Sound from the Deep
Sound from the Deep is a 2017 Finnish short film written and directed by Joonas Allonen and Antti Laakso and inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, mainly At the Mountains of Madness. The film starred Eero Ojala, Lasse Fagerström, Anastasia Trizna, Mikael Andersson and Fabian Silén.
| Sound from the Deep | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joonas Allonen and Antti Laakso |
| Produced by | Jupe Louhelainen |
| Music by | Miki Brunou |
| Cinematography | Ville Muurinen |
| Edited by | Petri Erkkilä |
Release date | 2017 |
Running time | 29 minutes |
| Country | Finland |
| Language | English |
Plot
The story is recalled by Finnish grad student Mikael Aalto, who is being interviewed as the sole survivor of the team aboard the Scandinavia-Russian petroleum prospecting vessel Hafguva, their mission being to search for oil and natural gas deposits in the regions of the North Pole recently opened to navigation due to polar melting.
The trip was proving to be fruitless, until Mikael's coworker Sofia picked up a strange, continuous signal coming from the bottom of an uncharted area up North. Uncertain if it's a natural gas deposit and with winter falling and risking to harden the ice for the trip home, Hafguva captain Johanssen gives the team leader Professor Norberg five days to find the deposit before he turns the ship around.
Once the Hafguva arrives at the uncharted area, Norberg and Mikael admire a large iceberg far in the distance. Mikael vaguely makes out tall, pointy structures sticking out from the glacier, while Norberg collapses at the vision. As the professor rests at the infirmary, Sofia continues the investigation of the mysterious sound and Mikael finds in Norberg's notes his observation on the repetitive, mechanical nature of the sound and notices strange writings and occult symbols.
Three days later, when Norberg gets better, Mikael grows uneasy about the search for the sound and tries to tell the captain, but nobody listens to him, including Norberg, who seems to be acting this way to keep his observations of the sound obscured. Mikael insists on turning the ship back thinking that his team isn't up to the task, but Norberg and Sofia convince the captain to continue to find the gas deposit.
Shorty after, the ship picks up the floating carcass of an Elder Thing-looking creature from the sea. This causes Mikael to dream of an underwater city populated by Elder Things. First mate Ångstöm grows hysteric as he wants to turn the ship back while Mikael tries to get answers from Sofia about the beacon-like nature of the mysterious sound and attempts to convince the captain to go back, but Norberg and the captain inject him with a tranquilizer. Mikael dreams of the underwater city again and notices a relief of the symbol he saw in Norberg's notes at the bottom.
When he awakens, Mikael sees that the team has found a large underwater cave and sent a ROV to see if it's a natural gas deposit. It also turns out to be hiding the submerged city, and once the occult seal comes into view, Norberg sets off an explosive in the ROV that causes a bigger explosion. As the crew panics, Mikael chases Norberg in his cabin only to find Ångstöm killed, Sofia handcuffed and more mad writings. Norberg reveals that he wanted to find and unleash "Ubbo-Sathla" and his Shoggoth-like spawn, one of which crawls onto the ship. Sofia strikes Norberg with a fire axe before the Shoggoth breaks in and engulfs him, while she and Mikael make their escape on a life raft. Sofia falls into the sea after being numbed by the sight of Ubbo-Sathla raising from the ocean, while Mikael is rescued three days later.
Mikael finishes to tell his account and warns his interrogators about the powers far greater than man in the world and other horrors that we may face once Greenland melts, but is angrily silenced by the interviewer who only wants to know the final coordinates of the Hafguva. Mikael demands to be taken ashore, as it's revealed that he was interviewed aboard a ship headed towards the cursed waters his team explored, a thunderstorm builds in the distance.
Awards
The film won "Best Short Film" and "Audience Choice" at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & Cthulhu Con in Portland, Oregon.[1]
References
- "...and the Winners Are!". H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. Retrieved August 5, 2020.