Sound of Violence premiered at SXSW and if you are a fan of thrillers with a lot of gore and an interesting concept, this is for you!
I am a big fan of the thriller and horror genres, so I was immediately intrigued by Sound of Violence which premiered at SXSW 2021. Just from the description I was in, and had my fingers crossed that it would deliver. Well it did, for the most part, due to the gore, the story, and especially the visuals.
Sound of Violence is about a young deaf girl named Alexis whose hearing comes back during a horrific event when she is 10 years old. She spends her life trying to recreate the feeling that she had during that violent act, and the sound that she heard when it happened. The main story takes place when she is a bit older, and working as an artist and a teacher. Things are a bit darker than they might seem at first, as she records the sounds of violent acts, working to put together a musical piece with them.
My favorite thing about this movie is the visual look of the sounds. Honestly, it reminds me a lot of The Noise in Chaos Walking, which was one of my favorite parts of that film. The colors, lens flares, and overall vibe are just gorgeous to look at. Mixed with the sounds and violence, well, it just worked for me.
I am also a really big fan of the plot and story of this movie. It isn’t something that I have seen done before, not really, and it takes a couple of twists and turns that I did not see coming. There are some slow moments towards the beginning but once it picks up, it really picks up. Don’t get me wrong, the first ten minutes are fantastic, but it is after that it drags for a tad too long — before getting into the bread and butter of the movie.
As a fan of gore when it comes to movies like this, I was very pleased with the level of it in Sound of Violence. There is quite a bit of blood and some very well executed murder scenes. I also really enjoyed the sound going in and out, as Alexis’ hearing was threatened again. Whenever it would pop back in, even if I knew it was coming, I would jump a mile. And then laugh hysterically — kind of like Alexis does, but not as creepy.
The acting is alright, but every now and then it pulled me out of the moment. That and the fact that this is clearly a lower budget independent film. Both not really bad things exactly, but there were moments I noticed this isn’t a big production movie, if that makes sense. I will say that Jasmin Savoy Brown absolutely crushes her role as Alexis in this. I adored her in The Leftovers so was happy to see her again, and in such a different – yet similar – role.
Basically if you like gore and off the wall thriller story lines, you are likely to enjoy Sound of Violence. It isn’t perfect, but it is a whole lot of fun for horror fans. The ending scene alone is worth the watch.
About Sound of Violence
Alexis recovered her hearing during the brutal murder of her family when she was ten. The visceral experience awakened synesthetic abilities in her and started her on an orphaned path of self-discovery through the healing music of brutal violence. She goes on to pursue a career teaching and experimenting to find new sounds.
She is supported and loved by her roommate Marie who is unaware of the dark secrets behind Alexis’ unique music and the part she unknowingly plays. Faced with the likelihood of losing her hearing again, Alexis escalates her pursuit of her masterpiece through gruesome sound experiments and devastating designs. She won’t let anything stop her not even love.