The Voice Inside (2001) User Reviews

A Real Eye-Opener

[Kabby2001 · 8/10 · 2 March 2006]

Alone on the subway, a man's suppressed inner voice comes back with a vengeance. Trying to push it back with medication, it only pisses the voice off more. Making it home, the voice shows its anger in a vengeance. Will the victim/antagonist be able to suppress the voice once again or will he succumb to the voice? Coming in at a mere thirteen minutes, this movie short should be a template for others. From beginning to end this flows smoothly. Filmed in a gritty black and white, this just makes this short more realistic. This film really makes you think. This is something that can actually happen to anyone at anytime.

This short film holds nothing back. It shows, if not taken care of, how mad your "inner voice" can get. It shows in graphic detail, exactly what can happen. When I say graphic, I do mean graphic. For instance, our victim/antagonist bashes his own head repeatedly into a wall, smashes himself several times in the face with metal burners from a stove, then a scene with a hammer handle, that I won't even begin to describe. You'll have to see this for yourself. There also a very graphic puking scene not to be missed. This scene alone would make the likes of director Lucifer Valentine proud.

For a movie short, this is full of emotion. It's disturbing to say the least. It's the type of film that you know happens to people and can happen to you, but are afraid to think of the possibility. It shows how messed up your mind could actually get.

My biggest complaint with this movie was that it wasn't long enough. I can't wait to see the next release from Biff Juggernaut, which is Lovercracked. I give this an 8 out 10 hammer handle pain filled moments.

i will never look at a hammer in the same way again

[stephenpaultaylor · 7/10 · 23 July 2005]

'The Voice Inside' is disturbing although not as horrific as I had been led to believe. It follows the adventures of a nameless average joe as he is tortured by a 'voice' that torments him endlessly.

I liked the concept; somebody tormented by a voice and driven to such lengths that he basically mutilates himself, and as the violence gets more and more horrific, as does the humour, in a Peter Jackson 'Bad Taste' sort of way, but I felt that certain things could have been accentuated to exaggerate and enhance this original concept. Small parts of the film, like some of the slowed down sequences, felt unnecessary and slowed the film down, and I also felt the film could have been pushed even more. I know that seems hard to state, considering the amount of grotesque, self-mutilating behaviour that occurs, but something really over the top would have really brought the shock and the self-deprecating humour out even more... such as after the anal sequence, if the intestines fell out or something equally as ludicrous. Either that, or if the anal scene was longer or contained more gruesome close ups or what have you. I also think that when our hero mutilates his face, it would have been nice had he really gone far and if his face was really quite mashed up... I think that would have enhanced the humorous aspect of the movie, as well as the horror. THat being said, the disgust and horror still emerges.

The film, in its very concept, is cartoony, and the self-mutilating bludgeoning was very comical. The film and the credits are low-fi and simply done. The camera-work works for what it is, and there is a nice shot when our hero is riding the hammer and he looks up with a look of absolute terror on his face. It really enhances the absurdity and terror of the moment.

For me, the most fascinating quality about the film was the idea that the horror is created by the victim, who is both victim and terrorizer. It's also interesting how a hammer, a typically 'male' tool, is used in the film.. especially since a hammer seems the archetypal heterosexual male instrument. the filmmaker seems to be making a statement about masculinity and it's role in horror films...

The film seems to be poking fun at the 'inner voice' that's heard in umpteen horrors and thrillers. I found myself wondering about the character... who is he? where is he coming from? what are the pills? and i wonder if the film would have been stronger had these questions been answered. I cannot say. But I found myself wondering what led him to self mutilation and sodomy and wonder if it would have added an extra layer to the film, had we seen the transformation. Otherwise, it's horrific and disturbing, but inexplicable.

It's not perfect, and could have been tighter and elements could have been enhanced to bring out the horror and comedy even moreso, but that being said, the film was well done, well edited and manages to shock. The puking and writhing scene at the toilet is classic.

If you start hearing voices like this, take my advice and listen to them....

[Snoog · 8/10 · 1 March 2005]

This extremely impressive short movie is one of the darkest and disturbing shorts i've seen in a long time.

Shot in wonderfully crisp black and white, it tells the story of a young man and the voice inside his head, which torments him and refuses to be repressed with medication. And when our protagonist speaks up against the voice and talks back to it...well, the voice isn't too happy....to say the least, and goes about teaching him a lesson in a sort of extremely cruel and sadistic "respect your elders" kinda way hehe.

What follows is really quite shocking, but also darkly comic (like blacker than black dark)

Certainly worth watching if you're a fan of extreme cinema, and especially if you're a fan of films like Eraserhead and Tetsuo: The Iron Man, as the dark subject matter and black and white cinematography tend to remind you of them. (The reason i saw it in the first place is because I'm a big Tetsuo fan, and heard that this film had been compared to it in the past)

Enjoy....

One sick twisted ****

[rcmsweet · 10/10 · 26 November 2005]

It did tens times more in 13 minutes then "Last House on the Left" did in 91 minutes. Makes "The Exorcist" look like an amateur and "Hellraiser" doesn't even compare with what's in this picture. "The Blair Witch Project" can take a hike and Friday the 13th now just Friday. This ain't no Nightmare on Elm Street, it's borderline serious. No filmmaker could ever be this sick and twisted and appear to be normal in public but Biff Juggernaut is the man and Elias is truly talented and brilliant. Horror films to me are the most unpredictable films you can watch and still enjoy it, but if your going to see this bad a**, you better have a strong stomach.

The dark voices in our heads

[images-10 · 10/10 · 14 April 2005]

This is a macabre view of the sometimes little demons we must all fight daily. He tries to suppress them with drugs only to have them unleash their forces. This is a fight of mind over body. The director is also the actor and in acting out his own vision it really made the character come through and made the film as powerful as it should be. It was excellent acting, dialogue and cinematography. On top of that the director/actor is a clearly sweet and nice guy and I am really glad I have been able to help him. I will be personally screening this film at a local film night I am hosting in Miami. I can't wait to see people's reactions.

Extremely extreme and supremely disturbed.

[cpburrowes · 10/10 · 26 March 2006]

I was told I had to watch this but that I should wait until I had a high speed internet connection. Got it and watched it. I'm not easily disturbed anymore but this thing did it to me. The most intense movie I've seen in a long time and it's only 13 minutes long so I urge you to give it a try. I dare you to give it a try. Go ahead! Excellent that will disturb all those turds cobwebbed in the back of your head. Like G G Allin in a film by Richard Kern. Must view at least once just to prove you can. This may not have been a life altering experience but then again...it's just a movie. At least I hope it was. Excellent effects for a low budget short. This little movie pushes buttons other filmmakers would be afraid to put their fingers on.

It speaks to me...

[murderonfilm · 8/10 · 30 September 2005]

The Voice Inside is doing what all independent horror shorts should be doing; It pushes the envelope. It's daring and disgusting, loathsome and lovable. Relying solely on a cast of ONE it could easily have become stale but Elias' (protagonist/antagonist) story maintains a good pace as the film moves towards the payoff. It's an ugly film and some people will find it disturbing but that's exactly what Elias & Co wants you to feel. On that level it's pure gold. Sitting comfortably one step above TROMA and just under Jackson's Bad Taste, The Voice Inside has a bit of a film school quality to it (whether the creators went to school or not I don't know?) and Elias occasional 'Bruce Campbell-isms' flirt with Raimi's classic a tad too much. But all in all it plays very well and you can't shake the feeling that you've watched something quite original and utterly disturbing. A (short) breath of fresh air in a land of stinky remakes.

great example of a well made short filled with jet black humour.

[drawbunny · 20 February 2005]

Biff Juggenaut's 'the voice inside' is a well made piece of film with an incredible cast assemble of one! Yes, they manage to pull off such a great story with only one cast member. It shows our long suffering character listening to the voice inside his head. It soon leads to him mutilating himself in very nasty ways. Put it like this, male viewers will cringe and are likely to cover their eyes whilst some women will be cheering him on. The humour is jet black and done in bad taste, but in the good way. The whole concept of the story seems very simple yet it is very effective how the film-makers have pulled it off. I look forward to seeing more from these guys.