After his striking Hungarian-language debut, Katalin Varga, it was anyone’s guess what Brit writer-director Peter Strickland would do next. Few, however, would have bet on a '70s-set psychological thriller, in which an unassuming Surrey sound engineer named Gilderoy (Jones) is invited to the eponymous Italian studio to work on the latest splatterfest by famous giallo director Santini (Mancino). Obliging at first, the achingly parochial Gilderoy soon begins to question the artistic validity of the patently misogynistic killings the film portrays, until gradually his sanity threatens to succumb to the dark horrors he is forced to watch, on repeat, every day. Anchored by a typically flawless performance by Jones, Strickland’s second film begins as an audio geek’s dream, before spiralling inexorably into the stuff of David Lynch’s nightmares.
Berberian Sound Studio Review
As mild-mannered foley artist Gilderoy (Jones) works on a low-budget Italian horror called Equestrian Vortex his grasp of reality and fiction becomes ever more blurry.
Release Date:
31 Aug 2012
Running Time:
94 minutes
Certificate:
15
Original Title:
Berberian Sound Studio
With a debut film, Katalin Varga, shot entirely in Hungarian, Strickland isn't one for the easy option. This excellent follow-up plunges into equally unusual terrain with similarly pleasing results.
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