Psychophony

Director - Xavier Berraondo (Zoo)
Starring - Ferran Albiol (Axtim!), Dafnis Balduz (Ruleta), and Ferran Carvajal (Infidels)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Tagline - "In the tradition of The Orphanage and The Others"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     As a fan of horror in general I try to watch all films with an open mind even though they are part of a sub-genre I typically don't care about.  I prefer my horror brutal, bloody, and boob filled or silly and completely impossible.  However, I do try to avoid the psychological style horror flicks.  Not because they are not entertaining (because they can be) but because they are hardly ever done right.  Several months back the fine folks over at World Wide Multimedia sent me the Spanish supernatural psychological horror flick Psychophony.  To be completely honest, like always, the title sounded like shit to me.  I put the movie on my shelf and completely forgot about it until recently.  I am currently packing up my movie room to movie to a new house me and the wife are about to close on.  It was then that I found the film and decided I would give it a chance...and some of my time.
     The film follows a group of patients suffering from schizophrenia as they travel to a home to live together as a type of experiment their doctor is putting together.  The doctor believes that their schizophrenia is paranormal in nature and she puts them all in a house together in hopes to catch the phenomenon on camera.  However, the experiment does not go according to plan.  You see, the house was once the location to heinous crime in which a group of children were murdered.  This is a catalyst for a much greater evil to find it's way into the house creating anarchy and bloodshed.
     Psychological horror is a hard sub-genre to master.  These films require so much thought and hard work that many film makers do not apply to the flick.  If filmmakers were able to provide the viewer with a well written psychological thriller that is able to balance atmosphere and suspense then I will be satisfied.  If they can not, then the film is a failed attempt in my eyes.  The acting in this one is very solid by the entire cast but it is difficult to fully enjoy due to the fact the film is in Spanish.  More time is spent reading the film than actually watching it.  I don't mind foreign films but I would prefer dubbing over subtitles.  The story for this one is actually pretty fucking clever and thought provoking.  Sadly, the film was poorly delivered and was unable to take advantage of the amazing story the film had.  The film was also unable to offer any sense of atmosphere and emotion.  The film actually felt more like a drama than it did a psychological horror flick.  Finally, the film does not offer any on screen kills or special effects.  We did get one scene that had so much potential to be brutal but the filmmakers passed at the opportunity.  Overall, Psychophony is a film that skipped every opportunity to be truly amazing and delivered a boring film experience.  I do not recommend this one!