Jeffrey A. Brown, who made a strong impression as director of 2019’s The Beach House, turns in more fine work at the helm with The Unheard. This supernatural feature rewards close watching, as several hints about what is happening around the town in which the film is set and what comes to a head in the third act are subtly laid out throughout the film.
Twenty-year-old Chloe (Lachlan Watson) undergoes a clinical trial treatment to try to regain her hearing, which she lost as a young child when she was stricken with meningitis. Dr. Lynch (Shunori Ranamathan) is Chloe’s lead physician on the case, and she instructs Chloe to contact her whenever needed.
Chloe takes up residence in her childhood beach home, and as she slowly begins regaining her hearing, she also starts hearing static and other noises, and surfacing amongst them are the voice of her deceased mother, who disappeared when Chloe was eight years old. To give away much more would be to head into spoiler territory, so suffice it to say that her mother’s disappearance was not an isolated incident from the past, and that danger lurks for Chloe and others living in the town.
At two hours running time, The Unheard slows down in spots but ultimately results in a thoroughly solid view. Brown, working from a screenplay by Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen (Crawl; The Inhabitants) that boasts a well-crafted protagonist and her journey but that tries to pack in perhaps a bit too many subplots that don’t have enough time to be fully fleshed out even in 125 minutes, has crafted an eerie, dread-filled film that combines the supernatural element of electronic voice phenomenon with a subplot involving a different horror subgenre (again, no spoilers here). Colin Alexander’s impressive sound design plays a huge part in the proceedings. Watson is super in the lead role, with Ranamathan, Nick Sandow as old family acquaintance Hank, and Brendan Meyer as neighbor Joshua providing admirable support.
Seasoned viewers may have correct early-on guesses as to who is behind the mystery of the subplot that I didn’t reveal, but the unique visual aesthetic and sound design of The Unheard make up for that rather well.
The Unheard screened as part of Boston Underground Film Festival, which took place from March 22–26, 2023. The film premieres on Shudder from March 31.
