Noise (2023), a Belgian psychological thriller by Steffen Geypens, intricately examines the line between reality and perception, sanity and madness. The film traces a man’s gradual spiral into obsession and paranoia, ignited by deep-rooted family trauma set in the quiet, haunting landscapes of rural Belgium. A fusion of mystery, horror, and family drama, Noise is a character-centric tale that contemplates the self-destructive nature of past echoes.
The plot revolves around the stunning character of Matthias, a social media influencer and new father. Together with his partner Liv and their child Julius, they move back to Matthias’s childhood home. His father Pol gifted him an old house which was situated in the remote and beautiful countryside. Southern Belgian countryside is Matthias’s inheritance, but it carries with it a legacy . As a result, it does nothing but damage his peace of mind.
Matthias is hoping that the environment will be therapeutic towards his family’s needs, which mentally relaxing in nature, promotion devoid of limelight, and free from social media. Unfortunately, the very old house and the surrounding land does not relate to the issues that his family wants solved. Rather, the state of the house acts as a catalyst for his mental disintegration.
Early in the film, Matthias learns some unsettling information about an abandoned factory, along with a disturbing incident from his father’s past involving a tragic industrial accident. The father, now old and suffering from dementia, gives cryptic comments that do not explain much. Matthias’s investigations alongside the father’s words reveal a multi-generational web of guilt, denial, and unspoken trauma.
Where traditional thrillers would embody external horror, Noise has its unique place for its psychological intensity and focus on internal horror. The title itself represents multiple concepts. On one hand, it points to the ever-present background noise that triggers anxiety within Matthias’s perception–the crying, whispers, factory sounds, and echoes. More importantly, “noise” embodies the mental cacophony that fills his head and spirals him further into chaos: memories, fears, secrets, unanswered questions, and while the narrative evolves, the noise becomes constant until unavoidable. Through this, the protagonist is propelled deeper into a state of emotional and psychological collapse.
Sallie Harmsen’s Liv is sympathetic but worries for her partner’s well-being. She is, after all, both a supportive partner and a genuinely concerned woman. As Matthias’s obsession escalates, it becomes increasingly difficult for Liv to keep the family functioning optimally with a broken husband who is both a danger to himself and everyone around him. Harmsen’s subdued performance is devastatingly honest, revealing what one partner’s disintegration does to a household.
Matthias is depicted by Ward Kerremans, who gives an achingly vulnerable performance. His character is both deeply compelling and disturbing; a young father on the brink of a breakdown grappling with the inexplicable parts of his life. Kerremans portrays the vulnerability of a man shaped by forces beyond his comprehension and whose truth-seeking defies justification.
The moody and intimate cinematography also makes use of muted colours and tight framing, which for an already claustrophobic atmosphere employs a sense of suffocation. This, combined with the setting, allows for the build-up of tension and creates a feeling of stagnant slowness accompanied by silence. The setting of the film is its greatest attribute: an old farmhouse alongside decrepit industrial areas. Noise was filmed in all of them, allowing for the capture of a sense of decaying isolation.The picture subtly touches upon fatherhood, generational trauma, and mental health. Aside from the mystery of the factory, Matthias has his own struggles. He’s afraid to become a father. He worries about the legacy he would leave behind, the emotional neglect and abuse inflicted by the father’s shadow of a figure looms large. He also considers what kind of life he might give to his child. These elements are intricately embedded in the very fabric of the film, elevating it beyond a mere thriller into an intensely introspective tale of self and belonging.
Noise employs an intentionally slow pacing that, while capturing a mood, may be controversial for some audience members. The film does not bother with traditional elements of thrill like jump scares. It is preoccupied with the blend of atmosphere and psychological depth, and this approach undoubtedly elicits a strong sense of discomfort. However, this level of discomfort comes hand in hand with patience. For some audience members, the story might unravel in a hazy manner, particularly when it appears as though Matthias is losing his grip on reality.
Noise is a film that offers very little closure in the end, and it leaves the audience conflicted regarding the plot’s interpretation. The film certainly raises countless questions, like, “What happened at the factory?” and “What parts of Matthias’ story are authentic, and which parts are merely dramatized images of his mental wounds?” Instead of resolving plot points, the film allows the audience to arrive at their own acceptable conclusions.
Though the filmmaker does not indulge in using conventional horror themes, Noise is paradoxically one of the more profoundly disturbing films. It isn’t meant to be disturbing due to some event in the film, but rather through the overall psychological experience it offers. Noise portrays a deeply empathetic narrative of a man who is battling the monsters in his head, framing him to be somewhere between reality and imagination.
As the name suggests, Noise prioritizes emotional intricacies to present-day stressors while portraying them as a psychological thriller. I believe it effectively demonstrates how trauma from the past interferes with an individual’s present state – showing them in a lucid, yet tortured reality. The film has strong visuals, profound performances, and deep-rooted subtexts, thus allowing Noise to seamlessly demonstrate a lingering effect without being overly pretentious.
As long as you are not assuming clear outcomes or high-octane action sequences, Noise will suit your needs. The deeply unsettling film explores the inner workings of humanity with euphoric storytelling. With vivid examples, it teaches us that humans are often their own worst enemies: chaos that foes not stem from external sources is usually self-induced.
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