Where I Watched it: Hulu

English Audio Description Provided By: Descriptive Video Works

Narrated By: Arran Henn

Written By: Jeff Heck

(I wrote the review first, and was provided the name of the writer after the review was posted, and I wanted to give credit.)

It’s a shame that I can’t credit the writer of this audio description, since it basically is the core experience any blind or visually impaired user would encounter. Sure, Erin provides a rather fantastic voice for the piece, but it’s the written script and how detailed it is that makes or breaks a film with no dialogue.

this film is for all intents and purposes a silent film. Most people refer to The Artist as such, because despite a few uttered words, the film is silent. That’s the same case here. Despite hiring a terrific actress like Kaitlyn Dever, the director of this has chosen to aggressively pursue no talking. It’s obnoxious.

There are some things here that would have held up so much better if the film wasn’t trying for a speechless gimmick. The fear of home invasion is real, but when the home is being invaded by aliens, and you happen to be a social pariah, literally no one is coming to save you. There are moments before that could have had dialogue. There’s a delivery driver in particular that goes out of his way to not speak, but pantomimes instead. And, it’s not like these people can’t talk, because as I said, there is an incredibly small amount of spoken dialogue. So the fact that these people have vocal ability, and the director thinks he’s being super cool is why I can’t be bothered by this film.

It’s a catchy idea, it gets a little lost forcing the no sound idea into situations that jsut feel so damn awkward, but that lack of speech leaves the film wide open for audio description. This is one of those films, like john Wick 4, that have come out this year and live and die by the narration. Thank God the narration is award worthy. From terrific character descriptions, to taking the full advantage of the silence by describing the house as much as possible, this film ends up feeling lived in. To be honest, I scored this film higher than it deserves because its accessibility is so good.

Otherwise, it’s obnoxious. if I could see, I would have hated this, because I wouldn’t have had access to the tremendous work done by the team at Descriptive Video Works. no one can save you from no one Can Save you but yourself.

Final Grade: C-