Who Said That?

The Acoustmetre.

A film term I wasn’t familiar with until college, an acoustmetre is a voice whose source we cannot see. A basic example would be a narrator that starts the story with “Once upon a time.” We often see who the narrator is eventually, like the grandfather in The Princess Bride, but a true acoustmetre, one whose face we do not see, holds so much more potential. The mystery of their unknown identity gives them a sense of power…and terror.

To explain this terror of the unknown, let us look at a more visual example: Jaws. When Steven Spielberg was filming this monster shark movie, the animatronic shark they used (nicknamed Bruce) constantly broke down. It got to the point that he told the editing team to show Bruce as little as possible. A clearly fake shark would prevent the audience from suspending their disbelief.

In doing so, Spielberg created an even more terrifying monster. Why? Bruce became an unseen threat. Aside from some passing glimpses of him, all we saw was the carnage left behind. Our imaginations are terrifying things. When all we have to go off of is our imaginations, we will often come to the most frightening conclusion. Without enough visual confirmations of the shark, audiences immediately assumed the worst about it.

The acoustmetre works the same way. Because we cannot see the source of the mysterious voice, we automatically assume it belongs to the worst possible thing. To set our baseline, we look to Cavite, an independent film that debuted in 2005.

Cavite follows Adam, a Filipino Muslim who lives in America. One day, he receives a call from a terrorist. Adam’s family has been kidnapped and will be killed if Adam does not follow the directions given to him. Under orders, Adam flies back to the Philippines to deliver a bomb to the terrorist’s designated target.

Throughout the film, we never see the terrorist’s face. All we ever hear is his voice through the phone. What made this terrorist even more terrifying was the fact he seemed to know Adam’s every move. If Adam deviated from his instructions even in the slightest, he’d call him out on it. The fear of this terrorist’s hidden, omnipresent eye filled Adam, and us, with dread.

There are times when we do see the owner of the voice, but that character can still be an acoustmetre if we do not see their face. As long as something masks their identity, they still hold power over the audience and the rest of the cast.

Take Darth Vadar from Star Wars, for example. We see this dark lord of the Sith all throughout the franchise, cutting through rebels and force-choking insubordinate officers, but we do not know who is behind the mask. The mystery behind this tall, armored man’s identity added to his already overwhelming power.

However, in Return of the Jedi, Vadar’s mask finally comes off. Underneath the façade of a Sith lord was a disfigured, wheezing old man. All of that mystery, all of that power, is immediately stripped away. This brings us to our next point: the moment we see the acoustmetre’s true face, the fear of the unknown disappears. This is why the wizard from The Wizard of Oz commanded us to “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Once we put a face to the voice, we can face this foe on equal footing.

Granted, there are some rare cases where an acoustmetre is unmasked and they are still a threat. For that, look no further than 2008’s Eagle Eye. Jerry (played by Shia LaBeouf) and Rachel (played by Michelle Monaghan) are ripped from their everyday lives when, much like the terrorist in Cavite, a mysterious woman calls them and sends them on a dangerous, and seemingly wild, goose chase. She can see everything they can do and manipulate much of the technology around them. Disobedience would lead to somebody’s imminent death.

At the end of the film, it is revealed that the woman was an artificial intelligence created by the military. This AI had deduced that the current powers that be were incapable of making good judgement calls, so it orchestrated a technological coup. Jerry, Rachel, and other innocent civilians were disposable tools for it to use. Although the identity reveal took away the fear of the unknown, this super computer was still a grave threat. A way to take it down soon became available, but it was still a treacherous course of action to take.

If you find yourself writing a story and wish to give it more of a thriller feel than a horror, the acoustmetre is a great narrative device at your disposal. By playing with the audience’s fear of the unknown, you can create a terrifying character with nothing more than the sound of their voice.