Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Best New Film
Genre: Horror, Psychological Thriller
Director: Peter Strickland
Starring: Toby Jones, Tonia Sotiropoulou, Susanna Cappellaro, Cosimo Fusco
Language: English, Italian
Duration: 94 min.
Rating: 8.3
Summary:
A sound engineer's work for an Italian horror studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art.
Berberian Sound Studio is a film written and directed by Peter Strickland. This is his second feature film, following his acclaimed self-produced (shot in Romania) debut Katalin Varga (2009). It premiered at the 2012 Edinburgh Film Festival and also screened in competition at the 2012 Locarno Film Festival.

The year is 1976, and renowned British sound engineer, Gilderoy (Toby Jones), takes a job with the low-budget Italian outfit Berberian Sound Studio to work on the latest exploitation extravaganza, The Equestian Vortex, a gruesome mix of nuns and witchcraft by famous horror director Giancarlo Santini (Antonio Mancino). There inside the cramped and claustrophobic sound booth and amidst a hostile and unwelcoming working environment, strange and terrifying things begin to happen to the mild mannered Gilderoy, more at home with BBC nature shows than the grindhouse schlock he's been hired to do.

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

It's an intense and immersive convergence of style, as Strickland fully captures every sensual and psychological nuance of a giallo film without actually showing any of the raunchy sex and violence on screen. Though we sure do hear it all in every explicit detail, as Gilderoy painstakingly reproduces the sounds of murder and mayhem, in a series of scenes which guarantee that the audience will never experience gory horror films in quite the same way again. In fact, Strickland continuously toys with the audience's expectations all the way through; sometimes in a playful and intentionally campy way, and other times taking on a decidedly surreal and mysterious Lynch inspired aspect.

The result is a very cleverly assembled atmosphere of terror, one steeped in analog nostalgia and borrows heavily from its influences, yet still feels entirely refreshing. As suggested by its title, the film's sound mix is its strongest attribute, and Strickland uses it brilliantly. Contrasting what is seen and what is heard in clever and disorienting ways, often blending soundscapes between scenes to make it impossible to distinguish which sounds are part of the action and which are recorded.

The narrative, not unlike those of the giallo films which serve as its inspiration, is largely incomprehensible, eschewing logic and character to follow its own strange and hypnotic rhythm that works on a deeply sub-conscious level. It's the kind of film that some will immediately love and others will write off as absolute nonsense. However, the extraordinary talent and technical prowess of Strickland and his crew cannot be denied. Coming together to deliver a riveting sensory experience that I can't wait to visit again.
Bonjour Tristesse

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

7 comments:

Lisa Thatcher said...

Oooohhhh... I love the look of this. I adore any film that uses sound in an interesting way. Horror isn't really my thing, but this looks great.
Thanks for a wonderful review.

BenendsBasement said...

There was a TV spot for this film on E4 a while back (I can only assume that Film 4 funded part of it?) and Toby Jones' description of the film was so interesting. I've only seen a handful of Giallo's but I'm still curious about seeing this.

Michaël Parent said...

Haven't heard about it but I will surly have a look at it!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Lisa. Give it a shot. It's incredibly inventive and though it's billed as one, it isn't really horror in the traditional sense.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Not sure if that's the case or not. Can't remember seeing their logo at the start. Also don't think you have to be an expert on Giallo to appreciate this, but he does throw in quite a few subtle little nods here and there.

d_4 said...

It sounds creepy, and that's something I appreciate. Also the sounds, I'm already looking forward to that. I'll catch this one as soon as I can.. which might not be so soon.

Steven S said...

To be a sound engineer on any project takes a hell of lot of mental strength; whether it's a blood curdling scream or tweaking a hi hat for hours on end. This does make you wonder what so many of those guys had to sit through and how it must affect you mentally - trapped in a room for hours hearing the worst sounds possible again and again.


The absurdity of it all fits perfectly with Jones' awkward place amongst the crew and those moments where you see the silent mouth movements in the booth look absolutely bonkers.



is one I'd wish I'd seen at the flicks but better than I expected and I agree with your rating completely.

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