In film school, one of the first things you learn about putting together the sound for your celluloid project is that you can never have “no sound.” Even “silence” sounds like something; if you literally put nothing on the soundtrack, it will sound like the speakers have failed, and the audience will be taken out of the movie. This is where a little thing called “room tone” comes in: the sound, such as it is, of an empty room. On most interior film shoots, the sound person will simply ask for absolute quiet on the set, and record the results.
I mention this because 7 DAYS gives great room tone. There’s no music in the film, and much of it takes place in nearly empty interiors. I found myself noticing the room tone above all else, which may be a testament to the sound guy, but it’s also a testament to how engrossing some other aspects of the movie aren’t.
Part of the new Sundance Select series, which will be playing certain Sundance movies from this year on-demand, starting the day after they play Sundance, and continuing for 60 days after that, 7 DAYS (whose French title translates directly as “7 days of retaliation”) may seem on the surface to be part of the whole new wave of French ultraviolent horror, a la MARTYRS, FRONTIERS, INSIDE, etc. But it isn’t – first off, because it’s not French, but Quebecois. And second, even though it does depict realistic acts of brutal violence, the movie almost seems to be too embarrassed to be a horror movie, though it’s written by Patrick Senecal (apparently known as the Stephen King of Canada) from his own novel. Director Daniel Grou, who uses the pseudonym “Podz” for some reason I wasn’t able to discern with a quick Google search, is trying for something much more serious and artsy…but his reach exceeds his grasp.
To read the rest of the review, CLICK HERE
