Going into Abner Pastoll’s film Nervous, I did not know what to expect. I watched a 50-second clip that told me nothing. But the pulsing beat of the club music mixed with the flashing cuts of two women locked in a trance of sorts told me this was going to be a tense psychosexual thriller. And in a lot of ways, it is. But it was also something more, and after the credits rolled, I was still trying to figure it out.
Nervous follows Sarah (Sarah Bolger), a woman who spirals into a seductive nightmare beyond her control as she navigates a troubled marriage and disorienting cultural terrain in the Korean countryside. It’s your typical Horror film about a married couple who move into an old house with peeling paint and non-working electricity. The husband, of course, promises that things will get better, and they laugh it off because they’re just happy to be together.
The thing is, Sarah’s husband, Sungsoo (Sungsoo Yune), moved them into this house himself. He thought it would be a nice surprise. Sarah doesn’t feel that way, and I agree. Because why would anyone think surprising your wife with a house without them being involved in decision-making is a good surprise? It’s obvious from the start that they have a lot to work on. And there’s something about the house that doesn’t feel safe. When Sungsoo finds an old record player, it sets off a chain of crazy events in Sarah’s life.
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As someone who’s seen enough Horror films where people find an old object they probably shouldn’t use in an old house, I knew this wasn’t going to end well. And as suspected, the record player doesn’t work. No sound comes from it. But as Pastoll’s tagline says, “Silence isn’t Empty.” That told me right away that even if we couldn’t hear it, Sarah did. Whatever the message is, it’s for Sarah.
I loved that Pastoll makes the record player a character. It comes between Sarah and Sungsoo and is almost like a person. There is a literal shot of the record player in between them. She can’t hear anything he’s saying. It’s as if the record player is a person interfering in their marriage. And for whatever reason, something about the record player disturbs Sungsoo. We never find out why it bothers him or why the message attached to it bothers him. In fact, we are never told what the message said.
Sarah’s hearing loss was one of the most interesting aspects of the film for me. She only lost the ability to hear men. This seemed to happen after she met their neighbor, an attractive young woman named Eunbyeol (Ko Asung). It was a which-came-first, the chicken or the egg moment for me because I was wondering what the connection was between Eunbyeol and the record player. Or if there even was one.
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Sarah having issues with her hearing is literally my worst nightmare. Pastoll’s directing choices during these moments made me so uncomfortable, but in a good way that put me right into Sarah’s world. When she couldn’t hear Sungsoo or any of the other men around her speaking, neither could I. My ears, even though I could hear perfectly, felt like I was underwater. It was disturbing and only added to the frustration I felt for Sarah as she went from one hospital visit after another to doctors to figure out what was wrong.
Nobody was taking her seriously. Her ears were bleeding, and she was in obvious pain. Everyone was telling her she just needed to relax. Eunbyeol seemed to be the only one who understood her. That’s where this Horror story becomes a surprising queer love story. From the moment Sarah and Eunbyeol met, the tension was immediate. At first, I thought it was the typical female neighbor hooking up with the husband, and he was trying to keep it a secret. But then, as I watched Eunbyeol watch Sarah and how she behaved, I knew she wanted her.
Eunbyeol makes Sarah question everything about herself. When she asks, “When was the last time you chose something just because it felt right for you, even if it didn’t make sense?” That’s something Sarah really has to think about. She hasn’t chosen much for herself. Her husband chose the house they are living in. He makes all the decisions about her life. And he doesn’t listen to her or what she wants. He’s not even a good support system for her while she’s dealing with what could be a serious medical issue. When you’re begging your husband to listen, it’s time to cut your losses. He doesn’t even honor his vows of fidelity.
The entire time I watched Eunbyeol and Sarah, I was hoping something would happen between them. Sara Bolger and Ko Asung had such natural, easy chemistry that was beautiful to watch. Sarah was so free with Eunbyeol. She had clarity. And not just her ears. When the tension and their feelings became too much to bear, and they shared their first kiss, it was tasteful and romantic. I was wishing for more of them together on my screen as a couple.
What’s also interesting is that Sarah and Eunbyeols romance can work without the Horror aspect of this film. It could truly stand alone. Their story is that meaningful without it.
While I loved this aspect of the storyline, I will say some things didn’t flow overall. As I said, when the credits rolled, I was still trying to figure it out. I felt some things were thrown in to manufacture jump scares. The random old lady in a yellow jacket, and then there was the mention of a serial killer, but even that felt like it was a separate issue altogether. It didn’t feel like the director knew how he wanted to tie it all together. I understood the whole “Dead man, missing woman” thing, but the trajectory of how we got there had me scratching my head.
And I still didn’t feel that the significance of the record player was thoroughly explained. Who did it belong to? The previous owner of the home? This is one of those films that I think needed a prologue of the record player’s origins. I needed to know why Sarah only heard it. Was it a record player that only women with cheating husbands could hear? Was it a record player that women with marital problems in general heard?
Nervous was a smart play on words for this film’s title. It had two meanings. One was that the record player frequencies were affecting Sarah’s nervous system. The other was Sarah’s nervousness about entering a relationship with a woman. Pastoll’s creativity with this worked well. Even with the questions I had at the end, I still think this was a unique film that is worth watching.
Nervous screened at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival.
