The Voice Inside
Where do I start with this film? There really isn’t a plot to speak of; instead we are subjected to 13 minutes of self-inflicted psychopathic violence.
The protagonist (Elias) is tormented by the voice inside his head – and the voice won’t leave him alone. And when he resorts to drugs to try and silence the voice, it reacts violently. Very violently.
The voice becomes increasingly belligerent, driving the protagonist to ever more extreme levels of self harm, culminating in a scene that is physically painful to watch.
The Voice Inside is a darkly humorous - and deeply disturbing - exploration of insanity, self harm and one man’s fight with his personal demons.
Crisply shot in black and white, The Voice Inside successfully sets out to turn your stomach and make you squirm. There is also a very black sense of humour running through the film, making it a must see for anyone who likes their cinema dark and surreal.
On the downside, there isn’t much time for characterisation, the lack of which leaves you a step removed from the suffering of the protagonist. It’s a disturbing film, but could have been a whole lot more so if a bit of time had been spent upfront winning some empathy from the audience for the protagonist so that we really felt his pain.
However, The Voice Inside is a very well made, very dark and deeply disturbing film. If writer/director, BiFF JUGGERNAUT manages to maintain the same visual sense, nihilistic humour and uncompromising violence over the course of a longer – more narrative – film, I shall probably never sleep again.
Monday 13 Jun 2005 | Paul Pritchard | Horror
