Hybrid found footage is an emerging subgenre that combines traditional narrative techniques with found footage elements. Films such as Sinister, Malibu Horror Story, and even The Ring dig into the horror of discovering strange video tapes and the cursed images embedded in the tapes themselves. While a relatively new style, a resurgence of found footage paired with a new obsession with analog horror is inspiring more hybrid films. The most recent is Jeffrey A. Brown’s sensory horror film The Unheard, a lo-fi sonic experience about the voices beneath the static.
The film begins with Chloe (Lachlan Watson) undergoing an experimental procedure to regain her hearing. As she recovers, she travels to her family’s beach house in Cape Cod, which has stood empty for 12 years, ever since the disappearance of her mother. Her goal is to clean out the house before they sell it, but the longer she spends in the house, the more she begins to hear things. At first, she thinks these are merely side effects of the procedure. But as she watches old home videos, she believes she hears her mother reaching out from beyond the grave.
The Unheard is less a movie and more of an experience. The sound design by Colin Alexander and the score by Roly Porter weave together to create a hypnotic soundscape that puts you in a trance. The first 30 minutes are almost entirely silent, merely muffled voices and sounds as we are placed squarely in the perspective of Chloe. These different layers of sound help orient the viewer as to where Chloe’s mind is, whether communicating with others, sitting with her own thoughts, or hearing something otherworldly. The auditory design alone makes The Unheard an essential viewing experience for those with an ear for unique sound design.
Sound is also crucial to the found footage elements of The Unheard. Chloe literally finds this footage as she pulls an old box full of VHS tapes from a shelf. As Chloe pops a random tape into the VCR, distorted images flutter onto the screen, relics of Chloe’s past, before her mother disappeared and before she lost her hearing. These segments were shot on VHS tape to give these moments even more texture. They don’t just feel like fictional tapes, they feel almost real and very cursed. These eerie, uncanny images further lend to the dream-like atmosphere of the film.
Grounding all these elements is Watson as Chloe in their first lead role after a successful run of television appearances in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Chucky season two. In Unheard, Watson is faced with the challenge of playing a Dear character when they themselves are not Deaf or hard of hearing. This leads to some parts of their performance, primarily in regards to dialogue, feeling clunky as they try to imitate the experience of communicating with hearing individuals. But, when Watson is alone and consumed by voices that echo through her head, they truly shine. Their face contorts in fear and despair but then lights up with chaotic glee. They let us into their perspective and guide us into the hypnotic rhythm of the film.
That rhythm, however, is interrupted by a lagging back half and an overlong script that conjures up more questions than answers. Characters are clumsily introduced and then quickly fade into the background. Taking the focus away from Chloe’s interior journey only muddies the film’s central exploration of isolation and struggles with communication. While I feel some of the film’s vagueness is intentional, ultimately, the script leaves something to be desired in any sort of cohesive conclusion.
The Unheard is a fascinating addition to the hybrid found footage canon as it not only plays with images, but sound, as well. Brown’s sophomore effort is technically stunning, but the script from Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen overstays its welcome. Regardless, The Unheard is a hypnotic cinematic experience best experienced in the pitch black with sound-canceling headphones. Let it wash over you and lose yourself in the sound.