The Block Island Sound Movie Review

People always say there aren’t enough good sci-fi movies, either that or that they will watch any of them. The Block Island Sound movie premiered at 2020’s Fantasia Film Festival and this mystery thriller was Mother of Movies’ most anticipated suspense film. After the success of the Shudder Original, The Beach House, and earlier that same year Gunpowder & Sky’s Sea Fever it’s safe to say movie lovers like the idea of mysterious forces. Especially if the narrative takes place somewhere isolated.

The one-minute teaser trailer below is a seldom-seen great example of how to pique one’s interest. The trailer doesn’t give the ending of The Block Island Sound away. It also gives you just enough to make you want to know more. The Block Island Sound movie is much the same. The story is about a fisherman and his son living on an island where things get weird.

The Block Island Sound Teaser Trailer

Sci-Fi & Thriller Movies

Dead fish roll up on the shore by the hundreds. Tom’s (Neville Archambault) daughter is called in to investigate the strange phenomenon and test the waters. Tom lives with his son, Harry (Chris Sheffield) and he’s getting on in years. The sudden onset of some odd behavior from Tom is written off as something that just happens to all of us eventually. Harry thinks his dad might be displaying early-onset dementia. All he can do is keep an eye on him.

The audience is treated to the low throb gargling sound that seems to be coming from within Tom. And it’s the viewer who knows that Tom woke up on his fishing boat, surrounded by dead fish with no recollection of what happened. We get the inside scoop that Tom doesn’t have dementia. Something strange is going on.

Archambault (who starred in 13 Cameras) performs brilliantly as a man on the edge of sanity without knowing what’s happening to him. When he disappears at sea, the family that had slowly been disintegrating over time comes together to swap insults and lay on the guilt. The background of family turmoil offsets the strange bouts as Tom becomes increasingly erratic in between the build-up of tension. It certainly helps in integrating the mystery as it steadily builds in the background.

Brave Fish In The Block Island Sound

As Audrey, Tom’s daughter (played by Michaela McManus,) fields the brewing trouble within her smaller by-the-minute clan, she also looks into what’s happening in the environment. Dead birds appear and seem to have fallen from the sky. More importantly, Harry begins to break down suddenly fatigued with headaches, missing time, and the urge to take items and deliver them to the ocean.

Of course, I’m not going to spoil anything about this particular story for The Block Island Sound. It’s a great example of a slow-burn sci-fi thriller with supernatural tendencies that only lets you in on its secret when it feels like it’s ready. The payoff isn’t gobsmacking shocking but overall, this is a solid entry for cinephiles looking for a reason to question the way humans study our Earth.

The Block Island Sound is rated

4 It’s ok because we put them back after out of 5

The McManus Brothers

The McManus Brothers (Matthew and Kevin) wrote and directed The Block Island Sound but many will know them from their Emmy Award-nominated series American Vandal. They also produced one of Mother of Movies’ favorite slimy internet movies 13 Cameras and their feature debut was Funeral Kings.

The Block Island Sound

Director: Matthew McManus, Kevin McManus

Date Created: 2021-03-11 19:24

Editor's Rating:
4