Sound Of Silence

I remember in the late 90´s how i used to check out Italian horror films on DVD, titles from legendary Italian director´s such as Lucio Fulci got his classics released in restored versions with better picture quality and sound quality as well. I especially found these releases in Gothenburgh in the movie store Movieline who loved Italian horror films. I remember they had a big poster of Zombie Flesh Eaters in one of their framed posters. They also had a seperate shelf filled of titles with Italian horror films with everything from supernatural horror, zombie films and slasher films as well. But it wasn´t just films from director Lucio Fulci, there were plenty of well known Italian director´s as well to choose between. Actually this was where i first bought my DVD of director Dario Argento´s cult classic Demons. It was a Region 1 DVD release so i remember i had to get a Region Free DVD player to play the film. One of the film i did buy that day was the 1982 horror film known as The New York Ripper from director Lucio Fulci. I have heard about this film for many years on VHS and i was planning to watch it earlier than i did. The New York Ripper tells the story of burned out Lieutenant Fred Williams ( Jack Hedley ) who is on the hunt for a sadistic killer on the streets of New York, where women are the targets. The killer uses a strange duck-like voice during his attacks. The New York Ripper is one of those 80´s slasher film with some brutal scenes that you don´t see too often. There is also a lot of sex scenes and a lot of nudity as well. It is definetely one of the most classic films from director Lucio Fulci and should be bought on Blu Ray. Since i try and look at more modern Italian horror films i came across a film called Sound Of Silence that looked interesting. A horror film that´s connected with sounds specifically, is this one of the better Italian horror films we have seen in recent years of is Sound Of Silence too weak to work as a full feature film?

In New York city Emma Wilson ( Penelope Sangiorgi ) is a young woman who dreams of becoming discovered as a female artist. At an audition she becomes too nervous and can not sing. Even if the audition failed she thankfully have support from her boyfriend Seba ( Rocco Marazzita ). Emma gets a call from Italy that her father is in the hospital. She and Seba travel to Italy to find out what happened with her father, and find out he is in ICU. Apparently Emma´s father Peter Wilson ( Peter Stephen Wolmarans ) attacked her mother Margherita Wilson ( Sandra Pizzulo ) as she pushed him down the stairs in self-defense. She claims that he was no longer himself. Emma and her boyfriend stay at her family home while she look around for what might have caused this to happen when she discovers an old radio. At first this seems to be just an old radio, but everytime she turns it on, not only does she hear music but strange voices as well.

Imagine a different version of the 2016 horror film Lights Out, with some similar ideas but connected to a very old radio. The good news is that this is not a remake of Lights Out but takes a similar concept and tries a different path instead. The idea that if you turn on the radio bring out spirits instead of a lightbulb as in Lights Out works better than i expected. You could say that Sound Of Silence isn´t doing anything original in one way, but who cares if you manage to make the horror theme work with the story? Because that is the most important detail, find a way to make horror influences match and make it work with the plot of the film. So apart from this what else does the film Sound Of Silence have to offer to the audience? I think the old radio is a very important detail in this film, how much it is connected to everything that is going on. We do find out certain details that might explain the strange events taking place in this house, and especially why this radio is like a gateway to the other side. What about the acting? I would say that the acting in general is ok but not much else. You don´t really have any really powerful perfomances here that you will especially remember, but lead actress Penelope Sangiorgi deliver a performance good enough to enjoy and is probably the most interesting character in Sound Of Silence. Considering that this is the first feature film for Penelope, i have a feeling she have much more in store for us in the future. The horror elements are constructed quite simple but works thanks to events that actually matches with the plot. There are a few details that could have been polished, especially some of the acting performances feel a bit too weak. Overall i enjoyed Sound Of Silence for trying something different in a horror story about sounds. Directors Alessandro Antonaci, Daniel Lascar and Stefano Mandalá deliver a horror film that is definetely one of the more interesting horror films i have seen this year for trying another approach on telling a horror story. The film looks good and i especially enjoy the sound effects when the mystery starts to reveal itself. Sound Of Silence should be seen if you love horror films, because i promise you will not find many titles this year that actually makes an attempt to do something creative. One thing is clear though, i am not picking up an old radio in an antique shop. I am sure i could easily pick up a VHS player instead that is not possessed.

Rating: DDD