One Of The Most Unique Horror Movies Of The 2010s Is Now Streaming Free

Sound design is one of the more important elements in making a horror movie. Foley artists are adept at attributing the most fitting sounds within their bizarre arsenal to the violence onscreen. In Peter Strickland's "Berberian Sound Studio," we bear witness to a man's distrust of reality as a result of having to give sonic tenor to a vicious '70s giallo picture. It's one of the most unique auditory horror movies of the 2010s and you can stream it for free on Tubi.

Gilderoy (Toby Jones), a mild-mannered sound engineer from the UK, walks into the Berberian Sound Studio under the impression that he was hired for a movie about horses. But after meeting with the film's producer Francesco (Cosimo Fusco), he quickly learns that "The Equestrian Vortex" is a gory horror film about witches, priests, and Satanic worship. Gilderoy sticks with the gig, but his resolve is tested by the escalating grievances of a stalled flight invoice, a pretentious director (Antonio Mancino), and the film's soundscape bleeding into his personal life.

It's an inspired decision on Strickland's part to never show the film Gilderoy is working on. The only glimpse we get of "The Equestrian Vortex," a riff on the nonsensical titles of Italian horror movies, is an abrasive opening title sequence that tells you all you need to know about this project. "Berberian Sound Studio" instead teaches you how to listen, and does so effectively.

There's an inherently surreal nature to the makeup of Italian horror. The dubbing in Dario Argento's "Suspiria," the horror classic that reinvented the cinematic witch, makes the characters feel possessed by forces outside of their control, especially when they start screaming. In "Berberian Sound Studio," we witness the process of vocal performers providing the guttural shrieks that convey legitimate terror despite doing it all from a sound booth. You also get to see the interesting methods behind the sounds for gore and violence. Ripping shreds of lettuce emulates being torn apart, while a meat cleaver to a watermelon provides the mental image of being pummeled to a bloody pulp.

Peter Strickland gives insight into what the in-universe film looks like without having to show a single frame, relying on the power of suggestion. "Berberian Sound Studio" is almost a 4-D ultra sensory experience in that there's such an emphasis on how "The Equestrian Vortex" is made that it compels you to interrogate the other non-diegetic sounds of the film you're currently watching. It's an ode to the '70s era of sound mixing through analog equipment, which itself carries an otherworldly power when compared to digital.

On a narrative level, "Berberian Sound Studio" doesn't follow the traditional hallmarks of a genre flick. But it's most definitely a horror movie, albeit in a much more subversive way.

"Berberian Sound Studio" purposefully breaks the illusion of what you would hear in an Italian horror picture, while associating its soundscapes with another kind of horror. We're witness to voice over actresses such as Silvia (Fatma Mohammed), Claudia (Eugenia Caruso), and Elisa (Chiara D'Anna) constantly being belittled by the crew. Their screams echo the internal frustrations they have for the people who take advantage of their vocal chords. Nobody is actually getting stabbed or ripped apart, but they are being emotionally terrorized by men in powerful positions.

Toby Jones is excellent at conveying how lost Gilderoy is working on the film, and how that puts a strain on the experience. An illuminating conversation between him and Silvia compels him to stick up for himself regarding his flight payment. It bleeds into the third act where fiction and reality start to blur with Gilderoy being an almost entirely different person. Much like one of David Lynch's best movies, "Mulholland Drive," one portion of the film informs the other.

"Berberian Sound Studio" leaves the "The Equestrian Vortex" for us to imagine, while presenting a different tale of "witches" being tormented by the "holy" figures of the production. To see — and hear — what it's all about, be sure to check out the film now on Tubi.