The Unheard (2023) Movie Review

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The Unheard – Movie Review

Director: Jeffrey A Brown

Writer: Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen (Screenplay)

Cast

Lachlan Watson (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)
Michele Hicks (Mullholand Drive)
Nick Sandow (Orange is the New Black)
Brendan Meyer (Colour Out of Space)
Shunori Ramanathan (The Big Sick)

Plot: The Unheard finds a young deaf woman undergoing experimental treatment to regain her hearing. Recovering at her family’s beach home, she fears she is not alone – all while uncovering family secrets and experiencing psychological strife and auditory hallucinations.

Runtime: 2 Hours 5 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Unheard starts when a deaf young woman Chloe (Watson) agrees to take part in an experimental treatment trial. Dr Lynch (Ramanathan) is leading to experiment which could return Chloe’s hearing.

Chloe returns to her father’s beach home to recover, where she gets to meet people from her past including Hank (Sandow) and Joshua (Meyer). However, after she returns home, she starts seeing strange things and as her hearing starts to return, she believes she could be in danger.

Verdict on The Unheard

The Unheard is a sensory horror movie, following a deaf girl going through a procedure that could restore her hearing. It follows her starting to see improvements before she starts seeing strange things around the home.

This does channel the likes of ‘The Eye’ and ‘Hush’ trying to use the sensory weakness and strength Chloe has. While there is a clear delight at her hearing coming back, it doesn’t come back without a drawback. The idea she must figure out what is going on is interesting, as it gets to show the changes she must adapt to. All while dealing with an unknown threat in her life.

This has some well-built-up moments and making us experience the movie in places with no sounds helps us understand Chloe’s mindset. However, it does end up being a little bit longer than it needs to be for the same story. Lachlan Watson does a great job in the leading role where they get to shine through the more difficult sequences.

Where to Watch: The Unheard is available on Shudder from the 31^st of March.

Final Thoughts – The Unheard is a nice entry into sensory horror movies.