TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Dead Silence [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


Our Price: £5.08 (subject to change)

Uh-Oh, It's Like "Goosebumps" With an 18 Certificate
Review date: 2007-07-04 Rating: 4 out of 10

"Dead Silence", a supernatural horror movie brought to audiences by "Saw" creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell, could do with what made that 2004 horror so strong. Such as character motivations, innovation, cleverness, suspense and, indeed, scares. This outing, however, doesn't appear to be concerned with creating a mood of tensity or dread, nor is it particularly concerned with utilizing its interesting premise. Instead, "Dead Silence" attempts numerous, pathetic jump-scares that never work and features far too many shots of moving doll's eyes to be taken seriously. Funnily enough, the "Night of the Living Dummy" episodes of children's television show "Goosebumps" was scarier than this tosh, for which the term 'horror movie' should only be used lightly.

When his wife Lisa (Laura Regan) is brutally murdered, her tongue ripped out, her widowed husband Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) believes his wife's untimely death to be connected somehow to the recent arrival of ventriloquist dummy Billy, who arrived at their door in an unlabeled package. So he returns to his hometown of Ravens Fair to bury his deceased wife and hopefully discover some answers about the questions he has regarding the mystery of Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts), a ventriloquist who began murdering children following an incident with a heckling young audience member, and how the long-deceased murderer's story ties in with his wife's death. So, accompanied by suspicious police detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg), Jamie soon finds out that, while the woman herself may be dead, her vengeful spirit continues to thrive within her collection of 101 dolls.

The acting performances aren't really anything to be proud about. Ryan Kwanted is pretty wooden as confused and supposedly terrified Jamie. Rarely can viewers read emotion on his face, even when things really get going towards the end. In the most prominent, but still one-dimensional, supporting role Donnie Wahlberg is annoying. Still, audiences will put up with him, confident that he'll fall victim to Mary Shaw's vengeful spirit sooner or later. Amber Valletta finds herself in a nothing role, underwritten to the point of annoyance. Typically, the best performer, this time Laura Regan, is dead within ten minutes.

Screenwriter Leigh Whannell disastrously wastes an interesting premise with seemingly limitless possibilities by going the routine route that ultimately has nothing interesting to say, zero innovation and no apparent inspiration. Gone are the emotional undertones of 2006's "Saw III", replaced instead by a ho-hum script that allegedly intents to frighten us but doesn't have the first clue how to. Were Whannell to make the characters more well-rounded, not go for lame jump-scares and embrace just a tad of subtlety, "Dead Silence" could well have been a very good horror movie. Partner in crime James Wan doesn't help matters though, irritatingly cutting away from scenes before the various murders take place and, just to be more generic, having each victim momentarily go out-of-view of the camera so that they may, half a second later, quickly slide back into view when the damage is done.

"Dead Silence" has all the makings of a TV horror. Gimmicky and abysmally adapted, this movie seems not to care whatsoever about its own quality. Hell, it could just as easily have been one of those thirty minute segments on television's "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" series. Why every single one of the dolls looks demonic is beyond me, did Mary Shaw have them made that way before she went mad? Particularly baffling is one specific dummy more reminiscent of the clown in "Scary Movie 2" than anything likely to cause nightmares.

Preposterous and suitably maligned by the majority, "Dead Silence" would best be left alone by anyone who hasn't seen it and likely will be. After all, won't people be saving their pennies for the summer blockbusters that follow in the weeks after this release. The production company don't want you to see it, that's the explanation for the movie's release date. If I'd given the go-ahead, I'd feel ashamed too.

Similar Products

Reviews


A decent horror flick from the guys who made Saw
Review date: 2007-06-20 Rating: 6 out of 10

From the writers and directors of `Saw' comes `Dead Silence', a ghost story which begins when a young newlywed couple receive a ventriloquist doll.

Forced to go back to the sleepy town of Ravens Fair after the murder of his wife, Jamie Ashen finds that there is a little more to the doll than it being a little bit creepy.

It all goes back to an old ghost story in the town about Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist whose life-long ambition was to make the perfect doll. Accused of the disappearance of a young boy, she is killed by the angry townspeople who then cut out her tongue. They bury her along with her collection of 101 ventriloquist puppets, including Billy - the one that was just posted to Jamie.

This film isn't one to be taken seriously, but is still a very enjoyable horror movie. There are lots of shocks and scares and a really good twist at the end (just like in Saw). Definitely one of the better ghost horror films out recently, certainly better than the likes of The Grudge, The Ring and Boogeyman. If you like films like Darkness Falls and tv shows like The X Files, this is a film to look out for.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Amber Valletta
Donnie Wahlberg
Joan Heney
Michael Fairman
Ryan Kwanten

Creators:
Ryan Kwanten (Primary Contributor)
Amber Valletta (Primary Contributor)
John R. Leonetti (Cinematographer)
James Wan (Writer)
Gregg Hoffman (Producer)
Mark Burg (Producer)
Oren Koules (Producer)
Peter Oillataguerre (Producer)
Leigh Whannell (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
EAN: 0025192884924
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: AC-3, Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2007-06-26
Universal product code (UPC): 025192884924
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 91 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007-03-16
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional