Customer Reviews

House of Voices

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

House of Voices original title Saint Ange refers to an orphanage in the French Alps in the year 1958. The orphanage, once full of children, prepares for the final move out, after a mysterious and terrible accident where a child slipped and fell in the bathroom, which the audience bears witness to in the opening. The protagonist Anna (Virginie Ledoyen) arrives amidst the chaotic scurrying in and out of the large building, as she is the only one carrying stuff inside. It almost feels like the rats are abandoning the ship while Anna is the only one who decides to stay, which immediately suggests that something is not right with the situation.

The camerawork enhances the eerie atmosphere with its cool bluish tint, which brings out the coolness and detached mood that the place emits. In addition, the peculiar camera angles elevate the weird feeling of the place. The abandoned orphanage almost produces a similar tension that Shining (1980) radiates where the husband decides to spend the winter with his family in a remote hotel, as a caretaker. In this story, Anna stays as the assistant to the caretaker, as she attempts to deal with her pregnancy. The parallels are strikingly similar, yet it does not come close to Kubrick's brilliant version of Stephen King's novel.

Not to give anything away, but there is something spooky about the orphanage (duh!), which the initial bathroom scene obviously portrays. The creepy atmosphere lingers throughout the film while some scenes have intensified moments of eeriness such as when Anna discovers old files of children in a forsaken part of the orphanage grounds and her nightmares, which will have the audience leaping out of their seats. Despite the scary elements, Anna remains working at the orphanage while she continues to hide her pregnancy to the two remaining characters within the abandoned orphanage, one, the cook and caretaker Helenka (Dorina Lazar) while the second is the estranged teenage orphan Judith (Lou Doillon).

Anna's youth and pregnancy suggests additional twists and uncanny elements to the story in combination with the orphanage. A pregnancy that she hides by tightly wrapping a bandaged around her inflated belly awakens thoughts of child deformation through the tightly secretive wrapping and self-injury. Yet, Ledoyen delivers an ambiguous tone to the character that both despises and loves the unborn within her. In addition, before the complete move out, a little orphan girl whispered something in Anna's ear, which comes back and disturbs her thoughts in regards to scary children. The thought of scary children remerges when she uncovers the files of the orphans in a hidden part of the large garden. At this moment, the film begins to increase the strange things that happen, as Anna seeks the help of Judith to find an answer to what happened to those scary children during World War II and why Judith is the sole survivor.

House of Voices has strong potential to be a very good horror film, but somewhere two thirds into the film a cinematic discomfort becomes obvious. The overuse of peculiar camera angles that indicates some thing is wrong begins to have less of an effect, probably due to desensitization, which limits the way the viewer responds to the eeriness. Also many of these camera angles signal when the scary parts are about to take place, which limits the audience's appreciation of the haunted story. Nonetheless, the film is very well cast, but there are also a couple of scenes where the characters feel a little phony. However, the film succeeds in capturing the ghost-like behavior of all other characters besides the three main individuals in the film. This is an essential facet to the understanding of the culmination of the film, which tries to toss the audience around a little in traditional M. Night Shyamalan manner. The intentional twist will leave some viewers perplexed and others discontent. In either case, the audience will have experienced a decent horror film that tries to bend the rules of storytelling, but does not fully succeed.

House of Voices is an extremely atmospheric thriller that relies heavily on it's characters to propel it along. It also has something else so lacking in today's movies: Style. No matter how you slice it, many of the best horror films from any era ooze style in their presentation and that is what makes them so memorable. Our main character is a girl trying to hide her pregnancy at a home for orphans. Not having come to terms with this pregnancy, she begins to experience dreams and visions, as well as the occasional visit of ghostly children even while she is fully awake. The scenes with the ghost kids are always brief, and some kind of surprising action usually comes of it. The finale is downright eerie as we finally get to see what the children were trying to lead her to. We are led through a section of the orphanage that apparently originally served as some sort of hospital, and the terror is so effective in it's brightly lit, perfectly sterile appearing environment which is visible in this form only to the girl. The last scene will definitely stay with you as it is both creepy and extremely unsettling. If you are tired of the same old thing that's been done over and over again in horror and psychological thrillers, check out House of Voices. I doubt you will be diaappointed.

This film is esentially the French's answer toThe Devil's Backbone. Set in the backdrop of a relatively abandoned orphanage in the French Alps, we follow our lead Anna, as she starts work as the new cleaning lady. With only a couple staff members, and a strange young woman who grew up there as a child.the building is perfect for witnessing oddly shaped shadowy figures and hearing strange creeks and voices in the night.Yes Anna soon discovers that this orphanage houses a dark past; a dark past that Anna is sure to discover. This is the feature film debut of director Pascal Laugier, and so far,I like what he puts on the table.Cinematically the shots are beautiful, and it has just the right amount of creepy atmosphere. Though, ultimately the film suffers from an identity crises towards the end when more is revealed.From the intial viewing I expected this to be just another flick about a haunted orphanage , but the story actually leads us to another direction towards the end. This is also the point when things get a little ridiculos and the atmosphere and pacing seems to shift in a diiferent direction. Eithier way, the movie is a pleasure to watch, which makes what unfolds a little more bearable. In the end, the movie falls under your standard straight to video ghost tale, with slighty higher production values. Overall a decent rent, but do not expect a lot of scares. Visually and atmosphere wise, it worked, but the story had problems. I would give this 6 out 10 stars. Rent it first.

First of all the original title of this film is "Sainte Ange". The US title is House of Voices but that's an amazingly stupid title since it has nothing to do with the film at all. But what's in a name? The film itself was an overall enjoyable experience with some really well done elements. Not perfect by any means but a solid effort in the vein of The Others, The Devil's Backbone, The Orphanage, Turn of the Screw etc.

The movie takes place in 1958 in an orphanage in France. The building is old, creepy, and not fully up to safety code, and when a young boy dies (seemingly as a result of the poor safety precautions) the children are moved elsewhere and the building is shut down until funds are available to fix it up. Staying on in the meantime is the cook, Helenka, the handyman, and Judith (Lou Dillon) a grown orphan with some sort of mental problems who is in Helenka's care. Our heroine, Anna (Virginie Ledoyen), arrives to be the housekeeper of this odd little household. Anna is pregnant as the result of a rape (the details of which are only suggested) and doesn't want the baby. The job offers her an opportunity to retreat for the duration of her pregnancy and a place to give birth in private. Taking notice of some odd occurrences at St. Ange, Anna becomes obsessed with the idea that there is a paranormal source that somehow relates to events that Judith may have witnessed at Saint Ange during the war.

Of course on top of all this Anna has her own issues. She's recovering psychologically from her rape and her pregnancy disgusts her. She is reckless with her health and safety, perhaps in an attempt to cause a miscarriage. This is never actually said: we see her body covered in bruises, from several falls, but we're never told if they're intentional. Ledoyen wisely suggests that perhaps Anna doesn't know herself. But she's in the position not wanting a child, in a building that was made for unwanted children, so perhaps her own unconscious guilt plays into her paranoia as well. Yes, Anna eventually solves the mystery of Saint Ange but that turns out to be something of an anticlimax. For me what was most interesting was the lack of certainty. You could interpret it as a ghost story, or a psychological drama. Both of our heroines, Anna and Judith are unstable. They've suffered physically and psychologically and are therefore not the most reliable witnesses. As a result the film plays with your mind and creates a strong sense of atmosphere that is unabashedly gothic.

After watching this film I looked it up online out of curiosity and was surprised by some of the truely terrible reviews people have given it. Now don't get me wrong. It wasn't a great movie. It lost it's way a bit in the last 1/3 and there were several plot holes and issues with the screenplay. But it did keep me interested throughout, and I spent a bit of time after I saw it, thinking about it. So to me, that's not a waste of time. You just can't come to it with the expectation of seeing a fast paced horror film. You need to be willing to accept a mood piece that's open to several different interpretations.

This movie was entitled Saint Ange when I saw it and I watched it because of Virginia Ledoyen. No one says the expected niceties in this movie which is why it feels exactly a bad dream. I didn't even notice that the movie was especially well-shot or designed. I had to look this movie up on the internet and then rewatch it because it was not clear to me who the ghost children were. Once I knew who the ghost children were, then the movie meant something totally different than just an exercise in making the audience feel uncomfortable and unhappy; after knowing, then its about how horrifying what transpired, the pain and terror unimaginable when we read about it. We don't understand what really happened and it is impossible for the victims to ever convey so it's about getting away with murder and social/Christian hypocrisy as represented by Virginia Ledoyen's taboo pregnancy by rape.

House of Voices is a film that explores the supernatural, sanity, religion, and even human limitations. Quite a lot to take on, but it attempts to do just this.

Anna takes a new position as a cleaning woman at an orphanage that is losing all but one of its children. While tending to her duties, Anna begins to experience traumatic visions and dreams. She begins to snoop about to find out what secrets this old building is keeping. Oh, and she is pregnant, and seems to be ashamed of it. How queer that she would wind up at an orphanage...

Call it Gothic, religious, a ghost story ... I think any of these theories can be a valid argument for this film. However, I do not believe the film has an established plot to the point where you could rule out an interpretation. The plot "develops" itself. That is what I have been told, and what I understand the director intended. But a little coaxing would have helped greatly, so the director fell short, and sadly, so did the film. There are not too many scares. It is definitely more of a suspenseful mystery. But I was wondering more of why she was even looking, and what did she think she would find? Details that would help the audience understand all the bumps in the night are too subtle. It takes too long to develop. And when I got to the end, I could not even tell you what I had just seen. It took much thinking, and some help from the interweb, to even decipher all the clues. But sadly, this film was not complex. I might be a little dim, which could explain my problem getting the hints and the overall film, but I think a lack of coherent story also has something to do with it.

Is it a terrible film? No. Did it disappoint? Yes. Will I watch it again? Yes. This film has all the elements of things I love about films, just done in a poor manner. House of Voices is stunningly gorgeous! Visually, I cannot think of another movie that rivals it. The cinematography alone is worth at least a rental. The setting is beautiful and haunting. The actresses carry the story well, and do a superb job. It is unfortunate that this film did not come together better. (My version had the movie only, so no special features to discuss, although I would like to get my hands on those.)

House of Voices (Rogue Picture/Universal) arrived on DVD on October 18th. The film stars Virginia Ledoyen. The film opens with a scene of two young children, a boy and a girl playing in a dark area which appears to be an old bathroom or shower area. It is completely dark and the little girl has the flashlight as the young boy decides to climb on to the edge of what seems to be a tub or a sink. He falls and hits his head on a porcelin object and when the girl goes to find him she screams in horror-he is dead. The film fast forwards to some time in the future, it's not quite clear how much time has elapsed, or what time period that the film takes place in. Virginia Ledoyen's character arrives at the place which is an old orphanage as an employee. The place is really creepy and she feels like she is being watched. Even creepier is a mysterious completly wacky young woman she meets that lives/works at the facility named Judy. Judy immediately clashes with the new woman and the mystery continues. Judy is on some serious medication as viewers witness the cook give her medicine on several occasions.

House of Voices is a classic spooky/ghost movie. There isn't an excessive amount of gore or violence. The DVD includes trailers for other Rogue pictures films (My Summer of Love), deleted scenes, and a featurette titled The Making of House of Voices

Cinematically this movie is quite beautiful, albeit a bit contrived. No good has ever come from a room full of murky bathtubs. The plot is equally murky, almost nonexistent. Whispering children, an empty hospital, vague statements, et al. Why are there two women and a crazy girl cleaning an abandoned hospital anyway? Who cares. If the film were in Japanese Hollywood would probably call it brilliant and remake "Saint Ange." But unfortunately the film is in English so we realize how bad it truly is. Save your money and your time. Skip this dreadfully boring film.

Saint Ange (Pascal Laugier, 2004)

While we on this side of the pond are subjected to French horror ranging from the mediocre (Brotherhood of the Wolf) to the awful (Haute Tension) on the big screen, take heart: the French have developed a cottage industry turning out small, exquisitely beautiful horror films that you can find if you look around a bit. Calvaire was the first instance of the breed I saw, and I was wowed by it; now I have found Saint Ange, and I was almost as impressed with this one. (Though there's nothing in it to top that bar dance in Calvaire, which is one of the most striking scenes in a horror movie in recent years.)

The plot revolves around the orphanage of the title, which is off in the middle of nowhere, and has recently been evacuated. (Why, we're never told, though it's inferred that the death of one of the children, shown in the film's opening scene, is part of it.) Only a skeleton crew are left, cleaning the place, including the newly-arrived Anna (Virginie Doyen), longtime resident Judith (Lou Doillon), and Francard (Catriona MacColl, in one of the longest-awaited returns to horror films in history), who's been working for Saint Ange, as she tells Anna early on, for more than thirty years. Judith is severely mentally disturbed, though we only gradually find out why; it has something to do with the "scary children", as one child we see at the beginning of the film calls a pack of ghosts who seemingly haunt the place. As Anna and Judith strike up an odd, but powerful, friendship, Anna comes to realize that Judith may be at the heart of the haunting, and becomes determined to find out who the scary children are.

Negative reviews of this movie abound, and I'll tell you right off the bat that if you're looking for a run-of-the-mill horror flick, this is not where you want to go. The first hour of Saint Ange views more like a film adaptation of a Maeve Binchy novel than it does a horror film. Laugier (who also wrote the screenplay) is content to let the material set up at its own pace. There's not even much ghostly activity once things get going; Anna's examination into the roots of the scary children is more like a mystery than anything you might consider horror. (Also, take note: while a good number of people debate what actually goes on in this film, all of them seem to miss one very important clue. I can't tell you what it is without spoilers, but note the picture on the record Anna finds in the hidden box.) It's a horror film in the way that Miike's Audition (a romantic comedy with gore, really) is a horror film; everything's pointing to other genres until the flick ramps up to its climax, and then all the sudden, wham, things get weird on you. Note that with this comparison, mind you, I am not trying to imply that Saint Ange is anywhere near is outrageously gory as Audition. In fact, it's all very low-key, as befits a film where the atmosphere delivers most of the creepiness.

Ledoyen (The Beach) and Doillon (the recent remake of Sisters) do their jobs competently here, but the real treasure is MacColl, one of Lucio Fulci's favorite leading ladies, and she's only gotten better as time has gone on. Much of the movie's atmosphere depends on the ambiguous nature of Francard's character, and MacColl pulls it off wonderfully. The technical details of the film are all competent, at least, and combine to create the creepy atmosphere Laugier was going for; I'm sure it could have been done better in the hands of a more experienced director (Laugier, a close compatriot of Christophe Gans, directed a number of the DVD extras for Brotherhood of the Wolf, but this is his first feature film), but I thought it worked rather well.

Go into it with an open mind. There's quite a rewarding experience to be had here. ****

After seeing that Rogue Pictures was releasing 'House Of Voices'(originally titled 'Saint Ange'), a horror flick from France, direct-to-video I got a bit interested. And after I saw that Christophe Gans(director of the fabulous 'Brotherhood of the Wolf')was producing it, I got even more interested. The movie is French, but was shot in English, I guess for international appeal because, godforbid, an American has to read a subtitle. So I watched it and was seriously disappointed. Here's the easiest way to sum the film up: high on atmosphere, low on making any sort of sense.

Anyways, here's basically what happens: in the early sixties(I think, its never really explained when exactly the movie takes place), Anna(played by a girl who looks like a French Natalie Portman with a pinch of Geena Davis thrown in), a young pregnant girl is hired to work at an orphanage, only when she arrives all the children are sent off to go to their new adoptive families, save for one clearly insane female orphan in her twenties. Due to her complete raving lunacy, she has never been adopted. Anna has to take care of the nutjob while doing other menial chores around the big old place. The only other person there is a fat old Russian lady who is the cook. Throw in a mystery about some dead children, a dilapitated building, and some nifty camera tricks and you would think you would get a good movie...but you don't.

'House Of Voices' is a beautiful looking film high on atmosphere(and, by the way, the set decorator deserves to have a long career in film)but low on any sort of cohesive plot. Its directed by Gans protege Pascal Laugier. Its Laugier's debut effort and it shows. The film looks beautiful but makes no sense whatsoever. I like films that leave you asking questions but literally nothing makes any sense in this film at all. This movie is a contradiction: the cinematography is beautiful but the ending is ludicrous, the sets are amazing but the script is horrid, the acting is very good but nothing makes any sense...and on and on and on. How can a movie look so good but be so bad?

'House Of Voices' is most definitely not a "must see" film. Its a frustrating film that, much like Gans' 'Silent Hill', is fun to look at but suffers in the plotting and script department. Now, I saw the bad reviews too but thought it still looked like a cool film. I figured these other people had to be wrong but trust me, they're not. My advice: Skip it.