Rating: R
Stars: Marc Hills, Nicholas Baroudi, Rachel Finninger, Jolene Kay, Gabe Greenspan, Christina Kirkman, Michael Chen, Christian Howard, Elise Greene, Wayne Charles Baker, William Fichtner, Scott Bennett, Adrian Ballinger, Jocelyn Hudon, David Clennon, Kyle Gass
Writer: Brendan Devane
Director: Brendan Devane
Distributor: Blue Harbor Entertainment
Release Date: June 27, 2025 (theatrical, VOD)
It doesn’t take long for one aspect of THE SOUND to become plain: writer/director Brendan Devane really loves climbing. It’s evident in his impressive framing of shots of characters going up and down tall, sheer rock faces, in their war stories, and in the way they don’t feel the need to explain their passion to one another.
This gives THE SOUND a unique setting and dynamic. (In a switch from Canada pretending to be the U.S., here we have Nevada standing in for Canadian British Columbia.)
The plot outline is relatively familiar. While it is never stated outright, it seems that a malevolent extraterrestrial force has been trapped for centuries on a high mountaintop.
The Native American tribe in the area used their powers to keep the entity from descending, but the spell has been fading for some time. A U.S. government expedition up the mountain in 1959 ended with the deaths of all the climbers involved.
In the present day, Sean (Marc Hills), the grandson of one of the climbers, dreams of conquering the peak, unaware of its specific dangers. However, after keeping the region off-limits since the 1959 disaster, the tribe has finally agreed to allow a new expedition to attempt the ascent.
Sean finds himself on the backup team. Leader Colton (Nicholas Baroudi) is one of the three pairs tackling the summit from different angles, so Sean understands that he may not get the chance to climb at all.
But while Sean is still earthbound, he is approached by Chief Guyustees (Wayne Charles Baker), who tells the young man all about the evil presence, the tribe’s efforts to contain it, and the need for someone to go up there and prevent the thing from escaping.
While this is quite the lapful of exposition, at least it is not repeated throughout – every time Sean is about to relay the information to someone else, or that person is going to pass it along, THE SOUND cuts away.
There is something at once refreshing and absurd in how quickly most of the characters accept this mythology. It’s a huge time-saver, and by the time they hear it, many of the team have been through some weird experiences; on the other hand, it gets to be a somewhat humorous convention.
The cast is good and physically adept. William Fichtner makes a strong, endearing impression as Sean’s understandably worried father, and THE THING veteran David Clennon has a small role as the expedition’s organizer.
Devane gets some thrilling images of climbing, and there is at least one sequence of someone moving unnaturally across the rock face that is truly eerie.
But there are a few matters that THE SOUND can’t overcome. One big one is that the further we get, the less discernible it is how the “evil” operates or what Sean is meant to do to combat it – the advice he gets doesn’t seem to have much bearing on his actions.
There’s an unanswered question as to why the tribe doesn’t just train some mountain climbers of their own, instead of waiting for outsiders.
Finally, we get to visual effects and the title element. THE SOUND looks as though it was made on a tight budget. It also looks like great care and expense went into the excellent cinematography by Ryan Galvan and the safety of everyone on the rock faces. It makes sense that these were the priorities.
Even taking this into consideration, though, the effects depicting the mountain’s infestation are substandard. The sound itself, while certainly alarming coming over the communications radio, won’t be very frightening to anybody who has listened to THE EXORCIST.
THE SOUND is a combination of uncommon virtues and standard missteps. Potential viewers may gauge whether they want to see this based on the level of their enthusiasm for mountaineering with their horror.
Related: Movie Review: 28 YEARS LATER
Related: Movie Review: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2025
Related: Movie Review: A HARD PLACE
Related: Movie Review: THE OTHER
Related: Movie Review: SOUL REAPER (MALAM PENCABUT NYALA)
Related: Movie Review: THE MATERIALISTS
Related: Movie Review: THE RITUAL
Related: Movie Review: THE LIFE OF CHUCK
Related: Movie Review: DANGEROUS ANIMALS
Related: Movie Review: BALLERINA
Related: Movie Review: BRING HER BACK
Related: Movie Review: MAULER
Related: Movie Review: TIM TRAVERS & THE TIME TRAVELERS PARADOX
Related: Movie Review: TO LIVE AND DIE AND LIVE
Related: Movie Review: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING
Related: Movie Review: THE NEW BOY
Related: Movie Review: FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES
Related: Movie Review: THE SEVERED SUN
Related: Movie Review: LILLY
Related: Movie Review: CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD
Related: Movie Review: HENRY JOHNSON
Related: Movie Review: BETRAY: TRUST
Related: Movie Review: THE SURFER
Related: Movie Review: ROSARIO
Related: Movie Review: A DESERT
Related: Movie Review: UNTIL DAWN
Related: Movie Review: THE DEATH OF SNOW WHITE
Related: Movie Review: IT FEEDS
Related: Movie Review: THE KILLGRIN
Related: Movie Review: MOB COPS
Related: Movie Review: SINNERS
Related: Movie Review: THE SHROUDS
Related: Movie Review: THE WEDDING BANQUET
Related: Movie Review: THE UGLY STEPSISTER (DEN STYGGE STESOSTEREN
Related: Movie Review: CALL OF THE VOID
Related: Movie Review: DROP
Related: Movie Review: WARFARE
Related: Movie Review: A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Related: Movie Review: HELL OF A SUMMER
Related: Movie Review: ERIC LARUE
Related: Movie Review: FREAKY TALES
Related: Movie Review: THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA
Related: Movie Review: A NICE INDIAN BOY
Related: Movie Review: THE WOMAN IN THE YARD
Related: Movie Review: CONTROL FREAK
Related: Movie Review: BLOODY AXE WOUND
Related: Movie Review: LOCKED
Related: Movie Review: MCVEIGH
Related: Movie Review: ASH
Related: Movie Review: BLACK BAG
Related: Movie Review: MICKEY 17
Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X
Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: THE SOUND
Related Posts: