CRICKET
2021 · 17m · USA
Directed by Chris Suchorsky
Tones: contemplative, dark, tense
A man jolts awake from a nightmare, only to find the sounds from his dream — specifically a relentless cricket chirp — have followed him into waking life, dragging him into a spiral of paranoia.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
An award-winning thriller whose entire arsenal is a bug noise — either radical minimalism or a masterclass in making audiences feel stupid for being scared. Both delightful.
Chris Suchorsky builds psychological horror entirely through a single ambient sound — Polanski's apartment-paranoia tradition reduced to its audio essence. A clean conceit even if the runtime tests whether the chirp can carry it.
Weaponizing a single ambient sound as the primary horror instrument is a real commitment — 17 minutes of psychological dread built almost entirely through audio. Stands or falls on the sound design; the premise demands it deliver.