A One Mann’s Movies review of “Voice of Shadows” (2024).
“Voice of Shadows” is another movie that I was sent a pre-release screener for. This is an attempt at a horror movie that manages to build some atmosphere but singularly failed to scare me. It will be appearing on streaming services (Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Fandango at Home, Vimeo, and local cable & satellite providers) from September 17th.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Emma (Corrinne Mica) is set to inherit the country house of her Aunt Milda (Jane Hammill) after she suddenly dies. But the will comes with a stipulation that her boyfriend Gabriel (Guillermo Blanco) cannot stay in the house. Of course, he ignores that and moves in with Emma and his sister Celeste (María José Vargas Agudelo).
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. The film doesn’t yet have a certification but I would expect it to be a 15 (UK) / R (US).
Talent:
Starring: Guillermo Blanco, Corrinne Mica, Jane Hammill, Michael Paul Levin, María José Vargas Agudelo, Martin Harris.
Directed by: Nicholas Bain.
Written by: Nicholas Bain.
Running Time: 1h 30m.
“Voice of Shadows” Summary:
Positives:
- There’s a degree of spooky atmosphere built up at various points.
- I enjoyed the performance of Michael Paul Levin as Father John.
Negatives:
- Lacking in scares and logic.
- Not helped by dodgy fire effects in the weak and far too ‘easy’ finale.
Review of “Voice of Shadows”:
Short on scares.
While the film manages to build some atmosphere with the spooky goings on in the house, it singularly fails to scare at any point. Picking on an aspect of one of the best horror films of recent years, there is a black phone that keeps ringing with spooky voices on the other end despite being destroyed mulitple times. There are numerous jump scares, but most of them you can see coming a mile off.
Short on logic.
There’s also a lack of sense to some of the scenes. Many scenes just go nowhere. For example, at one point Gabriel is woken by a bump in the night, grabs a knife from the kitchen, but then Emma appears, tells him to go back to bed and he does! In another scene, Gabriel is walking round a cellar by candlelight, hears a noise, turns around and goes away again… frustratingly pointless.
Elsewhere, people get ‘attacked’ and then escape unscathed and without further comment and an unconvincing Ernesto (Martin Harris) dies from the tiniest of knife blades.
All in all, it just feels like very familiar tropes of haunted house horror films and theme park rides trotted out as loosely linked vignettes.
Short on special effects.
In the finale, our hero Gabriel wanders around the old house with a lit torch. Unfortunately, the torch is not burning at all but done, rather obviously, with cheap and nasty After-Effects. Couldn’t they just have used a lit torch for most of it?!
A performance I did like.
None of the acting performances in here are truly terrible. Guillermo Blanco as Gabriel does ‘scared’ very well (although not ‘nonchalant browsing’). Corrinne Mica and María José Vargas Agudelo are personable enough as the two damsels being possessed. But best of the bunch for me was Michael Paul Levin playing the part of the local priest Father John.
Summary Thoughts on “Voice of Shadows”
Overall, I’m afraid this came across as a bunch of student filmmakers deciding to make a horror film as a project and extending it to 90 minutes. I mean… good for them that they tried. But sadly this is no “Talk to Me” first-feature triumph, either in terms of innovation or delivery.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
This is pre-release and not yet available on the Justwatch database.
Trailer for “Voice of Shadows”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6-1cBzS4iA.
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