Peter Strickland is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. I reviewed his luscious 2014 film The Duke of Burgundy not too long ago and when I saw that his 2009 film, Berberian Sound Studio, was on Netflix...well, I had to watch it immediately.
I was not disappointed. Berberian Sound Studio is a creepy little movie starring Toby Jones as Gilderoy, a nebbishy British sound engineer who is hired to oversee the sound production on an Italian horror film titled "Equestrian Vortex". We do not see any of this movie-within-a-movie, but we hear it described. "Equestrian Vortex" is a giallo film--a genre of Italian mystery-horror that reached its peak in the 1970's (the time period in which Berberian Sound Studio takes place). Giallo films are known for their lurid, violent imagery and plot lines. "Giallo" itself means yellow--a reference to cheap paperbacks with yellow covers that were popular in post-WWII Italy.
So "Equestrian Vortex", the film we don't see but do hear in Berberian Sound Studio, is about two girls at a horse-riding academy who accidentally resurrect some dead witches. The witches are still pretty pissed about being tortured to death during the Inquisition, so they proceed to take revenge upon the ladies of the equestrian academy. The plot is filled with rotting corpses, agonizing torture, and "dangerously aroused" goblins stalking the nubile girls. In other words, extremely violent and sleazy. Gilderoy, a mild-mannered confirmed bachelor, is not used to working on such violent films and becomes increasingly upset. It doesn't help that the producer of the film, Francesco (Cosimo Fusco), and the other crew members are rude to him and dismissive of his considerable gifts as a sound engineer. Meanwhile, the director, Giancarlo Santini (Antonio Mancino), is too busy molesting the actresses to take much notice of Gilderoy.
Gilderoy begins to crack up. He is required to do foley work that involves ripping out the stalks of radishes to create the noise of a priest ripping out a witch's hair during an interrogation and drizzling water into a hot pan to mimic the sound a red hot poker going into a place a red hot poker should really, really not go. Toby Jones, such a wonderful actor, sells Gilderoy's break with reality so well. At first, he to stand up for himself. When that fails, he withdraws into himself, barely paying attention to his work. Finally, when an actress comes in to read for the part of one of the equestrian girls and fails to scream "realistically" enough, Gilderoy reacts with sadism, forcing her to listen to screeching sounds through her headphones until she quits.
Like Duke of Burgundy, Berberian Sound Studio is different and strange. It doesn't have much of a plot, but it is a feast for the senses--in this case, mostly the ears. Like Duke of Burgundy, it feels somewhat removed from reality, as if it inhabits a world similar to ours but with different rules and expectations. I found it intriguing and disorienting. I do wish it had a stronger storyline and resolution. Ultimately, I was left a little bit hungry--wanting more out of the film.
Even with its shortcomings, Berberian Sound Studio is really solid, really interesting work. Like Duke of Burgundy, the experience of watching it is closer to visiting an art museum (or, in this case, a soundstage) than seeing a movie. I'm very excited to see what tricks Peter Strickland will pull out of his hat in his next film.
Grade: B+
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