Echoes from the Void
A psychiatrist interviewing a mysterious prisoner finds the line between fiction and reality dissolving as four interconnected tales reveal a sinister force that has existed far longer than anyone imagined.
Excerpt
I’m always impressed by the ingenuity of directors working with small budgets. To produce what are essentially four short films and put them inside this narrative is quite the feat.
A Horror with Great Potential
Dr. Erin Murphy (Amie Henry) is having a bad day. From the moment she’s ripped from sleep and assigned a new case to when she begrudgingly accepts the case and takes a swig from her flask for mettle, it’s clear she’s not exactly excelling at life. She’s a criminal psychologist and her patient is introduced to her only as “Bob” (very Twin Peaks (1990)). Bob was last seen talking to Amy Wells – a young woman who has recently gone missing. As Dr. Murphy tries to gather information on Bob (Jaysen Buterin), the seemingly troubled man decides to take Dr. Murphy on her own journey. They won’t be leaving the room with the security guard posted outside; Dr. Murphy’s journey will be a journey of the mind. Echoes From the Void (2026) is an indie horror anthology that has a creative premise, but the execution may be a bit too mysterious.
The wrap-around scenes are kept mostly to our troubled doctor and mostly unhelpful patient. Bob understands who Dr. Murphy is, and reveals a little more of what he knows after each vignette. We’re treated to four full stories; “One”, “The Resurrection of Amy Barlow”, “Rocks”, and “The Elsewhere Room”. These are stories woven together with the thread of existential dread, the supernatural, and the fight between good and evil. As a Tales From the Crypt (1989) style horror anthology series, this premise could work well. But as a film that relies on the interconnectivity between the projects, there may be some cohesion lacking.
The four tales vacillate between being extremely supernatural and then not at all. The first involves a woman battling her multiple personalities. The second we follow a man dealing with 20 years of guilt after making a terrible decision. The next is a tale of a safe heist with a twist and the final deals with a house that may not fully exist on the temporal plane. While all of the stories are interesting, there’s little that connects them to the overarching thread or even to each other. It’s why as a movie, this premise doesn’t fully work, but as a backdoor pilot or series debut, it’s right on the money.
This is not to say the film isn’t entertaining because it is. I’m always impressed by the ingenuity of directors working with small budgets. To produce what are essentially four short films and put them inside this narrative is quite the feat. Writer Brad Hord is known mostly as a composer (he produced music and songs for the film and the soundtrack is definitely a plus of the film. He’s also credited with writing The Resurrection of Amy Barlow (2024) which appears in Echoes From the Void. He’s got several other writing and producing credits and seems to work in partnership with director Robert Filion who is also a cinematographer and editor. They seem to work with a tight knit group of actors and I think that always points to success for indie projects.
The care is shown on the screen. The Elsewhere Room is easily the most ambitious of the vignettes and the special effects are well managed and presented despite budget limitations. The story could use a bit more fleshing out, but as a tease, it’s a great effort. It’s hard to fully critique Echoes from the Void because it still feels in-progress. The film has great bones and a strong frame but it relies more on potential than realized success.
I’m interested to see more and I believe that this director can create a collaborative film that features collective horror with new and exciting (and frightening) ideas. Echoes from the Void is a promising start, but the journey has just begun.
Echoes From the Void is available now on Prime Video
Score 6/10