In 2014, while much of Hollywood recoiled from what it labeled a “seriously deranged” horror comedy, Anna Kendrick quietly did the opposite. She embraced it. The film was The Voices, a dark, off-kilter blend of gore, loneliness, and absurd humor that baffled audiences—but struck Kendrick as something unexpectedly tender.
“I realized the severed heads were the only ones truly listening today,” she once joked during production, a line that perfectly captured both the film’s shock factor and its strange emotional core.
A Risky Detour From “America’s Sweetheart”
Fresh off the massive success of Pitch Perfect, Kendrick’s decision to star in The Voices felt deliberately subversive. Directed by Marjane Satrapi, best known for the animated autobiographical masterpiece Persepolis, the film centers on Jerry, a factory worker played by Ryan Reynolds. Jerry hears voices—from his dog, his cat, and eventually from the severed heads of women he has killed.
For many viewers, that premise alone was enough to walk out. For Kendrick, it was precisely the point.
Seeing Sweetness Where Others Saw Shock
Kendrick played Lisa, Jerry’s cheerful co-worker and romantic interest. Rather than viewing the film as a slasher, she interpreted it as a tragic allegory about untreated mental illness and extreme isolation. The talking heads, she argued, weren’t played for cheap horror—they symbolized the only “relationships” Jerry could maintain once reality completely fractured.
One particularly infamous character, Fiona—played by Gemma Arterton—continues conversing with Jerry after her death. Kendrick defended these scenes as heartbreaking rather than grotesque: a visual metaphor for how desperately Jerry wanted to be heard.
Color, Comedy, and a Broken Mind
Satrapi reinforced that perspective through visual design. Jerry’s hallucinated world is drenched in bright pinks and cheerful pastels, while reality is gray and oppressive. Kendrick praised this choice, noting that it forced audiences to experience the story from inside Jerry’s mind—where horror feels comforting and reality feels unbearable.
This tonal contradiction, Kendrick believed, was why the film was misunderstood.
Critics, Box Office, and Vindication
When The Voices premiered at Sundance, reactions were sharply divided. Its theatrical release was limited, and it earned less than $500,000 worldwide. Many dismissed it as too bizarre to classify.
But time has been kinder. The film has since gained cult status, earning renewed appreciation for its daring tone and Reynolds’ unsettling performance—often cited as one of his bravest roles before Deadpool. Today, it holds strong critical scores and is frequently reevaluated as a bold mental-health allegory rather than a gimmicky horror flick.
Why Kendrick Stood Her Ground
For Kendrick, defending The Voices wasn’t about provocation. It was about empathy. She saw a story about someone failed by the system, clinging to imaginary listeners because no real ones remained.
Her willingness to champion such a “deranged” film proved something essential about her career: behind the charm and comedy lies an actress unafraid to explore the darkest corners of loneliness—and to find sweetness there, even when no one else can.