South Korean horror films always brings cool things to the table, and this year Fantasia 2025 got another hit with “Noise”.

This new film from director Kim Soo-jin presents the story of Ju-young, a young woman who returns to the apartment she and her younger sister Ju-hee acquired some months before, after Ju-hee disappears. Ju-young, who has hearing impediment and wears hearing aids, has been away for some time due to work. But as soon as she returns into the apartment, her hearing devices start picking up eerie, creepy sounds that are apparently coming from nowhere.

(Note: In the Press jacket the character main name is “Joo-young” but in the film the subtitles shows “Ju-young”, so I’m going with that in this review)

Frustrated at the lack of help from the police, and without any clues to Ju-hee whereabouts, Ju-young also has to deal with her landlady, who wants to mitigate the news of Ju-hee’s disappearance because it could delay a deal from a realty company to buy (and apparently renovate) the apartment complex where they live.

Days go by and Ju-young suspects her neighbors know more than they admit regarding her missing sister. Things get even more dangerous when a tenant from the floor below Ju-young keeps knocking at her door complaining about the noise coming from her apartment, even when she is not in her home.

“Noise” is a very good scary movie from South Korea that will keep you guessing from start to finish, and pays very well in the end. The acting was great, and the movie gives you several tense moments. I liked that the film contains no fake jumpscares, although there are some typical “dream fakeouts” that come with these kinds of stories.

There are some details in the film that you might miss if you blink at the wrong time, and you might need to do a re-watch to get the full details about the cause of the mystery in Ju-young’s apartment complex. This is also because in the third act there might be some confusion as to in which apartment NUMBER the action is taking place, again, if you blink in the wrong second, you might miss something.

You can relate to the frustration of Joo-young, as she cannot get help from the police due “lack of evidence”, even when she is clearly being threatened by the neighbor below, and how the landlady tries to treat everything Joo-young says or do, as proof that she is going crazy. Add to this that you cannot feel safe at home due possibly a supernatural presence, and you have a nightmare that never ends.

I think one of the things that makes this film scarier, is that it is very relatable. This is because contrary to other Asian horror films, this horrible situation could happen anywhere in the world, there are no cultural barriers, and the cause (without getting into spoilers) is not some creature exclusive to Asian folklore.

Be sure to see it in theaters if you have a chance, and if you see it at home, use a good pair of headphones, as some scenes use some very eerie sound effects.

“Noise” was directed by Kim Soo-jin, written by Lee Je-hui, Kim Yong-hwan. In the cast we have the talents of Lee Sun-bin, Kim Min-seok and Ryu Kyung-soo.

The Fantasia International Film Festival is running in Montreal, Quebec from July 16 to August 3rd.

Please check my other reviews coming from this festival, and the previous year!