The Voices, 2014, US
By Ryan Javier
The new Ryan Reynolds dark comedy, The Voices, has been generating a lot of buzz with critics lately. This sleeper film has been making the festival rounds worldwide since its Sundance premier in January of 2014, although most have never even heard of the movie. After more than a year, The Voices will finally be released on BluRay/DVD in the US on April 7, 2015. The Voices perfectly blends comedy and strong violence in a way that’s so unique and original, that when it is released to the public, it’s a shoe-in for “cult-hit” status.
I happened upon a DVD screener copy by chance, and The Voices actually turned out to be one of the best horror films that I’ve seen all year. I say “horror”, because this film is so dark and bloody, it teeters on the edge between horror-comedy and just plain horror.
Ryan Reynolds plays Jerry, a sweet, cheerful, and somewhat plain guy. He works at paper mill and he sees the world as sunshine and roses. Everything is going great in Jerry’s world, until his office crush, Fionna (Gemma Arterton), stands him up on a date. At a loss of what to do, Jerry turns to his pets, Mr. Whiskers and Bosco for advice. Things go slightly sideways for him, until he meets Lisa, played by Anna Kendrick. The two hit it off and quickly become boyfriend and girlfriend. Everything goes perfect for Jerry, until Lisa decides to pop by him place and surprise him.
Director Marjane Satrapi did such a brilliant job in balancing the comedy with the horror. So good in fact, that even the bloodiest sequences still manage to be humorous. The overall tone is lighthearted; after all this is a comedy, but the director maintains a serious edge throughout the picture. The entire cast is outstanding, especially Anna Kendrick as Lisa and Jacki Weaver as Dr. Warren. The makeup and Special f/x are superb and do not disappoint one bit.
I really enjoyed watching The Voices and I highly recommend seeing this film. It’s a bit darker than most mainstream audiences might expect, but genre fans will love it. The Voices is Rated R for bloody violence and for language including sexual references by the MPAA.
Written by: Ryan Javier
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