The Unheard review.
Shudder is back in the game with an intriguing premise that, unfortunately, settles for a routine third act. Getting there is a lot of fun, however. The Unheard weaponizes sound design to deliver an engrossing and interesting movie.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Unheard
Directed by Jeffrey A. Brown
Written by Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen
Starring Lachlan Watson, Michele Hicks, Brendan Meyer and Nick Sandow
The Unheard Review
Now that I got some Shudder thoughts out of the way…I can get back to what I intended to do in the first place. The Unheard was recently released onto the streaming service. It continues the trend of solid, but unspectacular, new content finding a home there. Good, but not fully utilized, ideas in a good looking package.
Chloe (Lachlan Watson) has an experimental procedure to restore her ability to hear. It has unforeseen consequences when she starts hearing sounds and voices that others can’t. Namely, the voice of her mother who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Are these auditory hallucinations or is something reaching out to her?
The Unheard uses the central concept to unleash an excellent sound design. It’s the true star of the movie. That isn’t to say that Watson isn’t quite good in her own right…just that the sound design is truly fantastic. It isn’t just tricks to get a reaction, either. Between muffled sounds, ear piercing volume and hearing things that you aren’t supposed to…The Unheard does an excellent job placing you into the shoes of its protagonist.
In fact, the movie is at its strongest when we are spending time alone in Chloe’s living room listening to sounds that shouldn’t be audible. The good news is that we spend a lot of time doing that in the second act of The Unheard. The bad news is that the story takes a less interesting path in its final act.
It doesn’t come out of the blue. There is set up for the more basic story that The Unheard will become. You just wish that it wouldn’t do it. A moment comes where the story can lean all the way into the fun and craziness it is dabbling in. A moment that you badly want it to embrace the creepiness of an otherworld making contact. This is the exact moment that The Unheard chooses to run away from it and deliver something that we’ve seen a thousand times before.
It’s not bad. I want to make that clear. The climax of The Unheard isn’t bad. It just feels disappointing given all the setup for otherworldly fun in first hour and a half. Everything is connected to the disappearance of Chloe’s mother. Given that…we have a couple of suspects but only a couple. It isn’t difficult to piece together who is on whose side before the story gets there. The final act is a pretty good cat and mouse, honestly. It’s just closing out a movie that teases being something different.
That tease is what The Unheard delivers so well. Straining to hear and understand what Chloe is hearing…and being met with blood curdling sounds. Living in isolation with her and not knowing if we are actually alone. Much of The Unheard works because of the confident direction of Jeffrey A. Brown. The movie sounds excellent…and it looks just right. Watson draws us into Chloe’s world with a fine performance to top it off.
The Unheard may end up telling a different story then the one you want it too…but it tells that story in style. And the story it tells is good and well structured. I hate to sound as negative as this review may come across because this is an enjoyable film. I just wish what it is wasn’t overpowered by what could have been.
Scare Value
Just when you think that The Unheard is about to take off in a wild direction, it becomes something much more basic. It’s an unfortunate choice…but it doesn’t undo the effort and effectiveness of what comes before it. The climax isn’t out of nowhere. It makes fine narrative sense. It just doesn’t have the fun with the premise that you think it’s been building to. That build, however, is worth watching on its own.
3/5
The Unheard Link
Streaming on Shudder
The Unheard Trailer
If you enjoyed this review of The Unheard, check out another Shudder release: Attachment
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