Dead Voices is a 2019 American horror film about two sisters that discover a dark secret while making a documentary about mediums for a college final.
Directed by William Butler from a screenplay written by producer Jacob Kyle Young, the movie stars the latter alongside Lochlyn Munro (Broil; The Predator; The Unspoken; The Blackburn Asylum), Angelica Briones, Jack Buckley and Lauren Albo.
Plot:
Two sisters, Emily (Lauren Albo) and Sara (Angelica Briones), are preparing to film a documentary about mediums. Emily hires Mike (Jacob Kyle Young), a medium she found online to come to assist them. As Mike performs his ritual, he uncovers a disturbing mystery, Sara’s fiancée Lucas (Jack Buckley) who is long thought to have been killed, might be alive in the nearby Yosemite mountains.
The young women convince Mike to come with them to seek out Lucas. They arrive at the scene and immediately begin to find unknown figures and forces messing with their sanity following by horrific events…
Reviews:
“Dead Voices dates itself by drowning in “found footage” staples that rusted 20 years ago including video glitches, recording a tearful confession in selfie view, repeatedly calling someone’s name while wandering the woods, a camera that frames properly no matter where it haphazardly drops, lame lines like “(My psychic ability) may be a gift, but it’s also a curse,” and an audience left constantly wondering, “why are they still filming?” Culture Crypt
“Despite some stumbles along the way, most of which all stem from Butler’s decision to surrender to the cinematic fools gold of “found footage”, Dead Voices builds enough interest and momentum along the way to carry audiences through to the end and then satisfyingly sticks the landing.” Gruesome magazine
“Perhaps the director tried to give this found-footage horror the clarity of a regular one as the shots are exceptionally steady even when the person holding the camera is going through some tense moments […] The first half of this blunder is enough to kill the audience’s enthusiasm. I wonder who wants to suffer from Dead Voices.” Leaky Loonage
“In addition to pacing, another strength of the film is its simplicity. Three characters, isolation, evil spirits, alcohol, and handheld cameras. This simple formula sets the pace early. While a small cast really helps keep things simple, it also puts a great deal of pressure on the main characters. They all delivered solid performances.” Signal Horizon
” …one of the more impressive recent entries in the found-footage field — which benefits from a smart setup and concept, and a timely reversal of found-footage tropes.” Terror Time
Choice dialogue:
10: 40 mins – Paul (Lochlyn Munro): “I need to leave.” And he does, for the rest of the movie!
11: 00 mins – Emily (Lauren Albo): “Oh please, that was the most generic psychic show I’ve ever seen.”
22:05 mins – Emily (Lauren Albo): “I have plenty of batteries. I wanna catch all the boring stuff so the good stuff sticks out.”
Release:
In the USA, June 12, 2020, on VOD and July 7, 2020, on DVD via High Octane Pictures.
Cast and characters:
Jacob Kyle Young … Mike
Lochlyn Munro … Paul
• Angelica Briones … Sara
• Jack Buckley … Lucas
• Lauren Albo … Emily
Naama Silver … Abby
Technical details:
80 minutes
