DEAD SOUND: Do Not Let This One Go Quietly Into The Night

When I had heard the description for Dead Sound, I was intrigued by the limited set that a boat in the middle of the Long Island Sound could provide for a horror film. I was not expecting to find a reminder of the power of tension, and the horror in not knowing what is coming, or even finding out what you predicted was wrong.

Inspired by true events, Dead Sound follows four young adults as they try to make their way to a party on Block Island, the latest film from director Tony Glazer. While there was an excitement to learn the film takes place in my own home state (New London, CT), one I too would jump on a sketchy boat to leave, it captured a hypnotizing and villainous aura.

Dead Sound

Having recently graduated and looking to blow off some steam, Jack, Nicky, Ashley and Carson set out for a free-for-all evening on Block Island. The only problem is they have missed the ferry to cross the Long Island Sound. With none scheduled for the next morning, and their friend indisposed, they are left to find any ship that will bring them across. They are in New London, CT and the prospects are bleak. While Ashley and Jake attempt to navigate their path through break-up and sobriety, Nicky and Carson befriend some local hookers, hoping their connections at the bar can bring them a good time and the ride they need to salvage their weekend, thankfully meeting first mate Bobby along the way.

Promising a ride to Block Island for the right price, the gang boards Captain Stone’s boat, with Jack becoming weary of the journey. While the dread of “I have a bad feeling about this” begins to set in for Jack, the rest of the gang embrace the opportunity Bobby has provided, flaunting their upper-class financial status. Though, as they are about to discover, not everything is as it seems, and not everyone one can be trusted.

Limited Sets and Strong Casting

While there are a few flaws throughout the film, Dead Sound makes a solid landing in the horror genre. And it is not gore or a body count, but rather pure tension that pulsates through the film pushing it forward. I found myself experiencing the tension and stress the film was trying to create. With the limited set of a fishing boat comes a limited means of escape, rescue, and terror. There is only so much room to move, and only so much that can be done to the film’s characters before it begins to tease the line of boredom. Through a tightly paced film, and an intriguing use of space and character, Dead Sound avoids boring its audience, captivating and locking their attention for the entirety of the film.

It does begin to find flaws in some of its character interactions as well as its final moments. In Dead Sound’s closing moments, there is a powerful display as to the limitations that are presented to filmmakers on a low budget. The power for the ending would have been a larger and more impressive punch had they been able to create a larger visual display.

Other aspects that shook me from the hypnotic tension spell of Dead Sound fall to the interactions between the cast. While there are more than enough stand out moments, there are others that pulled me back and had me reconsider the film I was watching. First, the interactions in the beginning between Noah Gaynor and Sophie Faulkenberry are awkward and off-putting, and the worst part is that they’re suppose to be. Having broken up a year earlier after Jake pummeled her father, there should be an awkwardness between them, yet it is the feeling of the past years they spent together that are missing. They seem like strangers, interacting for the first time, with no evidence of a love that once existed between them. Thankfully, as the film progresses, so too do their interactions giving credibility to their past and their future.

Jake’s brooding nature in the beginning, without this history validated earlier on, is out of place. Had their backstory been more credibly established, the character of Jake would have read better to audiences, and would have made more sense right of the bat. Again, as the film progresses, Gaynor too finds a more solid presentation of Jake to audiences.

Dead Sound boasts a lot of familiar faces, most of which you will find yourself trying to figure out where you have seen them. Many having popped in and out through various popular series, but the film gives them a solid platform to spread their acting wings. One in particular is John Behlmann who plays villain, Bobby. He is the cat playing with its food before it goes in for the kill. He is the Venus fl trap, luring his prey, snatching when the time is right. There is an off-kilter feel of insanity, and while he never goes too far off the deep end, you find you can not look away, wanting to see just how far he will go.

His performance is only heightened by the incredible cinematography and craftsmanship. One moment in particular has a shot of Behlmann slinky behind Nicky (Matthew Gumley), his villainous face drawing you in. There is an air of Robert England that exudes from this one shot, instantly placing Behlmann as an actor to watch.

Never Second-Guess Yourself

While this is a horror film, there are different layers and messages that can be inferred from the simplest of dialogue. Throughout the film, there is a concept of second-guessing yourself. By giving just those few extra seconds to consider your options, to ponder your choices, the one chance you had may slip through your fingers. While it has many applications throughout Dead Sound, I couldn’t help but shake the message of going with your gut.

One of the most terrifying aspects of life is the decision to listen to your gut, or not. What if your decision is wrong? What if you miss your chance? What if you screw everything up? The results of second-guessing oneself are a horror of their own that everyone relate to, and that everyone has experienced. While most of us are not faced with the decision in a life and death situation, many of us have taken the leap or held back, resulting in different consequences for ourselves, our futures, and those around us. The biggest horror for many is missing out, missing that chance, while for others, the biggest horror is failure.

“Adjust your expectations. Get in the now.”

If there was ever a line of dialogue that was applicable to present day, while still remaining timeless, it is this one. Constantly, we are only looking at the future, neglecting and passing by the now. Our focus has us missing those around us, missing the small things that need to be fine tuned or attended to in order to make the future more successful.

As Captain Stone speaks with Nicky, he speaks of his home the bank took, the lives that were upended by the sights of the future. As those in power and high financial status constantly set their line of sight on what’s ahead, they neglect to see those their tunnel vision is leaving behind to suffer, those left behind to handle the losses.

This further speaks to those left in poverty, those upended by gentrification, those the system has forgotten. We live in a society where the only thing is the future. We need to stop and take a look around. We need to enrich the soil we already have before the flowers of the future can bloom. We need to actually see the current situation we truly are in and understand it before we can truly reach the future we see for ourselves, for our families, for our country.

Dead Sound comes at a time when New Age horror has found the deepest success, with social themes laced throughout. Films such as Dead Sound remind us horror can be a tense, fun and wild ride without strictly the themes driving the boat. If you have the chance to catch this film, I highly recommend it. You won’t want to get off.

What are your favorite horror films set in limited spaces? Let us know in the comments below!