There’s something oddly confounding about Voices (1973), a British psychological thriller directed by Kevin Billington. Based on the play by Richard Lortz, the film aspires to be a chilling ghost story steeped in grief, loss, and the supernatural. However, what it delivers is a slow-moving, tepid narrative that can’t quite decide if it wants to be a psychological drama, a horror film, or a half-baked soap opera about a couple grieving the loss of their child. Sadly, it doesn’t succeed at being any of these things, instead stumbling its way through a plot that’s more irritating than eerie.
The premise itself is a promising one: Robert and Claire Williams, a couple shattered by the accidental drowning death of their young son, retreat to a secluded manor to try to rebuild their lives. It’s the perfect setup for a psychological horror tale—grief-stricken parents haunted by their past, a foggy house with dark secrets, and an atmosphere ripe for creeping dread. Unfortunately, what could have been an engaging exploration of loss and the supernatural instead devolves into a series of plodding, melodramatic moments, topped off with a twist that feels more like a poorly executed gimmick than a satisfying revelation.
David Hemmings stars as Robert, the husband trying to hold it together while his wife Claire, played by Gayle Hunnicutt, spirals into madness after their son’s death. The film opens with a tragic and somewhat absurd scene: Claire’s suicide attempts and mental breakdowns, as she is haunted by the memory of their son, David, who drowned while the couple was engaged in an incredibly ill-timed love-making session on their boat. Yes, you read that correctly. The tragic accident that sets this whole story into motion is so bizarre that it risks undermining the entire emotional weight of the film. Instead of tragic, it comes off as absurd—how could any reasonable person believe that this incident would be the emotional anchor of the film?
The film’s pacing is a major culprit in its failure to resonate. After Claire’s release from the mental hospital, the couple heads to the countryside to a large Georgian manor that was left to Claire by her recently deceased aunt. The foggy, isolated setting should evoke a sense of dread, but the only thing that’s foggy here is the plot. Instead of escalating tension, the film lingers unnecessarily on Claire’s psychological deterioration and Robert’s attempts to comfort her. The strange, inexplicable voices she begins to hear in the house could have been an intriguing mystery, but instead, they are more annoying than anything else.
As Claire begins to see ghostly apparitions, including a young girl named Jessica and her family, the film starts to veer into supernatural territory. But rather than chilling the audience with suspense, these apparitions feel more like a distraction from the real problem: Claire’s overwhelming grief. There is a palpable lack of any real connection between the supernatural events and the emotional core of the story. When the couple is finally confronted with the twist—that they’ve been dead all along, ever since their car crash—it’s not so much a shocking revelation as it is an eye-roll inducing moment. The film sets this up so clumsily that it hardly feels like a plot twist at all.
The acting is equally underwhelming. David Hemmings, typically a solid actor, does what he can with the rather one-note role of Robert, but he’s stuck in a script that doesn’t give him much to work with. Gayle Hunnicutt, as Claire, gives a performance that veers into overacting, especially as her character’s mental state deteriorates. Claire’s increasing paranoia and grief should feel tragic, but Hunnicutt’s exaggerated reactions make it hard to take her plight seriously. The lack of subtlety in the performances makes it difficult to empathize with either character, and by the time the film reaches its supposed emotional crescendo, we’re too disengaged to care.
The film’s attempts at creating suspense are laughable at best. The supernatural occurrences, such as the unexplained voices and ghostly sightings, are delivered with all the impact of a second-rate haunted house attraction. Instead of being unsettling, these moments feel like forced scares, relying on cliches and tired horror tropes that don’t land. The fog, the eerie mansion, the creepy children—nothing here feels fresh or exciting. The lack of a real sense of danger or genuine tension renders the film’s attempts at horror completely impotent.
Visually, Voices does little to elevate the story. The foggy, atmospheric shots of the mansion and countryside should have been haunting, but the cinematography feels flat and uninspired. The film’s dull visual style matches its tedious pacing, making it feel like a long, drawn-out ordeal rather than a suspenseful thriller. The flashbacks that fill in the backstory of the couple’s tragic loss only add to the drag, as the film spends too much time revisiting the same themes of grief without offering anything new or insightful.
Ultimately, Voices is a film that promises much but delivers little. The combination of a melodramatic storyline, uninspiring performances, and a twist that feels more like a cheat than a revelation leaves the audience frustrated rather than frightened. The supernatural elements, rather than enhancing the emotional core of the story, only serve to muddle the narrative and distract from what could have been a compelling exploration of grief and loss.
If you’re looking for a psychological drama that offers real depth and genuine scares, Voices is not it. It’s a clumsy, poorly executed ghost story that fails to deliver on either an emotional or a supernatural level. With its over-the-top performances and lack of atmosphere, it’s a ghost story that barely has a pulse.
