Voice of Shadows review
Inheritance horror and religious horror collide in Voice of Shadows.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Voice of Shadows
Directed by Nicholas Bain
Written by Nicholas Bain
Starring Guillermo Blanco, Corrinne Mica, Bee Vang, Michael Paul Levin, Martin Harris, María José Vargas Agudelo and Jame Hammill
Voice of Shadows Review
Inheritance horror is one of the more interesting recent genre trends. There is an air of fated inevitability in evil as a birthright that works on a primal level. Whatever level of quality the movies in this subgenre deliver…the central concept works. Religious horror, on the other hand, consistently struggles to find a balance between frightening imagery and, well, preaching. Perhaps it works best for people of faith. The comfort of religion being infested by darkness could be inherently scary for the devout. We saw a strong example of this in last year’s The Offering. That movie argued that if all that is good and beautiful about a religion is true…so too are the ancient demons and evil that they fight.
Voice of Shadows combines the two subgenres. Emma (Corrine Mica) stands to inherit her aunt’s home following her death. The inheritance comes with some stipulations. The most important of which is that Emma’s boyfriend Gabriel (Guillermo Blanco) cannot stay with her in the house. No living in sin under this roof. At least, that’s what the deep catholic roots people attribute to her late Aunt would lead you to believe. Gabriel, of course, moves right in. It doesn’t take long for strange things to start happening.
Religious horror works best when it is tied to outdated traditions. What wasn’t proper in the past has evolved into something more accepted today. It creates a strong dynamic wherein people are punished for something that most wouldn’t consider wrong…but roots it in a tradition that would see it as such. Emma worries about not adhering to the stipulation. Gabriel has no plans on leaving. Whatever your position on the tradition…Voice of Shadows becomes a haunted house of Gabriel’s own doing.
Voice of Shadows prioritizes building an atmosphere. Emma and Gabriel aren’t alone in the house…and I’m not just talking about Gabriel’s sister Celeste (María José Vargas Agudelo). She’s the first to have a run-in with the home’s late owner Aunt Milda (Jane Hammill). Celeste’s disappearance early in the story leads Gabriel to investigate some details about Aunt Milda that have been conveniently left out of her obituary.
Gabriel gets ample warnings to leave the premises. Strange phone calls, the executor of the will…even Emma herself suggests it is the right course of action. Things take an unexpectedly quick and deadly turn when Gabriel feels painted into this corner. Like the inciting stipulation itself…these choices don’t make the most sense when Voice of Shadows lays all its cards on the table. They are strong ideas…but their places in the overall narrative become clouded by a third act story twist.
That twist, however, is a good one. It puts the spin on the assumed religious nature of the story itself. Milda, it turns out, isn’t exactly what we were led to believe. At least, she wasn’t following the first time she died and came back. A young local priest, Father James (Bee Vang) knows something about it…and its connection to the older Father John (Michael Paul Levin). Gabriel’s investigation opens a slightly different path for Voice of Shadows to explore. It starts to have fun with cults and exorcisms in a way that isn’t drowned out by the usual preaching of faith and belief that burdens religious horror movies. There’s something dark about this inheritance. And, as mentioned, the best usage of religion in horror usually involves exploring that the light isn’t the only thing you have to believe in…because the darkness it’s needed to combat is just as real.
Nicholas Bain’s debut feature is a well shot film with some surprising moments sprinkled into its commitment to atmosphere. Those moments don’t always make complete sense. They draw questions around a character we are supposed to follow…and raise more about the nature of the original stipulation. The end game of the story, however, is a solid one. It manages to avoid being harmed by too many religious horror tropes as the story turns away from what we initially assume.
For whatever reason, inheritance horror has become more and more prevalent in recent years. Voice of Shadows utilizes it to tell a story centered around lost family members who aren’t exactly what you thought they were. It turns some preconceived notions about its religious aspect against us. Eventually it turns the entire religious narrative against its characters. While not the most exciting horror movie hitting screens this spooky season, Voice of Shadows puts some new thoughts into its, at first, familiar story. Even if you have to accept that it overthinks things more than once.
Scare Value
If you are a fan of religious horror, Voice of Shadows may interest you. It turns some things against expectations in a way that works well. There is a sense of creeping dread highlighted by moments of shocking violence. It may not all add up to you in the end…but it finishes on a high note. In a religious subgenre prone to repetition…Voice of Shadows shows off a few new moves.
2.5/5
