Berberian Sound Studio 2012

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: Mr. Strickland's movie becomes a bit of a vortex at the beginning, though its milieu is too engagingly recreated to dismiss. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Writer/director Peter Strickland intriguingly weaves into the story a movie-within-a-movie that we barely see, but we hear. Read more

William Goss, MSN Movies: The first two acts are funny and fun in their moody evocation of both the period and the genre, but right around when Gilderoy starts to lose his mind, Berberian begins to lose its way. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Manages to evoke the crimson-splashed shockers of the 1970s without so much as a single frame of actual carnage. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: [It] not only exploits one of cinema's most important modes, it also attempts something more difficult: turning a genre movie into a work of art. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Director Peter Strickland reaches for something more significant that he never quite finds, but by then you may be too entertained to care. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Berberian Sound Studio" is spooky right up to the minute it turns stupid. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: While it's a loving homage to movies like Dario Argento's Suspiria and is crafted with tons of style, it leaves out one key ingredient: being even remotely scary. Read more

Matt Patches, Film.com: Mesmerizing, but the images stand alone and incomplete. Read more

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: A twisted tribute to analog moviemaking and 1970s Italian Giallo horror flicks. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: [It's] as if someone took all the raw footage from Argento's "Suspiria," and gave it to Antonioni to recut. But, in a way, the disjointed dreaminess of it is the point. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: It accomplishes the tricky task of paying homage to one type of scary movie while indulging in an entirely different style itself. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Fans of Dario Argento and Mario Bava will appreciate the references. Even for newcomers, there are minor chords to enjoy. If only there were less screaming. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: A clever, elliptical, slightly bizarre and altogether transfixing psychological thriller. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: "Berberian Sound Studio" may be the finest tribute to the old-school cinematic craftsmanship of the sound mixer and Foley artist I've ever encountered. Read more

David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle: A sometimes interesting, sometimes head-scratching movie that pays homage to the old ways of the sound mixing world and to the "giallo" genre of horror that was prominent in Italy during the 1970s. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A one-trick pony, but it's a reasonably cool trick. Read more

Globe and Mail: A treat for fans of vintage horror cinema (in particular, the experimental giallo genre) and vintage sound gear, this stylish, darkly humorous thriller locks us in a claustrophobic studio in 1970s Italy for a paranoia ride. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Radishes, cabbages and melons meet horrific ends in Berberian Sound Studio, a down-the-earhole psychodrama where what you hear is more terrifying than what you see. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: In this era of cookie-cutter cinema, Strickland's deeply personal moral and stylistic vision deserves the highest praise. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: The creepiness builds with symphonic precision until reality truly is indistinguishable from fantasy. Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: A delicately detailed immersion into the world of Z-grade Italian horror cinema that ultimately may or may not be a horror film itself ... a tense, teasing triumph. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Berberian Sound Studio may scan as a psychological thriller, but it's really a lavish gift to film geeks in a lovely matryoshka box. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: Horror fiends looking for cheap thrills may be disappointed. But those with a flair for the offbeat might find themselves unnerved and riveted. Read more