Review of Berberian Sound Studio (2012) by Luciano G — 28 Dec 2013

OK, yes, "Berberian Sound Studio" was very good--one of the odder horror films ever. Maybe not over-the-top good the way the reviews made it out. But good. Initially the shots of the foley work with vegetables were amusing (I had to laugh when we see the foley artist do something brutal to a watermelon and then offer a slice to Toby Jones), but gradually becomes more and more unnerving.

At one point I was sufficiently rattled that I had to pause it and come back to it later. That said, while the specific premise was original, the larger notion of media technicians slowly losing their grip on the boundary between the real and the unreal was pretty standard fare, not unlike Antonioni's "Blow Up" (where the protagonist was a fashion photographer instead of a sound engineer).

This is a film for people who like David Lynch, and value atmosphere and imagery over logic and plot. I was sufficiently curious about the authenticity of its (unseen) portrait of giallo flix that I went back afterwards and rewatched "Suspiria" (free on Youtube) to check.

And yes, "Suspiria" sounded *exactly* like that. A very odd film, but only enjoyable if you know old Italian horror films. Final point: many reviewers said it was a homage to giallo. If anything, it was a critique: of voyeurism, sadism, etc.

masquerading as art, and it maintained its integrity by never showing anything.