Decibel is a haunting and slow-burn thriller that draws you in with a fascinating drip of mystery, suspense, and just the right amount of weirdness.
This film takes its time, revealing pieces of the story gradually, leaving you constantly guessing what lies at the heart of the story.
The movie is driven by an eerie sense of unease that builds up scene after scene, just as our protagonist, Scout, wonderfully played by Aleyse Shannon, finds herself increasingly trapped in a bizarre, disorienting situation.
Scout, who is a struggling singer-songwriter, is given the opportunity of a lifetime: an invitation to work with Donna, a reclusive yet wildly ambitious tech mogul who’s deeply obsessed with music and frequencies.
Played by Stefanie Estes, Donna is unsettlingly composed, like someone who knows far more than she lets on, and her focus on the “perfect AI music algorithm” hints at something darker beneath the surface.
Donna brings Scout to her secluded desert retreat, aptly named Decibel, where her situation turns into a nightmarish experience.
From the beginning, there’s a sense that Scout is in way over her head. Donna sees potential in Scout’s work but doesn’t reveal her true intentions, creating an atmosphere of distrust and ambiguity.
Scout doesn’t know why she’s really there, and that feeling of losing contact with reality bleeds into the audience’s experience as well. You feel Scout’s disorientation, her excitement, her anxiety.
The cinematography and the claustrophobic setting add to this effect, making you feel as if there’s no escape for Scout.
What really works for Decibel is its use of technology in the story as both a tool and a threat. Scout is given access to futuristic, boundary-pushing technology to help create her music.
Donna, who is acting as the enigmatic mentor, urges her to explore music within her that she doesn’t even know she has. But as the film progresses, the technological tools begin to feel more like traps. Donna lures Scout deeper into a reality where she has less and less control.
It’s trippy, unsettling, and at times, terrifying as she starts to lose herself in this chaotic pursuit of Donna’s impossible vision.
Director Zac Locke masterfully amplifies the discomfort, making every scene feel like it’s teetering on the edge of a nightmare.
Scout is eager to see what she discovers but terrified of what it might mean. The story escalates into something surreal, and when the final pieces fall into place, it’s both a revelation and a descent into madness.
Decibel isn’t just a film about the dangers of technology or the price of ambition. It’s about power, control, and the intoxicating allure of the unknown.
If you’re in the mood for a slow-burn thriller that pulls you in, keeps you guessing, and leaves you with a haunting sense of dread, Decibel is worth checking out.
