That Alien, Sound

An indie comedy/coming of age/road trip movie about an intergalactic sentient soundwave inhabiting a human being is nothing if not original. And given that this is his feature debut, Brando Topp is promising a fascinating future body of work with That Alien, Sound.

The human in question is Mika (Mia Danelle) – whose body becomes a vessel for ‘Sound’. Sound is an alien being whose previous existence as a soundwave became unfulfilling. Finding herself in Mika’s body, she sets out to experience all the joys of humanity and the physical form. However Mika’s sceptical boyfriend Shannon (Will Tranfo) grows increasingly frustrated with his girlfriend’s newfound oddities – convinced her ‘alien’ self is an act. When a possible solution to the body swap emerges, they set out with her brother Deyo (Deyo Forteza) and friends to send Sound back to the stars and bring back the Mika they know.

That Alien, Sound’s strongest moments are its exploration of grounded issues. The slow collapse of Mika and Shannon’s relationship is a moving and powerful throughline that is the film’s emotional core – one that manages to explore some profound and complex territory despite the quirkiness surrounding it. Shannon’s descent into an irritable fish-out-of-water around Mika/Sound’s enthusiasm and alternative friend group initially seems to stem from Sound’s arrival. But as the film develops it becomes clear he has issues with Mika too. He grinds against the group he has found himself with and Will Tranfo ensures the character skews towards unlikable compared to Sound. But there is enough in the performance and presentation of the relationship for some sympathy to stem through. Despite the sci-fi framing, the story of two people who care for each other growing apart is a relatable one.

These human elements are such a strength that one wonders why the filmmakers decided to explore them through an obtuse and ungraspable sci-fi lens. Viewers will have a hard time relating to the ‘soundwave’ origin of ‘Sound’ – and the ever-so-quirky explanations of how this alien lifeform came to understand cinematic tropes, eccentric fashion choices or the concept of love itself are a distracting, unnecessary aside from themes where Topp really has a grip on. The central idea of Mika literally becoming another person whilst her actual self is in the process of this emotionally is a great setup to explore growing up and growing apart, but the sheer bizarreness of the film’s logic is a significant detraction. There are really no special effects or spectacle either that make the alien elements visually worthwhile.

The first half of the film feels like it is trying to do too much – establishing the characters, explaining the science and raising the prospect of Sound being a delusion in Mika’s personality. The film hits its stride when the characters hit the road, and the uncertainty around the nature of Sound appears cleared up for the audience and side characters (barring Shannon). It’s great to see filmmakers willing to take stories into original places, especially as a debut feature. A more focused and grounded narrative feels like an obvious evolution for Brando Topp, and whilst That Alien, Sound is muddled and fails to coherently explain its concept, its human themes are enough to make this a success.