I don’t consider myself a very squeamish person. Perhaps it is the result of watching increasingly more brutal horror movies over the years. Maybe it is because I can quickly tell when gory effects are fake and cheap. Whatever the reason, it is rare when I find myself scared by a movie. However, the SXSW 2021 breakout Sound of Violence tested me. I thought I knew what to expect; after all, this past year’s output of horror films has been a somewhat tame mixed bag.
I wasn’t, however, expecting to witness a scene that gave me the most visceral reaction to a movie I’ve had in a long time. This isn’t exactly the time to talk about that, though, so let’s get back to that later.
First, some background is necessary. Sound of Violence is the directorial debut of producer Alex Noyer and centers around musician Alexis Reeves (The Leftovers alum Jasmin Savoy Brown). As a child, she lost her hearing in an undisclosed accident but mysteriously regained it after witnessing the murder of her family. After regaining her hearing, she has devoted her life to making electronic music that sounds unlike anything heard before. Between her college studies and the occasional DJing gig, she is joined by her best friend Marie Sotker (Bone Tomahawk’s Lili Simmons) to create her magnum opus: a symphony of violence that draws Alexis further towards both the loss of her regained hearing and the loss of her sanity.
The most important thing to take away from the film is that it is a love story at its core. It is clear from the opening scene, a flashback to a young Alexis feeling the bass of car speakers, that she loves music. Sound of Violence could easily be a part of the tortured artist canon. It could probably be seen as Whiplash’s more violent companion, which would make for an interesting double feature. Each scene of gruesome horror is cut between shots of her deeply engrossed and in love with her craft. Given Alexis’s demure nature, the psychedelic scenes of her entranced by the power of music are the only ones in which she’s truly at peace.
It is also a love story on a more literal level. Throughout the film, Alexis is jealous and standoffish around Marie’s new boyfriend, Duke (Bit’s James Jagger), to the point that she incorporates him in her project. She wants Marie to give her the same love and affection she gives to Duke, despite her insistence that they are not steady yet. Alexis loves her best friend and sees her as the only person she still has. The understated love story between Alexis and Marie is a short one, but it is one that audiences will root for despite everything happening between them.
However, what is happening between them are gruesome and torturous death scenes that will stick with you long after the credits roll. From Saw-like torture machines to bloodied harp-playing, these deaths are brutal in execution. These scenes falter slightly in delivery due to sometimes-choppy editing that obscures some of the brutality. They are also creative as hell and contribute significantly to the film’s plot. Often, films use extended scenes of torture as a means to shock the audience purely. While the deaths in Sound of Violence are absolutely shocking, the fact that they progress and culminate with the film’s conclusion is a welcome change.
It is also a change that left me more shaken than I have been in a long time. I actually had to pause the film at one point to calm myself down. It wasn’t until I got up to pace around my apartment that I realized I was shaking from what I had just witnessed. If I, someone who fell asleep during the dismemberment and cannibalism scenes in The Green Inferno, was shaken up by a scene, it is worthy of the highest praise. Even the film’s tacked-on and clunky police procedural subplot couldn’t deter my opinion of it. I won’t spoil the scene itself, but let’s just say it was amazing.
Sound of Violence will not be for everyone. It is definitely not for the faint of heart, mainly when Alexis’s dream project has finally materialized. However, it is a love story in several ways: it is a film about loving the creative process, the ones closest to you, and especially graphic, gory kills.
