Tone-Deaf

Last updated

Tone-Deaf
Tone deaf xlg.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Richard Bates Jr.
Written byRichard Bates Jr.
Produced byLawrence Mattis
Brad Mendelsohn
Matt Smith
Brion Hambel
Paul Jensen
Starring Robert Patrick
Amanda Crew
CinematographyEd Wu
Edited byYvonne Valdez
Music byMichl Britsch
Production
companies
Lightning Entertainment
Circle of Confusion
Best Medicine
Hindsight Media Services
Enigma Film Prod.
Distributed by Saban Films
Release dates
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Tone-Deaf is a 2019 American comedy horror film written and directed by Richard Bates Jr. and starring Robert Patrick and Amanda Crew. [1] Patrick also served as one of the executive producers of the film. [2]

Contents

Plot

As a little girl, Olive Smith performs a piano recital. Olive's parents miss the performance when her depressed father Michael hangs himself following an argument with Olive's mother Crystal. As an adult, Olive breaks up with her difficult boyfriend York. Olive's friends Lenore and Blaire console Olive after her sexist boss Asher fires her too. Olive plays a keyboard for her friends, who tell her she is great even though she is tone deaf. Olive sees a frightening vision of her father in front of the urn holding his ashes. Olive calls her mother Crystal, who lives in a hippie commune, about the incident. Crystal mentions that Michael wanted his ashes scattered into space. Crystal also recommends that her daughter clear her head by getting away for the weekend. Olive has another haunting vision of her dead father when York comes by with his new girlfriend to pick up his things.

Through Airbnb, widower Harvey Parker rents his remote house to Olive for the weekend. Harvey rants to himself about millennials while mourning at his wife Edith's homemade grave. Olive meets Harvey's family friend Agnes, who later asks Harvey why he is renting out his house. Harvey takes Agnes captive by tying her to a bed in his cabin down the road. Olive plays Harvey's piano for her mother over the phone. Harvey sees a vision of his dead wife slitting her throat with a letter opener at the piano while secretly watching Olive play. Harvey tells Agnes that his estranged son David thinks Harvey suffers from dementia and wants to put him in a home. Harvey reveals that he wants to know what it feels like to kill someone, which is why he set up Olive in his house. Harvey regrets that he has to kill Agnes too because she interfered.

Harvey is unable to kill Olive while she sleeps. Harvey hears Edith's voice telling him to stop. Harvey puts a spider in Olive's contact lens case. Fellow commune member Uriah professes his attraction to Crystal. Crystal allows Uriah to go down on her while she texts Olive. Harvey returns to Agnes. Agnes angers Harvey by claiming he trapped his wife in their marriage by lording custody of their son over Edith. Harvey suddenly stabs Agnes to death. Unaware that Olive rented the house, David comes by to pick up his prototypes for a Shark Tank pitch. Startled by his unannounced appearance, Olive compels David to leave.

Harvey follows Olive to The Cowboy Palace Saloon where she meets her Tinder date James. A news bulletin on TV reports on a missing woman. Harvey sees James secretly drug Olive's rum and Coke, but Olive doesn't drink it. Olive instead invites James to join her at the house for dinner later. Harvey follows James back to his nearby motel room. Harvey murders James with a hammer. Harvey finds a captive woman in James’ closet and kills her too. Olive buys LSD from the attendant at a makeshift car wash. While tripping back at the house, Olive sees visions of various ex-boyfriends before her father finally appears to her. Michael talks about Crystal and his depression before urging his daughter to choose better boyfriends and get rid of his ashes. Michael adds that Olive is great at playing piano. York calls to tell Olive that he made a mistake and wants her back. Olive hangs up on him.

Harvey murders a homeless man on his way to the house. Harvey cuts the house's power, crushes Olive's glasses, and lays boards spiked with nails on the staircase. Harvey wakes Olivia by loudly playing the radio. Frightened, Olive texts her mother for help before her phone goes dead. Seeing an opportunity to make things right with Olive, Crystal drives to the house with Uriah. Their car gets a flat tire on the way, but David stops to help them fix it. Olive arms herself with the letter opener Edith used to commit suicide. The spider bites Olive when she tries putting in her contacts. Harvey calls Olive downstairs. Unable to see, Olive steps on one of the nails. Olive stabs Harvey with the letter opener when he attacks. Olive tries to hide, but Harvey crushes her foot and knocks her unconscious.

Olive recovers to find that Harvey dressed her in Edith's clothes and seated her at the piano. Harvey forces Olive to play like his wife used to do. Harvey hears Edith's voice and sees a vision of Edith as a ghoul. Harvey smashes the piano with a tomahawk when he realizes Olive is tone deaf, which Olive never knew. Crystal and Uriah arrive at the house. Harvey kills Uriah. Crystal shoots Harvey to the ground, although she accidentally shoots her daughter too. Olive kills Harvey by stabbing him with the letter opener. Crystal tells Olive that she is terrible at playing piano and now realizes it was wrong to falsely encourage her. Olive curses baby boomers and calls 911 for an ambulance. David later surveys the crime scene with his boyfriend. Olive and Crystal try scattering Michael's ashes using a toy rocket that falls limply to the ground. The women walk away confident that Michael would have appreciated the effort anyway.

Cast

Production

In April 2018, it was announced that Crew and Patrick were cast in the film. [7]

According to Bates, the idea of the film was based on the Norman Rockwell painting The Connoisseur. [8] [9]

Release

The film had its world premiere in March 2019 at the South by Southwest film festival. [10] Prior to its premiere, Saban Films acquired North American distribution rights. [11] The film was released in limited theaters and video-on-demand on August 23, 2019. [12] [13] [14]

Reception

The film has a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "A messy horror-comedy hybrid that makes poor use of a talented cast, Tone-Deaf aims for social commentary, but tumbles down the generation gap." [15] Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com awarded the film one star. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Plummer</span> American-Canadian actress (born 1957)

Amanda Michael Plummer is an American-Canadian actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in films including Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), The Fisher King (1991), Pulp Fiction (1994), and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). Plummer won a Tony Award in 1982 for her performance in Agnes of God. She most recently appeared in the third season of Star Trek: Picard (2023).

<i>The Beast Within</i> (film) 1982 film by Philippe Mora

The Beast Within is a 1982 American horror film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, L. Q. Jones, Don Gordon, R. G. Armstrong, Logan Ramsey, Katherine Moffat, and Meshach Taylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Crew</span> Canadian actress (born 1986)

Amanda Crew is a Canadian actress. Following her film debut in Final Destination 3 (2006), Crew had lead roles in films such as Sex Drive (2008), Charlie St. Cloud, Repeaters, Charlie Zone (2011), Ferocious (2013), Chokeslam (2016), Tone-Deaf (2019), and Some Other Woman (2023), as well as supporting roles in The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), The Age of Adaline (2015), Freaks (2018) and There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Crampton</span> American actress

Barbara Crampton is an American actress and producer. She began her career in the 1980s in television soap operas before starring in horror and thriller films. In 2024, Crampton was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.

<i>David Copperfield</i> (1999 film) 1999 British television drama

David Copperfield is a two-part BBC television drama adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1850 novel of the same name, written by Adrian Hodges. The first part was shown on Christmas Day 1999 and the second part the following day.

<i>Black Christmas</i> (2006 film) 2006 film by Glen Morgan

Black X-Mas is a 2006 Christmas slasher film written and directed by Glen Morgan and starring Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Oliver Hudson, Lacey Chabert, Kristen Cloke, Crystal Lowe and Andrea Martin. The film takes place several days before Christmas and tells the story of a group of sorority sisters who are stalked and murdered in their house during a winter storm. It is a loose remake and reimagining of the 1974 film of the same name. A co-production of Canada and the United States, the film was produced by Morgan and James Wong through their production company Hard Eight Pictures, along with 2929 Productions, Adelstein-Parouse Productions and Hoban Segal Productions. It is the second film in the Black Christmas series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taissa Farmiga</span> American actress (born 1994)

Taissa Farmiga is an American actress. Her numerous appearances in horror films have established her as a scream queen, alongside her older sister Vera Farmiga.

<i>6 Years</i> 2015 American film

6 Years is a 2015 American romantic drama film written and directed by Hannah Fidell and starring Taissa Farmiga, Ben Rosenfield, Lindsay Burdge, Joshua Leonard, Peter Vack, and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson. Filmmakers Mark and Jay Duplass served as executive producers under their Duplass Brothers Productions banner. The film depicts two weeks in the relationship of college students Melanie Clark and Dan Mercer, as their 6-year romance turns violent.

<i>Hush</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Mike Flanagan

Hush is a 2016 American slasher film directed and edited by Mike Flanagan, and starring Kate Siegel, who also co-wrote the film with Flanagan. The film co-stars John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, and Emilia "Emma" Graves. It was jointly produced by Trevor Macy through Intrepid Pictures and Jason Blum through Blumhouse Productions.

Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel, is an American actress and screenwriter. Dubbed a scream queen for her extensive work in the horror genre, Siegel is known for her collaborations with her husband, Mike Flanagan. She has starred in the films Oculus (2013), Hush (2016) which she also co-wrote, Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), and Gerald's Game (2017), as well as the television series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023).

<i>A Quiet Place</i> 2018 American film directed by John Krasinski

A Quiet Place is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic horror film directed by John Krasinski. The screenplay was written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods from a story they conceived, with contributions by Krasinski after he joined the project. The plot revolves around a mother and father (Krasinski) who struggle to survive and raise their children in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind extraterrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing.

<i>The Haunting of Hill House</i> (TV series) American television series

The Haunting of Hill House is an American supernatural horror drama television miniseries created and directed by Mike Flanagan, produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television, for Netflix, and serves as the first entry in The Haunting anthology series. It is loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. The plot alternates between two timelines, following five adult siblings whose paranormal experiences at Hill House continue to haunt them in the present day, and flashbacks depicting events leading up to the eventful night in 1992 when the family fled from the mansion. The ensemble cast features Michiel Huisman, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, and Victoria Pedretti as the siblings in adulthood, with Carla Gugino and Henry Thomas as parents Olivia and Hugh Crain, and Timothy Hutton appearing as an older version of Hugh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epic Pictures Group</span>

Epic Pictures Group is an independent film and television studio engaged in the development, financing, production and distribution of film and television. Epic Pictures produces, finances, and distributes approximately twenty-thirty independent genre films a year. In 2013, the company established Epic Pictures Releasing which is its US focused distribution division. In 2017, Epic Pictures acquired the horror website, Dread Central, and launched its unique horror label, Dread, followed by its AVOD channel, DreadTV. In 2019, Epic Pictures started the horror gaming site, DreadXP, with a focus on editorial, reviews, podcasts, and original streaming content. In 2020, DreadXP began a video game publishing division with the launch of The Dread X Collection, an anthology of horror games in collaboration with some developers in the independent gaming space.

<i>The Curse of La Llorona</i> 2019 American supernatural horror film

The Curse of La Llorona is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. Based on the Latin American folklore of La Llorona, the film stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, and Patricia Velásquez, and follows a mother in 1973 Los Angeles who must save her children from a malevolent spirit trying to steal them. The film was produced by James Wan through his Atomic Monster banner and, though not considered an installment in the franchise, takes place within The Conjuring Universe.

<i>Us</i> (2019 film) Film by Jordan Peele

Us is a 2019 psychological horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele, starring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker. The film follows Adelaide Wilson (Nyong'o) and her family, who are attacked by a group of menacing doppelgängers, called the ‘Tethered’.

<i>The Hunt</i> (2020 film) 2020 film directed by Craig Zobel

The Hunt is a 2020 American action horror film directed by Craig Zobel and written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof. The film stars Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, and Emma Roberts. Jason Blum was a producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner, along with Lindelof. Zobel and Lindelof have said that the film is intended as a satire on the profound political divide between the American left and right. It is about a group of elites who kidnap working class people to hunt them.

<i>Girl on the Third Floor</i> 2019 horror film directed by Travis Stevens

Girl on the Third Floor is a 2019 horror film directed by Travis Stevens, written by Stevens, Paul Johnstone and Ben Parker, and starring Phil "CM Punk" Brooks, Trieste Kelly Dunn and Tonya Kay. The film tells the story of a deeply flawed man who renovates an old home for himself and his wife, and the supernatural events that ensue as they prepare to move in.

<i>Freaky</i> (film) 2020 American slasher comedy film

Freaky is a 2020 American slasher comedy film directed by Christopher Landon, from a screenplay by Michael Kennedy and Landon, and starring Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Katie Finneran, Celeste O'Connor, and Alan Ruck. A twist on Freaky Friday, the film centers on a teenage girl who unintentionally switches bodies with a middle-aged male serial killer. Jason Blum serves as a producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner.

<i>Becky</i> (2020 film) Film by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion

Becky is a 2020 American action thriller film directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion, from a screenplay by Nick Morris, Lane Skye, and Ruckus Skye. The film stars Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, and Joel McHale. McHale and Wilson portray Jeff and Becky, a father and daughter whose vacation home is besieged by a gang of Neo-Nazis led by James's character, Dominick.

References

  1. ↑ Motamayor, Rafael. "SXSW 2019: TONE-DEAF Review – An Uninteresting Misfire". Dread Central . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Harvey, Dennis (March 15, 2019). "SXSW Film Review: 'Tone-Deaf'". Variety . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Fisher, Kieran (June 30, 2019). "There's Reason to Be Excited About 'Tone-Deaf'". Film School Rejects . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  4. 1 2 LePire, Bobby (August 22, 2019). "TONE DEAF". Film Threat . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Abrams, Simon (August 23, 2019). "Tone-Deaf". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Foutch, Haleigh (August 23, 2019). "Robert Patrick and Amanda Crew Go Toe-to-Toe in Exclusive 'Tone Deaf' Clip". Collider . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  7. ↑ TV News Desk (April 25, 2018). "Amanda Crew & Robert Patrick Star in Upcoming Film TONE DEAF From Ricky Bates Jr". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  8. ↑ Motamayor, Rafael. "Interview: The Cast And Crew Of TONE-DEAF Talk Breaking The Fourth Wall". Dread Central . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  9. ↑ Crow, David (June 26, 2019). "Tone-Deaf Trailer Shows Off New Horror-Comedy with Robert Patrick". Den of Geek . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  10. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 11, 2019). "'Tone-Deaf' Clip: Robert Patrick Taunts Amanda Crew In SXSW Horror Comedy". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  11. ↑ Williams, Trey (March 1, 2019). "Saban Films Acquires Rights to Horror-Thriller 'Tone-Deaf' Ahead of SXSW". TheWrap . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  12. ↑ Miska, Brad (August 19, 2019). "'Tone-Deaf': Robert Patrick on His Disturbing Role and Generations Colliding [Interview]". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  13. ↑ Orange, B. Alan (June 25, 2019). "Tone-Deaf Trailer Turns Robert Patrick Into a Manic Millennial Murderer". MovieWeb . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  14. ↑ Collis, Clark (June 20, 2019). "Robert Patrick is a killer neighbor in disturbing trailer for horror-comedy Tone-Deaf". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Tone-Deaf". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 30, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.