The Sound Review: Genre-Blending Disappointment
Streaming Movie Review - Horror/Thriller - VOD
Sometimes a movie has a terrible premise and delivers something more than expected, and sometimes a movie has a fascinating premise and squanders it. Unfortunately, The Sound, now available on VOD, written and directed by Brendan Devane, falls into the latter category, offering an interesting story idea but utterly failing to deliver on it.
After 63 years, a rock face called The Impossible Wall is reopened to a select group of climbers. Among this group is Sean (Marc Hills), whose grandfather made the climb years ago and died during the ascent. Now, Chief Guyustees (Wayne Charles Baker) is allowing people to climb again, hoping to contain whatever evil rests atop the mountain. The group assembled to climb goes in small groups, but as the first group makes its way up the cliff, tragedy befalls them. Radio (Gabe Greenspan) is keeping track of things on the ground, but when he tries to clear the interference in their communications, he discovers various cymatics, or symbols that show up in the sound waves. With Sean, they try to figure out how to help before it is too late.
A horror movie situated on a rock face initially felt like it could be quite interesting, but The Sound felt like it undercut the inherent tension at every turn. Movies that focus solely on rock climbing can often convey a sense of anxiety inherent in the act of climbing and the potential for falling. But despite hiring a number of climbers for the film, it was rare for the gravity of the situation to be highlighted.
If there wasn’t tension in the climbing, perhaps it would exist in the evil entity? Sadly, it is not there either. The Sound hints at something interesting with cymatics, but that potential was never fully exploited in a way that added much to the horror. There was one very creepy scene on the side of the mountain where a climber does some otherworldly movement, but it was over almost as quickly as it started and was never revisited.
The dialogue is clumsy, and outside of a brief performance by William Fichtner as Sean’s dad at the beginning, none of the performers are able to elevate it beyond the script. Instead, everything feels forced and awkward. One of the few places where the dialogue doesn’t feel uncomfortable is when they are discussing climbing; however, because that aspect is filled with so much jargon, it feels almost indecipherable to someone unfamiliar with the terminology. While this can add a sense of realism when used in the context of climbing, it's all while they’re on the ground, disconnected from the tools and techniques being discussed.
It’s never fun writing a negative review because I know how hard it is to make something. But I always want to be honest about what I think, and The Sound just doesn’t make enough noise to be worth your time.
Rating: 2/5
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on July 4, 2025.