Scary Movies XIII: Noise

It is a lot easier to close your eyes than to close your ears. Ironically, in this case, Joo-young’s hearing aid finally represents an advantage. She has so much underdog cred (working a blue-collar factory job, with her hearing impairment), Joo-young looks like a natural “final girl” candidate. Regardless, finding her semi-estranged sister will be her primary goal in Kim Soo-jin’s Noise, which screens tonight as part of Scary Movies XIII.

Joo-young briefly lived with Joo-hee, but she tired of her sibling’s erratic behavior, so she moved out—right before things really got weird. According to the cops, Joo-hee has been missing for weeks. Yet, as soon as Joo-young moves back in, the crazy neighbor below complains of the constant noise coming from their empty apartment. This noise-rage taps into reportedly common Korean complaints, stemming from high population density and cheap concrete construction. Such inter-building noise is less of an issue here in New York. That’s why we love our “pre-war” buildings.

Indeed, the brutalist apartment complex is rife with weird, disconcerting noises. Even Joo-young can hear them when her hearing aid is turned on. Joo-hee’s boyfriend, Ki-hoon, does not have that option, but he doesn’t understand the degree of the audio distortion he will have to contend with when he offers to help Joo-young find her sister.

Rather cleverly, the FSLC paired Noise with the similarly audio-themed Rabbit Trap for their press screenings, but the public screenings fell on different days. Maybe that is just as well, because the two films together constitute an exhausting sensory overload. However, that also means both sound teams did some incredibly potent work.

Kim also cleverly capitalizes on Joo-young’s reliance on voice recognition apps and her on-and-off hearing aid to cleverly build suspense. Yet, despite a vibe and style clearly inspired by classic J-horror and K-horror, screenwriter Lee Je-hui maintains a coyness whether the film is supernatural horror, or a devious murder mystery of human origins and design. Either way, there are some deeply unnerving moments, thanks in large measure to the sinister sound.

Lee Sun-bin also gives a highly intelligent and emotionally resonant performance as Joo-young. She depicts her hearing impairment in a realistic but also sensitive manner that never feels exploitative.

Noise straddles multiple genres (horror, mystery, thriller), but they are all dark and moody. It is the kind of film that finds the sinister lurking just beneath ostensibly commonplace. Highly recommended, especially on the big screen, with a professional-grade sound system, Noise screens tonight (8/18), as part of Scary Movies XIII.