Where is her sister?
A woman is searching for her younger sister, who rented an apartment. While searching for her sister, she moves into the apartment and discovers two things. One is some strange sounds that she has a hard time locating. The second thing is that the people living in this apartment complex are pretty messed up, and she’s getting harassed by a neighbor who’s accusing her of making a lot of noise. But she isn’t the one making the noises.
Noise is a decent horror movie that I didn’t expect much from. I see that it’s not a movie that has been well received, but trust me, it’s better than movies like The Conjuring: Last Rites.
What Noise has going for it is that it has a lot of great atmosphere, especially with the crazy neighbor who starts harassing the protagonist. He’s creepy and intimidating when he’s standing outside her front door, threatening her while carrying a knife. You genuinely fear for the protagonist’s life.
She also meets other tenants, and for the most part, they’re all weird and selfish. They aren’t well written, as they feel generic, and the cops are almost non-existent. There’s a cop who’s trying to locate the missing sister, but he just shows up in a few scenes, and then he’s gone. The main focus is on the older sister and her tragic past that she shared with her younger sister, which is also very generic.
The actress playing the protagonist is convincing, as we see her having a mental breakdown while searching for her sister. She feels unwelcome by the other tenants, who have their own agenda: to fix the apartment complex and not lose their money because of all the murders that have happened there. The protagonist had better shut her big mouth so she doesn’t cause any problems! So you have drama, horror, greed, and a lot of crazy people. Welcome to South Korea!
What I didn’t quite like was the poor CGI in some scenes when the ghosts show up. The CGI ruins the atmosphere, so they should have used practical effects instead. It always takes me out of the horror moment when you see such poor CGI.
Noise can also be a little confusing, especially in the last 25 minutes. There are things that don’t make much sense, and it feels rushed toward the end of the movie. But I enjoyed the first hour with the mystery and the setting. It’s worth a watch if you like that dark and unsettling atmosphere.