Sound of Silence

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.