Sounds Like (2006)

A man with unbelievably wonderful hearing (Chris Bauer, "8mm") begins to go nuts when he cannot cope with the death of his son Michael. His job, his marriage and his entire world begin to fall apart.Executive producer Andrew Deane approached Brad Anderson, gave him various short stories to choose from, and this was the one picked out.Like "Chocolate" in season one, those who want traditional horror are going to be disappointed. There is no maniac with an axe or ghosts or demons or aliens. Just a man with uncanny hearing who can no longer adjust to the world in which he lives. The story is actually very good if you enter it from the right frame of mind.The episode comes from the relatively unknown director Brad Anderson, who made the infamous "Session 9" as well as one of the better movies I have seen, "The Machinist" (with Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason Leigh, two of Hollywood's best actors). If you have seen one or both of these, you know Anderson's specialty is presenting his audience with mental illness. "Sounds Like" is no exception to this trend.Anderson notes in the commentary that most of his work, with the exception of "The Machinist", has some sort of therapist character, which is a bit unusual given that Anderson himself had never been to a therapist. What does this mean? Probably nothing, but all his films -- even "The Machinist" -- definitely rely on more of a psychological horror than outright violence.The strength of this episode is that on many occasions, we are presented exactly what the main character can hear. And it is awful! Some of the most annoying noises you will ever hear, which is like some of the most gruesome images you will ever see... but different. (If you want images, we do have maggots and baby rats, so that might work for you.)I enjoyed this film, although it seems to have very little replay value. With the low expectations I'm having with season two, this comes out as something enjoyable and I would recommend you give it a shot if you like Anderson's other work. While I would hardly consider "Machinist" or "Session 9" mainstream, his work is becoming known and it will not be much longer before they give him something huge...

This 1 hour movie is more like a 30 minute Twilite Zone episode. That is, it has an interesting premise, but is 30 minutes too long.The story revolves around an individual with an acute sense of hearing. He can hear all the sounds that normal people either filter out or can't hear - everything from drops of water to light bulbs and heartbeats. The story involves how this 'ability' becomes more and more a problem after the tragic loss of his son.The story gives a cool glimpse into this special individual's world, but at the expense of story. It just goes on and on and the story doesn't progress very much. After about 30 minutes, 40 minutes, etc. you're still waiting for things to happen.If you want a treat - watch the first 30 minutes, then come back for the last 5. If you're looking for a worthwhile 1 hour experience, skip this one.

This episode was boring and was not even in the realm of horror, so far this season Masters of Horror has produced one really good episode...The Damned Thing...it is still early, I have faith that the episodes will get better. I admit that the vampire episode was okay but lacked a solid storyline. The episode about the couple catching the serial killer started out boring, but the last fifteen minutes was really good. Though, I am just plain out disappointed with the lack of originality and horror that the first season's episodes possessed. Please, save this season John Carpenter! I have faith that Pro-Life will redeem the entire lackluster season so far."You're an angry little elf!"

Sound. Thats the key subject of this episode. A lot of different sound techniques are used throughout to enhance and show the aural assault the protagonist is subjected to on a daily basis. He has ultra-sensitive hearing with such little things like knitting or kids skipping enhanced to a deafening level. Something is eating away at him and much like in The Machinist it starts to effect his everyday life.Thankfully Anderson does not ape his previous classic (too soon to call it a classic?) and the story wanders a different path. Wandering is the only fault with the episode though, spending too much time showing different sounds driving Chris Bauer's character mad rather than progressing the story. Still a similar dark atmosphere is created throughout and carries through to the last shot of the movie. Worth watching.