Danger Lurks Beneath the Depths in Voices Carry
DIRECTED BY ABBY BRENKER AND ELLYN VANDER WYDEN/2025
A young woman is haunted by the ghosts of her past. This is a tagline that has become achingly familiar over the years. From famous films like Rosemary’s Baby , to the more recent The Others, there is no shortage of female-led thrillers that delve into the world of the supernatural. Directing and writing duo Abby Brenker and Ellyn Vander Wyden are creating their own interpretation of the genre with Voices Carry.
Sam (Gia Crovatin), a professional chef suffering the recent loss of her restaurant, has returned to her old childhood home in New Hampshire. Accompanied by her husband, Jack (Jeff Ayars), she is in search of a fresh start in this quaint small town. Within the first ten minutes of the film, it is excruciatingly clear that the young couple will not be receiving the respite they were hoping for. Between the couple’s disturbing interaction with Henry (Jeremy Holm), an old childhood friend of Sam’s, and her near drowning in the lake, this supposed retreat appears to be filled with potential dangers. There is an eerie presence haunting this quiet lake house and it just might spell tragedy for its new inhabitants. When Sam stumbles across a journal, she learns about the tragic history of the women in the town. This discovery sparks an obsession within Sam, triggering a downward spiral that threatens to drag her down into the depths.
All of the pieces are here to build the standard psychological thriller: the paranoid wife, the increasingly annoyed husband, the unsettling neighbor, an isolated environment. It is oddly refreshing that Brinker and Vander Wyden delve right into the genre with little attempt to redefine its boundaries. The occasional dash of horror is an exciting touch that definitely elevates the film as a whole. Stereotypical plot aside, it is hard to argue that Voices Carry is not brimming with imagery textbook of an East Coast thriller. The shots of the open lake and surrounding wilderness are equal parts haunting as they are naturally beautiful.
Unfortunately, the film’s 90-minute runtime hardly serves up any true thrills. It is difficult to ignore the moments of choppy editing or the occasional piece of unnatural dialogue that the actors stumble their way through. Most striking perhaps is the film’s subjects themselves. Considering the amount of time the audience spends with this very limited cast, one would imagine that this would result in fully fleshed-out characters. For as much time as the audience spends with these characters, they still remain rather static and not at all compelling. The only exception to this is Sam, and even then, it feels as though the team behind Voices Carry are only scratching the surface with her potential. Because of this, the audience is not nearly as invested in her eventual unraveling.
There is a vision here, but also a notable disconnect when it comes to the execution that causes the project to fall short of the mark. Various interesting concepts are addressed yet are never entirely followed through. Perhaps the most compelling of these is the connection to generational trauma and mental health. As Sam begins to spiral, Henry makes the keen observation that “depression feels a little bit like possession”. After this comment, the following events feel less supernatural and significantly more realistic. Is Sam truly cursed, or have her current circumstances plunged her into a depression that she cannot escape? Brenker and Vander Wyden make a valiant effort to contribute to the discussion surrounding guilt, mental health, and trauma that sadly sinks into the dark depths of obscurity.
Voices Carry premieres at Cinequest 2025.