Emma (Corrinne Mica) inherits the house of her eccentric aunt Milda (Jane Hammill). While meeting with Ernesto (Martin Harris), the executor of Milda’s will, Emma discovers that she can live in the house but that her boyfriend Gabriel (Guillermo Blanco) isn’t to set foot inside. Unsure why Milda made that stipulation, Emma ignores her late aunt’s wishes, with the permission of Ernesto, and moves Gabriel and his sister Celeste (María José Vargas Agudelo) into the house. Soon Emma and Celeste start acting strangely, leaving Gabriel to try and figure out what’s really going on.
If you’ve seen any haunted house film before, you’ve more than likely seen ‘Voice of Shadows’. Writer and director Nicholas Bain doesn’t stray far from the tropes of the haunted house film and this film most closely resembles ‘The Amityville Horror’. It’s obvious from the outset that Emma and Gabriel moving into Milda’s house isn’t going to end well, and that steady spiral begins fairly early on in the film. Bain ticks off all the tropes you’d expect in a film like this; religion, priests, exorcisms, evil spirits, possession etc. No trope is left unturned as the film hit all the familiar marks on its way to the inevitable, and predictable, conclusion.
Part of the film’s problem is that it never really digs into the characters. Everything feels very surface level, with Guillermo Blanco’s Gabriel getting the most rounded treatment. Even then, the character doesn’t elevate far from being two-dimensional. There are interesting things to pick at, particularly around Gabriel and his sister, but the film glosses over depth with dour atmosphere instead.
Acting wise the cast is fine, although no one actor particularly shines. Corrinne Mica and María José Vargas Agudelo are given very little to do beyond acting strangely, and Guillermo Blanco proves to be fairly limited, especially when trying to dig into his character’s emotions. The script does no one any favours, at times clunky and too on-the-nose, when it would have benefited from some subtlety. Martin Harris at least manages to make an impression as the odd executor of Milda’s will.
‘Voice of Shadows’ isn’t a bad film per se, it just has nothing new to add to the haunted house sub-genre. You know exactly what’s going to happen within minutes of the film starting and there are absolutely no surprises along the way. If a good formulaic and eerie time is what you’re after, you’ll likely enjoy this film for what it is. If, like me, you’ve seen more than your fair share of haunted house films, you’ll probably find little here to keep you entertained.
Cast: Guillermo Blanco, Corrinne Mica, María José Vargas Agudelo, Jane Hammill, Michael Paul Levin, Martin Harris, Bee Vang Director: Nicholas Bain Writer: Nicholas Bain Certificate: Unrated Duration: 90 mins Released by: Scatena & Rosner Films (US), Miracle Media (UK) Release date: 17th September 2024 (US), 2nd December 2024 (UK)
