Hello again, ghosts and ghouls! Taylor Terrible here, and I’m back with a review of a film that’s slightly out of my normal scope of what I typically take interest in.

I was offered the chance to watch VOICE FROM THE STONE, starring Emilia Clarke and Marton Csokas, in a beautifully crafted horror film set in 1950s Tuscany.

Verena (Clarke) is a nurse who travels from family to family, working with children in need. Upon completion of her work, she leaves, no questions asked. However, there is one child that is just a little bit different than the rest. Jakob has not uttered a word since the death of his mother. His father is so devastated that he has given up on helping the boy himself, so he enlists Verena to try to break the shell that Jakob has created around himself.

Things get just a little bit tricky, though, when Jakob starts displaying some odd behavior, like listening to a hole in the wall where he emphasizes that he can hear his deceased mother calling to him. But that’s impossible, isn’t it? Well, Verena isn’t so convinced. Not only does she hear the voice… she begins to become the mother.

In a horror film so brilliantly subtle, I almost didn’t realize that this could be considered a horror film. The amount of suspense, agony, sadness, and thrill that comes across in this film is absolutely incredible. At points I genuinely felt sad for the characters, and it’s hard to get me to react at all to most films these days.

The imagery and coloring of the film is interesting as well – it’s a bleak, depressing, but beautiful representation of Italy with broken statues, greyish colors, offset by a stunning wardrobe to accompany all of the sadness and decay. It’s as if the costumes of the characters bring to life all of the death and destruction surrounding them – their wardrobes evolve with their characters.

VOICE FROM THE STONE truly is an interesting film that is one part psychological, one part thriller. Not riddled with jump scares like most horror films, and with a score that consists of mostly strings, it’s a welcomed change from the horror scene’s predictability. You question yourself, the motives of characters, the sanity of Verena, and the end is undeniably creepy, without having to brace yourself for loud sounds and graphic imagery. There is nothing startling about this film, but it still holds intrigue, which helps it stand up against most of the horror films today that have been so bogged down with the usual filler crap.

Another aspect of this film that absolutely blew my mind: AMY LEE IS BACK WITH A NEW SINGLE! You know Amy Lee…Evanescence Amy Lee, I KNOW, RIGHT?! You missed her too?! Her stunning tribute to the film, SPEAK TO ME, rolls during the credits and it’s nothing short of breathtaking, as things by Amy Lee usually are.

With that, I’m able to conclude an absolutely stellar review of VOICE FROM THE STONE, a film that should be enjoyed by both horror-buffs and horror-haters alike. There is something in this film for everyone – something so different from most films that are targeted towards a very specific audience.

VOICE FROM THE STONE is set to release on April 28th and I highly suggest you give it a watch!

• Author
• Recent Posts

Taylor Krauss

Taylor has been a horror fan for as long as she can remember, begging her parents to let her see The Exorcist at the tender age of just five years old. Since then, she has developed a lifelong obsession with all things strange, paranormal, and creepy. If you find her doing something other than watching a horror film, she’s probably raging as a dwarf barbarian playing Dungeons and Dragons (obsessively…it’s a problem), quoting Lord of the Rings incessantly, or trying to become Dana Scully.

Latest posts by Taylor Krauss (see all)

• [Slamdance Review] MAJNUNI - January 26, 2020
• Panic Fest Short Film Review: BROWN FISH (2017) - February 4, 2019
• Short Film Review: GOOD GIRL (2018) - December 26, 2018