What if you could no longer hear the voices of men? The jokes write themselves, but it’s no laughing matter for Sarah (Sarah Bolger). Having moved to South Korea with husband Sungsoo (Sungsoo Yune), Sarah does her best to ignore her misgivings – the house he’s surprised her with isn’t exactly homely, the furniture hasn’t turned up yet, and she still has her concerns about certain issues in their relationship. Not to mention a recent spate of murders and disappearances in the area, which for some reason Sungsoo is desperate to keep hidden from his wife. Still, she makes the most of a bum lot, and throws herself into her new life.
This includes striking up a friendship with Eunbyeol (Ko Asung), a mysterious neighbour in whom she comes to confide. At the same time, Sarah and Sungsoo discover an antique record player and unmarked vinyl stashed away in the attic. Apparently not getting the memo from The Evil Dead, the pair give it a listen. While it appears to play nothing but ominous silence, Sarah begins to suffer a strange affliction. She’s starting to lose the ability to hear men’s voices – including that of Sungsoo.
Directed by Abner Pastoll (A Good Woman is Hard to Find, Road Games), Nervous is a deeply strange psychological thriller. As Sarah’s obsession and paranoia grows, the lines between illusion and reality become increasingly blurred. And with Sungsoo dismissing Sarah’s fears – and physical symptoms – as culture shock, her already isolated state only worsens. She may not be able to hear Sungsoo, but he’s not listening to her. And so she turns to Eunbyeol, the only person who actually listens. But is all as it seems there either? Pastoll and co-writer Richard Hobley provide no easy answers, and Nervous trusts viewers to come to their own conclusions.
What many will conclude, however, is that Bolger gives a finely pitched performance as Sarah, re-igniting the spark which made her previous collaboration with Pastoll so striking. She’s backed up by a fine cast – including Yune, who lends the role a sense of subtlety it could so easily have bypassed – but she’s utterly sonorous in a role which pushes her through an emotional and physical wringer. It’s a film which mixes sensual eroticism, hallucinatory thriller and body horror seamlessly. Misophones beware – you’re going to have a rough time with Nervous, which blends the worst of ASMR with earhole trauma (and a tormented protagonist) straight out of a Junji Ito story. True enough, its last act is somewhat telegraphed, but it’s a feeling of inevitability rather than predictability.
This melodious and haunting film is a confident follow-up to Pastoll’s previous work, led by a fiercely vulnerable leading performance from Bolger. With Nervous, the director once again proves himself a voice worth listening to.
NERVOUS premiered at Tubi FrightFest on August 27, 2026.
