Fear is the main factor that can lead us to stop our lives due to not being able to predict what each decision we could make will bring us. But fear can also drive others to live learning from mistakes. The Silent Party (in Spanish, La Fiesta Silenciosa) is an Argentinian thriller that seems to take elements from other films dealing with home invasion and its variants, and makes it clear that in its world fear is temporary and must be annihilated when it turns into your worst nightmare.

Laura (Jazmín Stuart) and Daniel (Esteban Bigliardi) are one night away from getting married and, at the request of Laura’s insistent father (Gerardo Romano), they will have the event in the house where she grew up. While they are finalizing the preparations for the wedding, Laura begins to show some denial at the idea of ​​marrying Daniel, a man who proves to be reasonable in some things and quite foolish in others. For this reason, Laura decides one night to go for a walk in the woods that connects to the backyard of the house to clear her mind due to a nervous breakdown and because of the uncertainty of the future that keeps her restless. As she walks, Laura comes across a silent party where everyone is wearing headphones to avoid disturbing the neighbors with their music. At this party, Laura crosses paths again with people who recently coincided in her life for a moment, but these faces are not familiar nor friendly and, therefore, will lead her to complicate her future even more, giving a horrifying twist to her life.

The Silent Party tells a story that could be based on real events for the reason it triggers the main trio’s violent revenge during the second act. Each character has a reason for wanting to get even with the group of characters portrayed as the antagonists of the story. However, the anger of the characters, with the exception of Laura’s character, becomes questionable– it seems to leave loose ends open to the audience’s interpretation due to the details narrated throughout the plot. But, at the same time, this also acts as an open invitation for the audience to wonder if it has been left that way for the purpose of capturing the current judgments society makes in a similar situation.

The performances of Stuart and Romano are pristine, and stand out above the rest. It seems the direction for them was different than for the rest of the cast since the others don’t stand out and remain at the same level. Unfortunately, the story is full of outdated clichés and stereotypes that once worked in 1980s movies– it makes it difficult to prioritize a subject as sensitive as the one it shows, even if it tries to raise its voice as a wake-up call.

What helps the film to consider giving it a try is the handling of suspense and the cinematography– it’s well executed. There’s no moment where the viewer gets to feel comfortable with what’s happening, whether it is during a stalking scene as the characters are seen slowly walking towards their possible outcome or when the imagery conveys the same claustrophobic feeling from the characters.

The Silent Party could go unnoticed because it’s not loud enough. It is intentionally metaphorical due to the imposed elements, but the lack of resources in the plot creates some uncertainty about what it wants to express: happily ever after or until death does us justice.

6 OUT OF 10 VIDEO RECORDINGS