Review of Berberian Sound Studio (2012) by Nick O — 07 Jul 2013

Of all the movies Peter Strickland's "Berberian Sound Studio" can and will be compared to, from a point of reference it reminded me of "The Bling Ring": crafted more to impress you than to entertain you. Never in a mean-spirited way, but even at just under 90 minutes I'd say it needed a kick in the ass.

That being said it IS absolutely marvelous from a technical standpoint, and its elliptical storytelling at times feels like you're watching the engineering of a dream. And, know what, fuck it, "BBS" may be purportedly slow, but it's with a heart and purpose. Genre fans best get lost in it, because "BBS's" slow-burn deliberateness -- and its loopy, looping Broadcast score -- is gonna be stuck in your head like a wet match long after you've safely crouched in the distance, eyes shut and hands over your ears, wondering why the bomb didn't go off.