Cinequest Film Festival 2025 – Voices Carry is a non-traditional, slow-burn ghost story. Beyond that, it’s also an exploration of grief and an examination of a failing relationship. Though the film contains doses of eeriness, it’s a well-scripted human drama more than anything else.

Directed and written by Abby Brenker and Ellyn Vander Wyden, the film stars Gia Crovatin as Sam. She’s reeling from the loss of her mother and the fact that her restaurant closed. Though Sam is a star chef, she can’t find new footing. Because of that, she and her husband, Jack (Jeff Ayars), move to a remote location in New Hampshire, hoping to start anew. At first, the relocation seems promising. Sam even decides to go into the pickling business, hoping to sell at the local farmer’s market and a cute country store in town.

It’s clear almost immediately, however, that something seems off. The home has too much baggage and family trauma. It’s where Sam lost her mom. How that happened becomes evident late in the film, but it won’t be spoiled here. Meanwhile, Jack suspects a nosy neighbor, Henry (Jeremy Holm), may not have the best intentions. In fact, Henry watches much of what Jack and Sam do. He’s ever-present, to Jack’s dismay. This creates warranted and layered tension, though Henry claims he just has Sam’s best interests at heart, since he’s known her for years. Holm offers one of the film’s best performances, keeping his character’s true intentions largely veiled from the audience, at least initially.

As the film creeps along, Sam hears voices. She also uncovers a diary that explains violent local history, as well as her family’s connection to it all. The film takes its time unpacking the various layers and complicated family history, all while building a sense of dread. The snowy atmosphere only reinforces Sam’s eventual sense of isolation.

Ultimately, Sam sinks into a depression, straining her relationship with Jack even more. It’s in the second half of the movie that Grovatin dials up her performance. You start to feel her character’s pain and crippling depression. It’s gets to the point Sam can barely leave the house. Her mental health struggles will likely feel relatable to some viewers, as well as the portrayal of depression, which becomes an entity unto itself, possessing Sam until she can hardly function.

That said, while the film’s runtime is lean, the pacing does feel sluggish. Anyone going into this film expecting a straight-up ghost story, or possession film, will be disappointed. The scares are few and far between. Instead, the film functions more as a character study, showcasing Sam’s decline and the weight of family trauma and history. The ending is well-scripted, though it’s hinted at several times.

Voices Carry is an atmospheric indie film that shows the mental unraveling of its protagonist. Though the pacing is slow, the human drama carries the film to a heartbreaking conclusion.