Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

The critic hails this as one of the best films of 2012, a witty and claustrophobic thriller about a sound engineer descending into confusion while working on a giallo. She singles out the clever avoidance of exploitative visuals and the director's playful handling of cultural stereotypes for praise.

The critic finds the film seriously weird and seriously good, an unclassifiable musique concrète nightmare that confirms Peter Strickland as a major British talent. He singles out Toby Jones's career-best performance as the mousy sound engineer whose work draws him into psychological collapse.

Strickland's film is a tense, teasing triumph and a delicately detailed immersion into the world of Z-grade Italian horror cinema. It excels in tonal mastery and atmospheric sound design while offering Toby Jones a standout role as the sound engineer.

The review calls it an excellent follow-up to the director's debut, anchored by Toby Jones's flawless performance as the sound engineer whose sanity unravels amid the horrors of the Italian studio. It praises the shift from audio-geek delight into Lynchian nightmare territory.

A bewitching genre whatsit that evokes 1970s Italian horror through sound alone without spilling blood; hypnotic as a psychological thriller and procedural tribute to Foley work and audio engineering, though a little one-note.

The critic highlights the film's sly deconstruction of 1970s Grand Guignol cinema through its focus on sound effects created from vegetables, calling it a dazzling curio that cleverly questions perception and the power of what is heard.

A strange and beautiful homage to 1970s giallo films, using sensuous and gruesome sound imagery to build unease and displacement for the protagonist; enthralling overall despite a minor misstep at the end.

The critic praises the film's affectionate yet unsettling take on giallo filmmaking and its focus on sound design and psychological unraveling. Strickland's direction blends humor, horror, and experimental elements effectively in a structurally clever film-within-a-film setup.

An unusual workplace drama and black comedy that hauntingly paints a sonic portrait of alienation, forcing the viewer to imagine the horror through rich sound effects while brilliantly foregrounding the fear of being alone.

The critic praises the film's stylistic ambition, innovative sound design, and Toby Jones's central performance as a sound engineer unraveling under the influence of a lurid horror production, but notes that its Lynchian ambitions lead to a somewhat deflating climax.

The review describes the film as an idiosyncratic, impeccably crafted mindbender that playfully evokes 1970s Italian giallo cinema, amusing dedicated buffs with its analog nostalgia and sound work but likely to leave general audiences feeling there is less substance than meets the eye or ear.

The film is a twisted tribute to analog moviemaking and 1970s Italian giallo horror, using atmosphere to provoke comic shudders and making the muck practically palpable through vegetable destruction and sound effects. Strickland tends to repeat himself and doesn’t quite find a satisfying denouement for the inventive premise.

The film is an affectionate workplace comedy about a timid British engineer mixing sound for a 1970s Italian horror film, with culture-clash humor giving way to an uncanny seepage between reality and artifice. It is ultimately not unlike many of Strickland’s beloved Italian films: superb exercises in style and atmosphere while remaining imperfect.

A stylish but ultimately slogging release review of the film’s descent into madness via sound work.

Imaginatively dramatizes the nightmarish side of moviemaking through a timid sound-mixer’s misadventures on a grisly giallo in 1970s Italy, but a third-act spiral into Lynchian territory leaves general audiences frustrated.

The critic praises the film's deconstruction of horror through sound design and atmosphere, highlighting Toby Jones's performance as a man losing his grip on reality. It singles out the organic unease created by sound and visuals of decaying vegetables.

The film is destined to be an instant cult classic thanks to its psycho-surreal style and Toby Jones's impressive lead performance. Strickland is praised for inventive direction and editing that fetishizes the moviemaking process while blurring reality and horror.

Praises the film's original take on post-production and psychological unraveling, masterful tone and sound design, and Toby Jones's subtle performance. Notes humor and sinister elements but criticizes some opacity and caricature.

The film masterfully uses sound and suggestion to create psychological dread without showing graphic violence, leaving the viewer unsettled in the same way as the protagonist. It highlights the excellent aural design and score by Broadcast as key to immersing the audience in the story's themes of reality, art, and mental fragility.

The film attempts to build tension around a sound engineer's descent into madness but lacks a compelling story or reason for his psychological unraveling. It praises the strong sound design, cinematography, and the characters' passion for their work while noting the overall effect feels forced and dismissible.

The film is a curate's egg—good in parts—with strong homages to giallo films and impressive direction, but it doesn't develop its plot or go anywhere. Praise for Toby Jones's performance and the sound design.