Dead Silence

I thought the age of the horror movie was coming to an end. Occasionally there are a few gems (The Descent was excellent)but for the most part horror has been replaced by torture porn (saw, saw 2, saw 3, The Hills Have Eyes, and especially Hostel). Dead Silence has thankfully come to show us that Hollywood can still make a scary picture.

This movie is a throwback to the golden age of horror films. This is a Williams Castle sort of movie... a Vincent Price sort of movie. The filmmakers realized that all a horror movie actually has to do is be scary... and that is exactly what this movie is.

Atmosphere, jumps, startles, and eerie dolls. This movie is creepy as hell.

A little note though... don't go into this film with the attitude that it will suck... and don't pick it apart bit by bit. Just sit back and enjoy. The movie wants to to take you on a ride. You should just strap in and feel the terror that is Dead Silence.

Okay let me start off by stating that this isn't the greatest horror movie or amazing by any means. But I think it's underrated or not given enough credit. For a film that is 15 years old it holds up pretty well except for the CGI and the plot isn't great. Dead silence is a film about the curse of Mary Shaw, where if you scream she'll kill you (I don't want to spoil much so I won't say to much) and she targets Jamie ashen, and Jamie must find out why she is targeting him by going back to his old home ravensfair to uncover the secret. The plots pretty simple and nothing crazy, but where this movie shines is it's atmosphere, Cinematography, acting, soundtrack and tense slow build scary moments. Now there still are jumpscares in this but there's also lots of slower intense moments and very disturbing parts which makes it way scarier to me rather than having constant loud jumpscares that are mainly scary because of the loud sound, and again this movie does have one or 2 but there's way more creepy moments that will have you at the edge of your seat or creeped out. The shots are also done very well and the transitions are awesome. The soundtrack is definitely memorable and fits the movie well. The acting is decent enough and I think the flashback scene in the theatre is one of my favourite scenes in the movie for its tone and the acting of judith Anna roberts, genuinely creepy scene. The film style/look is a bit dark and colourless which fits perfectly for such a dark movie like this. And the ending will definitely surprise you! Overall it's a pretty decent movie that is worth the watch if you haven't seen it already. It gets a 7/10 from me, I came in not expecting something good but I was surprised and creeped out. I can agree with people who do give it 6. It's understandable for those who thought the plot was boring. I think this movie could've been better if it was 2-2.5 hours to expand on the characters and the story and backstory. I hope one day they revisit this series and make a sequel or remake that it deserves.

"Dead Silence" is a movie that I had been highly anticipating ever since I saw the trailer for it. I just got back from seeing it and I wasn't disappointed at all. The film follows Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten), who, after receiving a mysterious puppet, returns home to find his wife, Lisa (Laura Regan) murdered. With a detective (Donnie Wahlberg) convinced he is the murderer, Jamie returns to his childhood town of Raven's Fair, where a legendary ghost story is told. The story is about a woman named Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist who was murdered after being suspected of murder. She was buried with her massive amount of dolls and puppets as well. After her death, it seems she has been taking revenge on the townspeople, when numerous families are found dead with their tongues missing. Jamie takes it upon himself to solve the legend and curse before he becomes the next victim.

Directed/co-written by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the men who brought us the successful "Saw" series, are also behind this splendidly spooky horror film. Originality is a hard thing to find in the horror genre these days, but this film manages to sluff off most of the typical horror set-ups and create an interesting and compelling story. This is quite a turn around from the "Saw" franchise, which, while it is a good series, has become more of a gore fest than anything. On the other hand, "Dead Silence" is a supernatural horror film with a very well written story. Character development is strong, and the acting helps that out as well, which is always a plus. Ryan Kwanten, an Australian actor, plays the lead role and is very believable. Donnie Wahlberg (of "Saw II" and "Saw III") plays a skeptical detective, and Amber Valetta ("What Lies Beneath") plays Jamie's new stepmother. All of the acting was really believable, I didn't see any below-average performing here.

Puppets and ventriloquism are main themes in the plot, which might sound a little clichéd. I suppose it is, puppets and dolls have become almost a joke in the genre because they are so over-used (as well as creepy little children, among other things), but since they are in the core basis of the plot, they actually come off as being scary. People who have that fear of dolls and/or puppets would be advised to steer clear of this film. There is some great sets in the film as well. The entire town of Raven's Fair has a heavily Gothic tone to it, almost to the point of complete surrealism. The sets are spooky and appropriately so, because it really adds the atmosphere of the movie. The villain/ghostly ventriloquist Mary Shaw, was actually quite terrifying. Her makeup effects made her one creepy looking woman. As for the gore, those expecting anything close to the over-abundance of violence in the "Saw" films will be disappointed. This film doesn't contain much gore - it has a little, but it doesn't use typical violence and graphic gore to get some scares out of the audience. I loved the way the movie ended as well. It's a twist-ending, but don't let that put you off - it works well with the rest of the movie, it's not one of those "bad movie twists". It was very unexpected and very well-written.

Overall, "Dead Silence" is a refreshing, semi-unique horror movie. The storyline is original enough, and the creepy themes and atmospheric setting add to its overall effect. Don't expect a gore fest though, because the violence is pretty tame compared to what you'd see in the "Saw" films. If you like James Wan and Leigh Whannell's work, I'd really recommend seeing this - it's a pleasant change from your typical horror films, and a nice change of pace from their previous work. It has a few flaws here and there, but it's such an enjoyable movie that all of that is forgivable in the end. Very refreshing. 9/10.

After a villainous ventriloquist's dummy is delivered to the home of handsome Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten), and his pretty wife Lisa (Laura Regen), this perfidious puppet very soon belies its inert demeanour, as 'Billy' utilizing murderous means most macabre dispatches Kwanten's pale Mia Farrow Lookalike wife in an especially jaw-droppingly diabolical manner! Thusly burdened with grief, our dishy widower high-tails it to his gloomily dilapidated Silent Hill-esque home-town in his ubiquitous Hollywood hero's muscle car in order to discover the possibility of there being some monstrous truth behind the childhood rhyme extolling the evil exploits of malevolent Mary Shaw and her supremely sinister 101 Dollnation had anything to do with his sinuous spouse's savage snuffing out! A goodly number of noughties 'horror' films are based on creepy urban legends, and James Wan's predictably jump-scare laden 'Dead Silence' rigorously maintains the zeitgeist. The sleekly fashioned fright-flick reeks of Hollywood artifice, from the screamingly obvious polystyrene tombs, plentiful usage of Fright Night fog, and delightfully hokey, hunchback-less Guignol theatre, wherein the grim-faced Mary Shaw's infamous legend was so menacingly born!

While the shocks are somewhat muted, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the boggle-eyed wrath of hissy missy Mary, the film's more endearing qualities are the delicious comedy stylings of a deadpan Donnie Wahlberg as the wryly disdainful cop Detective Lipton, his colourful performance increasing the faux-Gothic campery herein. For me, as a horror film-maker, Wan is a somewhat pallid practitioner, but the dude has legit comedy chops, to whit, the blackly funny, wickedly witty 'Tales From The Crypt' twist, and if all noughties horror titles were replete with a similarly cartoonish cynical cop like Donnie I'd be more of a fan! While 'Dead Silence' is about as scary as a mislaid till receipt, it proved to be all so fabulously absurd I couldn't help but dig it! Usually I relish the dire misfortune that descends so fatally upon the expensively coiffed heads of Hollywood's perfectly plastic protagonists, but in this rare instance I had enormous empathy for the dotty old dear gibbering benignly away in the mortician's cobwebbed cellar, this truly darling, whimsical white-haired octogenarian Marion Walker (Joan Heney), and dynamic cop Donnie got me rooting for 'em right till the final curtain, mayte! One of the more aesthetically pleasing aspects of 'Dead Silence' is the splendidly evocative chiaroscuro photography of talented DP John R. Lionetti, this gifted fellow also lensed the deliciously skewed, greatly underappreciated Lindsay Lohan oddity 'I Know Who Killed Me'.

Dead Silence (2007) is a movie that I recently rewatched on Tubi. The storyline follows a woman who turns up dead in her hometown. The hometown has a history of a ventriloquist who was blamed for the murder of a little boy and killed by the local townspeople. Back in present time, when the husband of the murdered lady begins investigating the death of his wife, he finds the doll of the ventriloquist. Could the ventriloquist be back and why was his wife targeted?

This picture is directed by James Wan (Saw) and stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Amber Valletta (Hitch), Donnie Wahlberg (Saw II), Michael Fairman (Mulholland Drive), Bob Gunton (Shawshank Redemption) and Julian Richings (Urban Legend).

This is a very well done movie. The storyline is fairly straightforward but fun to watch unfold. The opening kill and demise of the ventriloquist was a great way to set the tone for the picture. The cast is well selected and portray their characters to perfection. Donnie Wahlberg was perfect as the cop and his demise was tremendous. The twist at the end was clever and set itself up for a worthwhile sequel. I will say some of the CGI was better than others.

Overall, this is a tremendous addition to the horror genre with enough unique elements to make it an absolute must see. I would score this a 7.5/10 and strongly recommend it.