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Movie poster for Noise (2023)

Noise

2023
1h 30m
16 · Dutch
Director: Steffen Geypens
Search on Netflix

Overview

Matt, an influencer and young parent to newborn Julius, discovers a dark secret from his dementing father's past. He starts an in-depth investigation, which consequently opens a Pandora's box of secrets and unravels more family dramas than anticipated. Matt's wife, Liv, is deeply concerned and will do everything in her power not to lose him, but is it too late..?

Cast

10 people

Reviews

3 min read

Thick air, thin plot

I kept waiting for Noise to name the thing it feared. A newborn that will not stop. A mind that cannot trust its own memories. Steffen Geypens' 2023 Netflix thriller soaks in dread and then cannot carry it. The atmosphere is heavy. The story is not.

Matt stands in a dimly lit hallway, his face half in shadow, staring at something off-camera with a mix of confusion and dread.

Matt, played by Ward Kerremans, is an influencer who has just become a father. He moves the family into his childhood house. Lived-in, not loved.

Peeling wallpaper. Creaky floors. A hum you cannot place.

His father Pol, played by Johan Leysen, is sliding into dementia, muttering about a past that will not sit still. Then there is Julius, the baby. His cry is the first real jolt, a sound that takes up space.

I flinched the first time it cut through the silence. So did the person next to me.

Geypens leans on sound, and for stretches it works. The cries are pressure, not wallpaper. The score, when it appears, is a low pulse, like a factory idling out of sight.

Marshall Shaffer at Decider said the sound design "commands attention between scenes when the story itself cannot." That is the movie. It works so hard to rattle you that it forgets to give you a reason to care.

Audience Opinions

Audience 6.5/10
"A tense but uneven thriller whose atmospheric dread outpaces its coherence as a narrative."

An eerie atmosphere and strong performances, particularly from the leads, sustain the tension. The plot feels disjointed and underdeveloped, leaving key mysteries unresolved or unsatisfying. The slow-burn approach is divisive: immersive to some, frustratingly vague to others.

What viewers praise
  • Atmospheric tension Creates an unsettling, immersive mood.
  • Strong lead performances Ward Kerremans and Sallie Harmsen anchor the story.
  • Visually striking The cinematography and visual style heighten the eerie tone.
Common complaints
  • Disjointed plot The narrative is fragmented and its logic hard to follow.
  • Underdeveloped mysteries Key plot points are left unresolved or poorly explained.
  • Pacing issues The slow burn can turn tedious and loses momentum at critical moments.
Recommended for
Fans of slow-burn thrillers Atmospheric horror enthusiasts Belgian cinema lovers Mystery drama viewers

Full Plot (Spoilers)

Spoiler warning

This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.

Buzz & Rumors

Public reports

Netflix’s Noise (2023): A Family Thriller with More Questions Than Answers

Steffen Geypens’ Noise (2023) arrived on Netflix with a premise ripe for tension: a man uncovers dark family secrets while investigating a local factory accident tied to his father. Starring Ward Kerremans and Sallie Harmsen, the film promised psychological twists and generational drama. But behind the scenes, latestnetflix.com maintains, early reactions suggest the execution may have fallen short of the hype—leaving audiences and critics divided over whether the mystery was compelling or simply undercooked.

A Plot with Potential, But a Weak Script?

The film follows Matt (Kerremans), an influencer and new father who moves his family into his childhood home. When his dementing father (Johan Leysen) hints at a hidden past, Matt digs into a decades-old factory accident, only to unravel a Pandora’s box of family secrets. His wife, Liv (Harmsen), grows increasingly alarmed as Matt’s obsession spirals, blurring the line between reality and hallucination.

Early reviews, however, question whether the payoff justifies the buildup. One Letterboxd critic called the screenplay "weak," arguing that the film’s intrigue "quickly evaporates" in the second act. The protagonist’s hallucinatory visions, a key narrative device, were criticized for lacking purpose, leaving the story feeling disjointed. While the premise—family trauma, industrial cover-ups, and psychological unraveling—has worked in thrillers like The Babadook or Dark, Noise may have struggled to balance its multiple threads.

The Cast’s Efforts vs. the Material

Kerremans and Harmsen, both established Belgian actors, anchor the film with performances that likely elevated the material. Harmsen, known for her role in The Resistance Banker, brings emotional weight to Liv’s growing desperation, while Kerremans’ portrayal of Matt’s descent into obsession is central to the film’s tension. Supporting players like Johan Leysen (a veteran of European cinema) and Mieke De Groote add gravitas, but even strong performances can’t fully salvage a script that critics argue loses steam.

The Netflix factor also looms large. The streaming giant has faced scrutiny for greenlighting projects with high-concept premises but uneven execution. Noise’s production under Netflix’s banner raises questions about whether the platform’s rapid content pipeline prioritized speed over script refinement. While unconfirmed, the film’s mixed reception could reflect broader challenges in Netflix’s European originals strategy—where ambitious ideas sometimes outpace the final product.

**What’s Next for Noise?**

With no sequel or spin-off announced, Noise’s legacy may hinge on whether audiences overlook its narrative flaws for its atmospheric tension. The film’s setting—a decaying family home, a shadowy factory—lends itself to eerie visuals, and Geypens’ direction could have leaned into the psychological horror elements more aggressively. Instead, the story’s reliance on fragmented visions and unresolved threads left some viewers wanting more coherence.

For now, Noise joins the ranks of Netflix thrillers that spark debate: Was it a bold, if flawed, experiment, or a missed opportunity? The answer likely depends on whether you prioritize mood over plot. One thing’s certain: the cast’s performances deserve better than the script they were given.

Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.

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