Decibel

Film: Decibel

Year: 2024

Director: Zac Locke

Writers: Stephen Christensen and Matt Wise

Starring: Aleyse Shannon, Stefanie Estes and Colby Groves

Review:

This was a movie that I learned about thanks to the Nightmares Film Festival. It was the second movie on the first night. I thought I recognized the director’s name as he’s directed three movies now, all have shown at this festival, where I’ve seen them. He did #Float and Santa Isn’t Real. I saw improvement from his first to second so I was excited for this third feature. This is also the US premiere.

Synopsis: when a struggling singer-songwriter gets an opportunity of a lifetime to work with a tech-obsessed music producer, her art and life are put into peril as she is forced to help create the perfect AI music algorithm.

We start this by seeing a small music venue/bar in Los Angeles. An interesting way of introducing our lead is seeing a poster that she’s playing here. Her name is Scout (Aleyse Shannon). I’m not entirely sure how to describe the music she plays, but I have a buddy, Mark, who makes music like this. It has been a positive discovery as I’m a fan. It is recording sounds around you and then incorporating it with technology. Scout also sings and plays instruments as well.

After her set, she meets Donna (Stefanie Estes) at the bar. What we learn is that she is rich. She was part of a company that was big in medical technology. Something that was brought up later, she was pushed out of the company. She now has time to set her sights on making this ultramodern studio. Currently, a band is recording there. Scout is shocked that Donna is here, listening to her play. Scout is asked if she wants to come to the studio and record there. She refuses at first, but bills are stacking up. She agrees.

It is in the middle of the desert. Scout is excited to record sounds around the area and incorporate it into her music. Here she also meets the band members, a duo of Jackie (Eden Perry) and Lee (Matt Wise). There is also an engineer named Griff (Colby Groves). He and Scout hit it off, which annoys Donna because she is particular about how things are done.

Scout goes into the studio where we see there are no instruments. It is all done with screens and monitors. It has all the equipment through this technology that she could want or need. The same goes for instruments. This throws her off, as she likes to do things more organic. She has old equipment, but that brings charm. This dream becomes a nightmare when Scout is isolated in the studio and forced to make the music that Donna demands. Scout isn’t used to working with a producer and that is just the start of her nightmare, as she can’t seem to break away.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. What I’ll confirm here again is that I’m loving seeing the continual growth of our director Locke. This is my favorite of his three films now and I’d continue to see what he puts out. There are interesting elements here that are explored. I’d say it is more on the nose, which could be a problem for some. I’m not sure how else you’d handle it though. I did want to say that.

Now that I’ve set that up, let me delve deeper here. This is an upfront look at the use of AI and technology. Donna is an interesting character. She is a billionaire who is out of touch with reality. She spearheaded good things for the medical technology that her former company uses. There is an interesting look at this when Scout is shown to her room at the studio. There is a mirror that scans her body to check for breast cancer. Donna doesn’t even ask. She just turns it on. We see this bothers Scout. What I like about this is Donna testing boundaries. It is also a good way to show that she does things that make normal people pause. She doesn’t see the issue. Estes was good in this role. She gets even more unhinged as stress mounts as well.

Let’s then shift over to this other character of Scout. I feel bad for her. She just wants to make her music but we’re seeing the world we are in beating her down. She is behind on her bills. Eviction and being kicked out of this collective she is a part of due to not paying the fees forces her to take this deal with Donna. There is also this idea of working with cutting-edge equipment and technology that interests her. We also see the dangers that come with ‘selling out’. This is an interesting look at the music industry and how capitalism can kill that creativity. I’d say that element is veiled well and not as in your face. Shannon was also great in her role here.

I think that brings me to explore more into this technology. I love that we have two people on opposite ends. Scout is poor, but she’s musically talented. She can make songs almost at will. She prefers using real instruments and allowing the songs to develop organically. Donna on the other hand was forced to practice music growing up. She is too analytical now and relies on technology. She can’t understand why Scout doesn’t see what she’s doing. She tries to force that like her mother did to her. There’s also the idea that with how much money she’s spent on all this, it should be better than the older equipment Scout works with. With technology and AI coming to the forefront, especially with how it can replace jobs or people doing things. I love exploring this idea here.

That is all I have to say with the story, because I’ll be honest, it is basic in scope. I don’t want that to seem that I’m diminishing this though, that’s not the case. I’ll shift over to filmmaking here. Since this focuses so much on music and making it, the soundtrack is where I’ll start. I love what they’re doing. This type of music is something that I’m getting into more as of late and it fits so well. Seeing Scout work is great and what she creates. It is interesting to see the creative process. That fit what this film needed. I thought that the cinematography and framing were also good to focus on certain things. That captures the vibe of people descending into madness. This is limited in the effects used and it is mostly with showing us this ‘technology’. That worked as well.

All that is left then is acting. I’ve already said that our two leads are good. Groves works as this engineer who gets close in the short time he's with Scout. We also see him butt heads with Donna. I thought he fit what was needed there. Perry and Wise work as the couple who are at the studio ahead of Scout. She is a fan, but they aren’t impressed. The acting here fit what they needed to bring the characters to life.

In conclusion, I rather enjoyed the story that this is presenting. We get an interesting take on AI vs. human art. Scout wants to make her music while Donna has other plans. There is commentary about capitalism underneath it as well. I love the music here, but I know it won’t be for everyone. Seeing how it comes together impressed me as well. Other than that, I thought this was well made from the cinematography and framing, to not only capture this being set in an isolated desert, but also helping to build tension. Especially when our characters are pushed to their limits. This won’t be for everyone. I still think it is a solid film.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10