An accomplished filmmaker, Philippe Martinez (Wake of Death 2004, Father Christmas is Back 2021) newest film lies within the a mix of sub-genres. Released on November 3, 2023 through Saban Films on Digital and On Demand, the film directed and co-written by Martinez, Black Noise, opens straight in the heart of the action. In this a lone soldier staggers through trees and deserted buildings before being completely vaporized by an unseen force. So, who or what is behind such a violent act?
Cue a call to the leader of a group of private commandos. Ryan (Wayne Gordon: Into the Badlands series, Mister Mayfair 2021) must assemble his squad to rescue a billionaire and his wife from an exclusive island. The team consisting of Leo (Jackson Rathbone: Twilight 2008, The Last Airbender 2010), Leila (Sadie Newman: Holmes & Watson 2018), Sarah (Eve Mauro: Land of the Lost 2009, Sorority Party Massacre 2012) and Jordan (Alex Pettyfer: I Am Number Four 2011, Magic Mike 2012) are all suffering from past experiences, but arrive on the beautiful tropical island determined to make a quick extraction.
However when they arrive on the island, they find it completely deserted as if everyone has simply vanished into thin air. As they begin to explore, Sarah comes across the debris of someone who has been vaporized. As she touches the debris, a paralyzing loud noise begins to deafen all of the team apart from Jordan who remains strangely unaffected. Soon the team, including Jordan, starts to experience visions and hallucinations of all their past traumas. Ryan hears children screaming and crying, Leo sees his abusive stepfather, Sarah sees flashbacks of a fatal car accident and Jordan keeps glimpsing his late wife. These hallucinations and confrontations drive each person further towards insanity and eventually prove fatal.
It is at this point that Black Noise comes unstuck. In spite of the fact that these hallucinations should provide some backstory and interest for the characters, they are never actually explored fully. The result is a film that ends up predominantly following a bunch of characters around an island moaning and clutching their ears for an hour. It does not help that the effects for this are all a bit low quality and it is a bit difficult to take them seriously.
Eventually Black Noise starts to explore what might actually be causing the ‘black noise’ and it is at this point that the film becomes more of a Sci-Fi Thriller, reminiscent of something like Predator (1987) as the team is stalked by something that is evidently tracking them. This element does make Black Noise slightly more interesting but again it is not explored fully enough to satisfy. The film climaxes in a big fight scene but sadly it is all too little too late and whilst the punches might land, the scenes don’t.
Furthermore, Black Noise also has issues with its script. The dialogue never quite rings true and so many ideas are never developed. The ambiguity of the ‘black noise’ is intriguing but so little is explained that it becomes hard to care why or how what is happening is happening. Overall, Black Noise has the potential to be a cool Sci-Fi Thriller, but sadly it never quite gets off the ground. That is why Cryptic Rock gives it 2 out of 5 stars.
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