script, character gallery or dialogue.

"Sound of Silence" was a swing and a miss of a horror movie, and it is not one that I will ever return to watch a second time. I didn't even make it through it the first time; I simply gave up on the movie out of sheer and utter boredom. Don't waste your time, money or effort here.

My rating of "Sound of Silence" lands on a generous two out of ten stars, and it is the production level of the movie that lands the movie on a two star rating instead of a single star.