---
title: "Berberian Sound Studio: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/berberian-sound-studio/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/berberian-sound-studio"
critics_score: 70
critics_reviews: 21
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Berberian Sound Studio (2012): what the critics said

Critics' score 70 from 21 reviews: 14 positive, 5 mixed, 2 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to Berberian Sound Studio, with praise concentrated on its sound design, Peter Strickland’s control of atmosphere and Toby Jones’s performance as a timid engineer becoming increasingly unsettled by his work. The reviews repeatedly admire how vegetable-based effects and unseen violence make the audience imagine the horror rather than watch it. Several also value the workplace humour and close attention to analogue sound production, which give the unease a convincing practical setting.

The spread is wide, however, and reservations centre on repetition, thin storytelling and an unsatisfying final stretch. Even some admirers find the film opaque or one-note, while the strongest detractors regard its psychological shifts as insufficiently developed. The Hollywood Reporter argues that the later surrealism frustrates general audiences; Collider praises the craft but finds no compelling story or persuasive reason for the engineer’s unravelling. The disagreement is chiefly over whether the atmosphere sustains a full film.

## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 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.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/berberian-sound-studio-review-8099273.html)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 August 2012. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/aug/30/berberian-sound-studio-review)

## Variety — Guy Lodge

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2012. Festival review. 

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.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/berberian-sound-studio-1117947830/)

## Empire — David Hughes

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 2012. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/berberian-sound-studio-review/)

## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd

Rating B+. 13 June 2013. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/berberian-sound-studio-1798177079)

## Radio Times — Alan Jones

Rating 4/5. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-jg8tlh/berberian-sound-studio/)

## Vulture

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 14 June 2013. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/06/movie-review-berberian-sound-studio.html)

## Film Comment

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 May 2013. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/berberian-sound-studio-uneasy-listening/)

## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 June 2013. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/berberian-sound-studio/)

## Time Out — Tom Huddleston

Rating 4 out of 5 stars. 8 November 2011. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/berberian-sound-studio)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 2012. Festival review. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/berberian-sound-studio/5043735.article)

## Los Angeles Times — Sheri Linden

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 12 June 2013. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-jun-12-la-et-mn-berberian-sound-review-20130613-story.html)

## The New York Times — Nicolas Rapold

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 13 June 2013. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/movies/an-engineers-sonic-ordeals-in-berberian-sound-studio.html)

## IndieWire — Beth Hanna

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 June 2013. 

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

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-stylish-berberian-sound-studio-a-bit-of-a-slog-197526/)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Neil Young

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 2012. Festival review. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/edinburgh-review-berberian-sound-studio-344612/)

## HeyUGuys — Jamie Neish

Rating 5/5. 30 June 2012. Festival review. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/eiff-2012-berberian-sound-studio-review/)

## Digital Spy — Simon Reynolds

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 September 2012. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a403276/berberian-sound-studio-review-brit-horror-is-instant-cult-classic/)

## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff

Rating A-. 10 September 2012. Festival review. 

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.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/tiff-review-berberian-sound-studio-is-an-unnerving-original-psychological-horror-anchored-by-the-great-toby-jones-20120910/)

## Paste — Tim Grierson

Rating 8.0. 12 June 2013. 

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.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/berberian-sound-studio)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating C-. 22 September 2012. 

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.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/berberian-sound-studio-movie-review/)

## Eye for Film — Keith Hennessey Brown

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 2012. Festival review. 

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.

[Read the review](https://eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/berberian-sound-studio-2012-film-review-by-keith-hennessey-brown)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/berberian-sound-studio.md