Peter Strickland’s gloriously dark comic tragedy throws a mild-mannered English sound engineer (Toby Jones) into the chaotic world of a 1970s giallo film production. Inspired by Italian supernatural horror – and their soundtracks – this is a study of a man wracked with obsessions and repressions. The focus on horror film processes is like an obsessive impulse, a slavish quirk of opportunity and a clue to the central character’s key concerns. An eccentric masterwork.
Berberian Sound Studio | Directed by Peter Strickland (UK 2012) with Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Tonia Sotiropoulou, Antonio Mancino, Susanna Cappellaro. Starts June 13
Originally published in Issue #117, June 2013