Haunters of the Silence is a deeply experimental film. The feature, which lacks a cohesive narrative and is mostly silent, really isn’t for the general horror crowd. However, its arthouse aesthetic may have an audience out there somewhere, especially for those who enjoy striking visuals. The images, at least, make for some impressive eye candy.
The movie stars co-writer and co-director Tatu Heikkinen as K. Very little is known about this man, though for a majority of the runtime, he barely leaves his house. The camera frequently shows an image of a woman in a photo frame, and it’s fair to assume that she’s K’s wife. In fact, Veleda Thorsson-Heikkinen is credited simply as “The Wife.” It’s also safe to assume she’s no longer among the living. That said, very little else is known about her, including her cause of death or what the relationship was like between she and K.
In fact, for most of this film, we’re treated to artsy shots, such as a spider hanging from is web, K’s tea mug, or simply K ruminating about what he lost. Though the shots are visually arresting, for sure, and well photographed, they become a bit tedious by the halfway point, especially since the film lacks a cohesive narrative. There’s only so much of the spider we can take.
Early into the film, mysterious figures known as “The Haunters of the Silence” torment K, blurring his reality with nightmare visions. The central figure is simply called Hat Man (John Haughm), and part of the interactions between K and Hat Man are shown through comic strips, which is an impressive visual and some of the only breadcrumbs of actual story the film offers.
That said, it’s unclear what these mysterious figures, as frightening as they look, want with K. Again, this movie could have benefited from more narrative. It’s an increasingly frustrating watch. Late in the film, a voice over sort of explains what these figures are, but not enough to justify their interactions with K.
Some of the film’s influences are clear. The way the film toys with light, shadow, and silence resembles German Expressionist films like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. This feature even uses title cards at points. Yet, those 1920s German films had more narrative structure, so viewers didn’t feel completely lost. That’s not the case here.
Haunters of the Silence certainly contains haunting images that merge nightmare visions with reality. That said, this film is likely too experimental for the average viewer. There’s just not enough narrative given to justify a viewer sticking with this until the end credits.
