Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Voices; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.50
Direction: 1.25
Pace: 1.00
Acting: 1.25
Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 6.25 out of 10.00
Firstly, The Voices is not a Horror movie it's a Dark Psychological Thriller. And it is more than worthy of your attention. Secondly, this will be more of a glowing review than a gloomy one, so let me state that I don't know anybody who worked on the project - and I'm not protesting too much.
I must doff my cap to the writer for coming up with an ingenious idea and apparently researching the subject of mental health, especially schizophrenia. Though, he doesn't always get it right. But a writer's prerogative and imagination are needed to make some situations and characters more engaging and entertaining. So I give a little leeway. There's a lot right with the script. Such as Catherine's isolation. When I suffer similarly, I call it Going Into Hermit Mode; I just need to be away from people. So straight away, I was relating to Catherine and wondering how to get a home in the middle of nowhere - damn, I'd even think about having a retractable bridge. Then there's the paranoia. Your brain keeps telling you that people are watching you, and it can get pretty inventive. In Catherine's case, because people aren't around, she has delusions of the electricity keeping tabs on her - It's always listening. But the best use of the paranoia is Grace's fall down the rabbit hole. She's already worried because her mother was a suicide schizophrenic, and when she arrives at her sister's, she sees her walking along the same yellow brick road. Worst still is that she's on a Psych course because of her piqued interest in the subject, thanks to Mom. But when strange things begin to happen in the home, she doubts her sanity, and her slide into madness begins. Her descent is written expertly and is credible. The one thing that irked me was the speaking in voices - It's reminiscent of multiple personality disorder, but on this occasion, it felt as though it was merely there to drive the story onward. I had a comparable feeling about the Vagabond character. Even though she does turn up in a dream sequence, she still feels like the writer scribbled her in to get Lin Shaye into the picture. Apart from a couple of irritating segments, the story is sound.
But the story only gets better in the hands of the directors. For the most part, they utilise a slow pace to show everything as it is. For example, on Grace's arrival, Catherine's welcome isn't warm and loving and is full of pregnant pauses - you can feel the awkwardness of the situation painfully well. And this social distancing, even between family members, is a trait of most mental illnesses. The directors capture it superbly. But what I liked most was the slanted camera angles. When either woman suffered a slip into their maladies, the camera would rotate left or right slightly, and the world around them would blur and shimmer. It would then straighten up when they returned from their trip to Wonderland OZ. A simple idea works excellently to pull you into their world a tad. But, very few films get away with no dislikes from me - In Voices, it's the eroded washed-out colour. It would have been better to do the storytelling in the vividness of reality. It would have added to the feeling that "there for the grace of God, go I". Another is the constant oppressive atmosphere. The directors like to try and keep the tension on from the opening credits. When Grace arrives, she goes walkabout to check out the house. All the while, there's an eerie soundtrack accompanying her. When, she opens a closet door or a bathroom cabinet, you're expecting the worst. But, nothing happens until you get to the end of the segment, and we have a flashback to Mom's suicide. It's not a scary moment, so why treat it as such? It would have been more realistic and relatable to have some happy moments in there - counterpoints to the bleakness would only emphasise how genuinely grim things are.
The two female leads are superb in their portrayals. I particularly loved that Catherine couldn't look Grace in the eyes, and Victoria Matlock adds a touch of the nerves as her eyes dart everywhere. And when she gets angry and struggles to control herself, Matlock demonstrates this magnificently. In most scenes, Catherine (Matlock) oozes an aura of barely chained violence. She is subtly scary as f...Hell.
When I started watching the film, I wasn't too impressed. Once I got into the story, though, and the actresses began to shine, I was well on the way to being captivated. And when the finale came, I was chilled to the bone and fully immersed in their Wonderland Oz. Therefore, I would happily recommend The Voices to those who love a good Dark Psychological Thriller. It is one of the better written and acted ones out there and well worth your time and attention.
Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chillers and Dramatisation Of Life lists to see where I ranked The Voices.
