ryandannar "House of Voices," the first feature film by Pascal Laugier, contains many of the elements that made his 2008 cult-classic "Martyrs" so great. Both films start off in a predictable, genre-specific way -- then gradually reveal darker, stranger, subterranean layers that defy our expectations. Of the two films, "House" is lighter fare, while "Martyrs" is far bloodier and much, much more disturbing."House of Voices," begins as a slow-build Gothic ghost-story, in the vein of 2007's "The Orphanage" or 2001's "The Others." "House" works quite well on this level, featuring engaging female performances, a slowly-unravelling mystery, some handsome cinematography, a lush dramatic score, and some moments of genuine dread. But then, in its final act, the film takes a sharp and surprising turn toward the surreal. I could describe what happens in these scenes, but what really makes them work is the way they're filmed -- the simple strange visual power of these moments. Suffice to say, while you might have a general idea where the plot of this movie is headed, you will probably not foresee exactly how it arrives there.The final scenes of this movie plumb some nightmarish depths, departing stylistically from the subtle Gothic-horror which came before, and entering far stranger territory. Don't worry; it all adds up. This isn't one of those horror films which leads you on, only to end with such strangeness that you have no hope of understanding what the movie was about. No, everything here makes sense in terms of the film's plot. It's just that the film's sudden stylistic change is jarring and surreal, evoking the kinds of unexpected shifts we might experience in our deepest nightmares.For me, this movie worked quite well. I see some others here have given it bad reviews. I gather that's because they don't know how to tell a thoughtful, well-made film from worthless pap like the "Saw" franchise. This certainly isn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it's a very fine, thoughtful, moderately scary film with a bizarre final act that might haunt you afterward.If you like this film, and you have a strong stomach, I'd certainly recommend Laugier's "Martyrs." It plays the same stylistic tricks as this film, but much more intensely, and to greater effect. Word of warning, though: It is a far more disturbing film than "House of Voices."

firefly2534 I understand why some people decided to give this movie a low rating, but I do not believe this movie deserves a low rating. If you were looking for a "horror" film in the slasher, in-your-face, gory, bloody sense, then I can see how you were disappointed. But if that is your only definition of a scary movie, I don't think you should be reviewing movies. This movie had many good qualities, and I believe many people could enjoy it if they gave it a chance. Foreign horror movies have a very different approach, and if you can get on board with that, I think you will like this. If Saw IV is your idea of quality horror, don't bother.

justin-pisciotta I never heard anyone speak about "House of Voices" before. I never heard any reviews and had absolutely no idea as to what this movie was about. All I knew about the film was that it was "ghostly." I watched,I listened,and wondered where the movie was trying to carry the audience. The pace of the film allowed me to position myself in the characters shoes.I could only imagine the sadness and pain that this character had to deal with. My imagination grew eerie,gloomy,and sad,(magnified by the location, score, and color scheme of the film). As this film slowly moved on,the film began taking me from my existence to places I couldn't have dreamed of.By the end of the film I felt cold,confused,and sad.This film did a lot for me emotionally. As an intellect, this film gave me a natural high, jerked my mind around a bit,this film was disturbing, I can't explain why I like this film so much!I gave this film a 10!

TdSmth5 I was eager to watch House of Voices, the first movie from the man who brought us the best horror movie ever made- Martyrs. But this movie is a failure, not so much for Pascal Laugier as a director, more so as a writer.In House of Voices, the lovely Virginie Ledoyen, plays Anna, a girl with a troubled past and who is pregnant, and who arrives to work at an orphanage as part of the custodian team. One of the orphans there warns her of strange children. Soon, all the kids are taken somewhere and only Anna, a Romanian woman- the head custodian, and an older teen orphan with mental problems stay behind.The house doesn't feature a whole lot of voices, but something is going on as we learn in he intro. The communal bath has a giant mirror and something goes on behind it. Anna is pregnant but at times appears to want to put an end to the pregnancy. She investigates the place further and finds pictures and files of children. The mental girl also whispers of children, while the woman tries to steer them away from all that.Eventually Anna, too, sees something behind he mirror, brakes it and craws to the space behind it, and further goes through a long shaft that will take her to some kind of a hospital facility were she will encounter her fears.House of Voice is very different from Martyrs. It has almost no violence, almost no gore, very little dialog. For the first hour, nothing particularly interesting happens as Anna walks through hallways endlessly and discovers very little. However, some elements from Martyrs are prefigured here. The movie looks good, has an interesting tone to it, but is very boring and slow for the most part. It is well directed, but in post-production Laugier dropped the ball. It's hard to believe he was satisfied with the cut provided by the editor. As it turns out, the most important scenes with dialog and that provide story ended up in the deleted scenes section. Every single one of them should have been included in the movie, while there are plenty of pointless scenes that should have been edited out.Also more interesting than the movie itself is the making-off featurette where the writer/director tells us more of what he had in mind. Unfortunately, it doesn't really come out well in the movie, again mostly because key scenes were edited out. But I also think that in the end, there simply wasn't a whole lot there in terms of a story to begin with. There is no twist, no major revelation, even in terms of meaning there isn't much there. You're really left to your own devices to make something out of the story.Fortunately, between this movie and Martyrs, Laugier figured out how convey his intention and the editor learned how to edit a film without butchering the story. It's not surprising that Martyrs and House of Voices where written and directed by the same person, but that they were edited by the same guy.