Film4 Frightfest the 13th – Day 4

#17 - Berberian Sound Studio

rating: 4

Peter Strickland's follow-up to his highly-acclaimed Katalin Varga has proven one of Frightfest's more divisive efforts this year, though one almost universally praised for its strong technical qualities. In Berberian Sound Studio, it is 1976, and Gilderoy (Toby Jones), a timid English sound engineer, has had his presence requested in Italy to work on a new film. Shocked to realise that the genre of said film is horror - having previously worked on twee nature documentaries - he slowly begins to immerse himself in the process of generating the various pulls, slices, crunches and splats that give horror films their kick, under the command of egocentric director Giancarlo Santini (Antonio Mancino). Berberian Sound Studio may not so much be a horror film in itself as it is a film about horror, with Strickland assembling a veritable serving platter of references to the very fabric of the genre, and specifically the Italian Giallo films of the decade in which it is set. Horror aficionados will giddily sift through the film's visual and aural repertoire - specifically aural - in search of nods to both genre mainstays and obscure gems, though the film does still operate on its own deranged merits as a profoundly strange, sensorily sumptous riff on mental illness, isolation, and indeed, the very power of cinema itself. Granted, extrapolating basal thrills from this work is virtually impossible, and so more casual horror audiences might struggle with it, but those who dare to stick with its deliberate approach are likely to be both rewarded and dismayed by the noodle-baking third reel. The most obvious corpus of work for comparison is certainly that of David Lynch; its third reel headlong-dive into an existential, cerebral abyss is matched perhaps only by Lynch's own dizzying denouement in Mullholland Drive. Some clever mincing with notions of identity, language and reality consistently impress and intrigue, though its distinct lack of answers has evidently proven to frustrate as many as it has enticed. Needless to say, a second viewing is an absolute must. Also of mention is a magnificent central performance from Jones, wonderfully understated and entirely opposed to the more vibrant likenesses of his Italian compatriots. A stupendous is-it-isn't-it horror film marked by a disarming audaciousness both technical and creative. Berberian Sound Studio is in cinemas August 31st.