Movie Notes: 'The Voices' (2014) is a Candy Colored Killer Movie
Never listen to the cat. It's evil.
Jerry (Ryan Reynolds) works as a bath tub factory worker and lives with his dog Bosco and cat Whiskers at a refurbished upstairs apartment above an old abandoned bowling alley. Everything seemed normal except for the fact that he hears his animal companions talk. Like demons and angels advising us whether to do good or bad, his two companions gives him advises. Whiskers the cat represents Jerry's violent tendencies while Bosco on the other hand his good side.
One day, his manager chooses him to organize the company barbecue to be closer to his office crush Fiona (Gemma Arterton). He asks her out on a date but Fiona would stand him up and go with her friends in the accounting department for a Karaoke Party while Jerry was left alone waiting at a Chinese restaurant.
Fiona was about to leave her car wouldn't start and luckily Jerry passes by and gives her a lift. They would soon go on late night date and as they were going home Jerry accidentally runs over a Deer. Hallucinating that the Deer speaks to him to end its misery, Jerry slashed its throat making Fiona run in terror. Jerry pursued her and accidentally stabs her and just like the deer he ends her misery by slitting her throat.
Jerry comes home to Whiskers and Bosco and the two tells him what he can do. Bosco says he should confess while Whiskers says to hide the evidence. Jerry heeds Whiskers and comes back to collect Fiona's body from the woods. He would put her disemboweled remains in plastic containers and her head in the Fridge. He starts hallucinating again and sees Fiona's head talking to him.
Jerry would soon date again with another co-worker Lisa and this would lead to a very confusing and surprising ending.
The Voices is a light psychological horror which presents itself at its core as a dark comedy. Satrapis direction and Reynolds good performance of a complex and disturbed character makes this movie worth watching.
More than a bleak and dark story of a serial killer, The Voices provided a lighter perspective on the life of a disturbed individual; at least that is what the first few moments of the movie presented from the candy colored picture perfect hot tub factory floor to the innocent, harmless look and demeanor of Jerry.
The catch with this one is that I felt sympathy towards Jerry despite the gruesome things he has done partly because we know he is not well and sees him as a victim as well more than a villain.
Jerry was obviously disturbed from childhood. It was later revealed throughout the story that Jerry suffers from Schizophrenia and is under medication which he doesn't take. This is the reason why he hears voices from his cat, dog and the severed heads. Jerry has created a distorted view of his world from his crumby and smelly apartment to the talking animals - which only unravels when he takes his medications.
It depicts the basic dilemma of fight or flight response by an individual which is aggravated by an illness that distorts reality from the ugly truth versus a beautiful lie. Jerry chooses the latter by avoiding his medicines and completely losing himself in his violent tendencies.
It presents in surreal way the internal battle of good and bad intentions in an individual. Whiskers represented not only wickedness, but also the rush and excitement of dominance and power while Bosco is the voice of reason and good intentions.
In the end even his moral compass Bosco deserts him. It was his choice after all to listen to Whiskers - the easy way out of things that are often the darkest.
I give this movie 3 out of 5 and listing it under my list of GOOD movies.
For movie information visit The Voices post at Cinemunch
This movie is available on available on Amazon - The Voices [Blu-ray] or download on iTunes - The Voices - Unknown
Photo: Voices, The Voices 2014 This movie is available on available on Amazon - The Voices [Blu-ray] or download on iTunes - The Voices - Unknown
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This is a part of Fright Cinema 2015, a list of the best horror movies handpicked in no particular order by The Wandering Klutz. It features ten (10) films every year just in time for the scariest season of the year.
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