'The Sound' (2025)

Chronicling the perilous ascent of a decades forbidden climb, ‘The Sound’ follows a group of climbers as they discover the dangers of the arduous task. Along for the adventure is Sean (Marc Hills) a young man who’s grandfather was part of the last group of climbers to attempt the summit in 1959, only for the entire party to disappear. Embarking on the challenge, Sean is warned that a mysterious force inhabits the land.

With a surprisingly intriguing opening sequence, ‘The Sound’ flashes back to 1959 depicting the last mountaineering expedition at the forbidden site. Establishing that there is a malicious presence on the mountain, the last climber, who happens to be Sean’s grandfather, is yanked up to the top, never to be seen again. Subsequently showing the involvement of a secret government agency, as they track the progress of the mission, the film provides a more than promising start.

Unfortunately all good will is lost immediately after as the movie turns to present day, as Sean prepares for a climb. Expositing heavily through clunky dialogue and stilted deliveries, the film quickly loses steam and drowns in a slew of repetition about Sean’s tragic backstory. With his grandfather having died back in 1959 and with Sean also having lost his girlfriend to a climbing accident, the film tries to appeal to the viewers and incite empathy, but does so too many times and results in pity bordering on disdain.

With amazing exterior shots that showcase the natural beauty of the group's endeavor, ‘The Sound’ delivers the scope of the task ahead of the team of climbers. Tragically, the film proves to be the antithesis of thrill inducing rock climbing and delivers the opposite of excitement. With an unclear gauge of where everybody is at any given time and a rather hum-drum ascent, the film falls flat for the most part as the cast are largely explaining most of what is happening rather than the audience being immersed into the story visually.

Suffering from clumsy dialogue and stiff performances, the film is further hindered by a poor story. Sean is confronted by one of the native inhabitants of the land Guyustees (Wayne Charles Baker) and forewarned of the mysterious and evil presence at the top of the mountain. Compounding the already muddled story, Sean is told to ‘seal’ in the evil spirit for good, without any further explanation.

Puzzling to say the least, the group slowly make their way to the summit, slowly being picked off one by one as the evil entity possesses them and makes the individuals fall to their death. Unclear on what the entity is or wants, the threat of the presence is very real but also baffling.

The group slowly realize that there is a malicious presence after them emitting an odd sound, with Sean and Colton (Nicholas Baroudi) deciding to reach the peak regardless.

Culminating in the most confusing Mexican standoff, Kristen (Rachel Finninger), Colton and Sean reach the summit and question each others motivations. Colton is revealed to be an agent for the secret government agency keeping tabs on the location. Without any rhyme or reason, Kristen is also revealed to be a secret agent, for a previously undisclosed agency. Regardless, neither of the agents seem to have a clear goal or duties, leaving the story more confused than before. Erupting in a brawl Sean and Kristen knock out Colton.

With Sean having reached the summit, he somehow figures out that he must strike a glowing rock emitting the strange sounds everyone has been hearing with a totem handed to him by Guyustees. This seems to quiet the noise and Sean decides it’s time to return home. Unbeknownst to him, Colton’s unconscious body reanimates, implying the evil persists.

Pointless, annoying and embarrassingly jumbled, ‘The Sound’ has very little going for it. With something that can technically be classified as a ‘story’ tying the film together, the less than tolerable performances and constant exposition dumps make it almost impossible to make it to the finish line.

Over-explained and frustratingly unsurprising, the film is at least 20 minutes too long for what it is and does not warrant a viewing. With both painfully spelled out and constantly reiterated points and some instances of confusing surprises, ‘The Sound’ suffers from less than coherent structure and poor narrative choices. Not suitable as entertainment, ‘The Sound’ peaks as a notable flop.

Score: -1/4