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Dead Silence
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Donnie Wahlberg,
Amber Valletta, Ryan Kwanten, Laura Regan, Judith Roberts |
| MPAA Rated: |
Unrated DVD |
| Released By: |
Universal Pictures |
| Distributed By: |
Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
| Web Site: |
www.deadsilencemovie.net |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Only if you want
them to have nightmares about dummies. |
| Date Movie: |
Good for the both
of you to snuggle to. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Would have added a
star, especially in an unrated version. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Tongues get torn
out, there's blood, and people die. |
| Action: |
Some running and
chasing. |
| Laughs: |
Nothing really. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
I did like Jamie's
dad, all the way through the end. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
None. |
| Directed By: |
James Wan |
| Produced By: |
Mark Burg, Gregg
Hoffman, Oren Koules |
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Cool Things About the DVD |
| Buy a New TV! |
I know I should
take my own advice, but buy a new TV already, a widescreen
one, as big as you can afford, where DVD rentals in
widescreen format are like being at your local gigaplex
without the annoying kids, unless, of course, you have
annoying kids. |
| Buy a New
Stereo! |
Horror movies
always have creepy sounds coming from all around, and "Dead
Silence" isn't any different. |
| Anything Else! |
"The Making of.."
extra actually gives a nice look at how the film folks
didn't want this to be a gore fest, the alternate opening
was better than the one on the DVD, and we keep learning why
"deleted scenes" are deleted. |
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Dead Silence
A Movie/DVD Review |
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I hate to start a review with a rant sometimes, but for
"Dead Silence" a rant, I believe, is necessary, and this
rant has to do with the folks who marketed the film when it
first was hitting theaters, and even those marketing the
film now coming out on DVD. The trailer for "Dead Silence"
simply started with "From the writers and directors of
‘Saw’" and that, for me, says expect a lot of gore, blood,
twisted-ness, and over-the-top horror fun. The DVD states
"New Unrated Version. More Gruesome and Horrifying Than
Anything Seen in Theaters." The problem is that the movie
isn’t more gruesome and horrifying than anything seen in
theaters, and it doesn’t come close to the level of
over-the-top, yet fun, gore as seen in "Saw." Nope, "Dead
Silence" is actually a decent thriller, with some nice
twists and some horror gore (but no nudity, bummer), and I
probably would have seen it in theaters when it first came
out if they just marketed it as a horror/thriller and
ignored the then "reputation" of "Saw." I also would have
liked my first viewing of the DVD if I weren’t waiting, for
an hour and a half of watching, for more gruesomeness,
horrifying-ness, and "Saw"-ness, instead of just wrapping
myself into the story and thriller-ness of it.
Enough ranting, here’s the story.
It seems that in the town of Ravens Fair there is an old
story about a ventriloquist lady, Mary Shaw (Judith
Roberts), who haunts the locals. She never had any kids,
only dolls, and if you saw her in your dreams you shouldn’t
scream because she would tear out your tongue. Jamie (Ryan
Kwanten) comes from Ravens Fair but has moved out of town
with his wife Lisa (Laura Regan). One day a ventriloquist
dummy gets delivered to his doorstep, Lisa ends up dead -
sans tongue, Detective Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) thinks Jamie
killed her, and Jamie is heading back to the old homestead
to bury his wife, investigate her murder, and confront his
dad, Edward (Bob Gunton). He finds that pop has a new wife,
Ella (Amber Valleta), is being trailed by the good
Detective, and things are getting more twisted in his
hometown. Dummies have been exhumed, the funeral director’s
wife seems crazy, there are flashbacks to the downfall of
Mary Shaw, her death, and the actual story of why Mary
Shaw’s spirit is taking revenge on the town comes to light.
In the end Jamie finds some secrets he might have done
better without learning.
I’d go more into the story, but there isn’t a reason to.
Most people find ventriloquist dummies kind of creepy to
begin with, so them going on a killing rampage in a horror
flick isn’t a surprise. Hell, most of us find ventriloquists
a little creepy so them going on a rampage in a horror flick
wouldn’t be a surprise, either, and "Dead Silence" builds on
our general creepiness of ventriloquists and their dummies.
The problem I had was because the way the film was marketed
I really expected an over-the-top horror flick, with
ghastly, brutal killings, rather than just the thriller it
was. Sure, there were some twists and turns at the end, one
which was totally obvious from the get-go, another I was
surprised I missed, but for most of us who have grown up
with the horror genre, "Dead Silence" is actually a better
thriller than a horror/gore fest.
If you find ventriloquists and their dummies creepy, and
you’re looking for a movie to snuggle with your honey on an
evening, "Dead Silence" really wouldn’t be that bad a
choice. There are some slow points, but most thrillers have
them, and some of the killings won’t really be a surprise,
but some killings aren’t always a surprise in most thrillers
anyway. I give "Dead Silence" 3 stars out of 5. It’s not the
most original of flicks but has its moments. Ignore the
marketing because if you are anywhere between 17 and 50
years old, growing up between "Friday the 13th"
through the "Scream" series and beyond, it’s not more
gruesome nor horrifying than anything seen in theaters. Just
enjoy the thriller for what it is, a thriller about creepy
dummies with some
moments of tearing out tongues.
As far as the extras on the DVD go, I found it funny
because I actually thought the alternate opening would have
been a better one then giving me the historical origins of
the word "ventriloquist," the deleted scenes were fine being
deleted, it was interesting seeing how the film folks found
a great choice for Mary Shaw, but maybe the marketing folks
should have watched "The Making of ‘Dead Silence’"
part that
shows "Dead Silence" is really a tip of the hat to old-time
horror flicks and not just a gore-fest, nor meant to be that
gruesome nor horrifying, just thrilling.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!!
L8R!!! |
