Testigo mudo

In Moscow, the clumsy director Andy Clarke (Evan Richards) is making a slasher movie in a studio set with Russian and American cast and crew. The responsible for the makeup is the mute Billy Hughes (Marina Sudina), who is the sister of Andy's girlfriend Karen Hughes (Fay Ripley).

One day, Billy needs to find a mask for the shot on the next day and she stays after hours in the studio set seeking out the object. However, the janitor locks her in the studio alone and Billy cannot find a way out.

When Billy sees light in the studio, she accidentally witnesses the Russians Arkadi (Igor Volkov) and Lyosha (Sergej Karlenkov) making a porn snuff movie and brutally killing a woman. Billy succeeds to escape, but the police officers do not trust on her. Further, the powerful Russian mafia chases her believing that Billy has a diskette with evidences against the mobsters.

I saw "Mute Witness" eighteen years ago and I loved this film. Yesterday I saw it again, now on DVD, and it still is a great film that combines thriller and horror with black humor in a plot with many twists. The director Anthony Waller masterly raises tension and relieves with black humor, startling the viewer and then making him or her laugh. Unfortunately the conclusion is a little disappointing but it is worthwhile watching this wonderful little film. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Testemunha Muda" ("Mute Witness")

I saw this movie over two years ago and it still sticks in my

mind. It is a movie which due to the setting and the

relatively unknown actors gives this movie a sense of

originality.

The movie has plenty of scary moments and in a lot of places is

very funny (whether always intended or not). If you are

looking for something different, then go and see this one.

You will be pleasantly suprised.

Billy Hughes is a mute, American make-up artist working on a low-budget slasher in Moscow, directed by her sister's boyfriend. One night, Billy stays later than usual, looking for a prop. She isn't the only one on set, though, as she discovers to her horror. She stumbles upon members of the crew, who are making a snuff film. A frantic chase ensues. Will Billy be able to escape the killers and- if she does- will anyone believe her story?

Written and directed by Anthony Waller, 'Mute Witness' is a tension filled thrill-ride that will have viewers gripped from the get-go. A low-budget affair, it brims with suspense, and is genuinely frightening, though also contains moments of black humour. Waller's narrative is absorbing, despite a weak third act and a rushed ending, containing many unexpected moments of pure petrifying power. Billy, whose struggles to communicate compounds the dread, is a perfect conduit for the audience, as Waller takes us on a journey into fear.

In some ways, it is like Joel Schumacher's '8mm' and John Carpenter's 'Halloween' had a cinematic child; and is just as gruesome as that sounds. Intense and engrossing, it goes in directions one doesn't expect. Although the secondary characters aren't particularly well-written, and some of the dialogue is very stilted, Billy is compelling. We feel for her: isolated in a foreign country, unable to communicate, stalked by murderous thugs- her struggle to survive is engaging. At least, until the third act, when things descend, becoming rather mundane.

The best horrors are usually the ones that make effective use of sound design- such is the case with 'Mute Witness.' Noises- the scraping of a knife on a hard surface, the splatter of blood, footsteps in the dark- create agitation and alarm, while the use of silence heightens the suspense. Furthermore, Egon Werdin's cinematography is eerily atmospheric. His use of irregular angles, shaky cam movements and tracking shots evokes fear and creates tension.

Werdin also makes brilliant use of the sets and locations in the film, employing the lighting team to ominous effect. The shadow-play and utilisation of contrasts makes for a sinister looking picture, while the production design is of a high quality. Moreover, Peter R. Adam's editing is most effective, making a macabre mosaic of a movie, stitching scenes together with a rhythm that mirrors the viewer's racing heartbeat.

Unfortunately, despite the technical expertise behind the camera, those in front disappoint. Although Marina Zudina does strong work as Billy, effectively displaying her fear and agitation silently, her co-stars let her down. As the director, Evan Richards delivers a shockingly hammy performance, seemingly hell bent on chewing as much scenery as he can. Fay Ripley does better than him in the role of Billy's sister, but still doesn't impress much, coming across as quite wooden.

Oleg Yankovskiy is good in a small role as a policeman, deserving of more screen time, while Igor Volkov and Sergei Karlenkov are terrific when silent and unconvincing when not. Furthermore, Alec Guinness- who thought the production was a student film and did not accept, nor was offered, payment for his services- is terrific, for the few seconds he's on screen. Blink and you'll miss him, in this case, is too generous, as even if you don't blink, you might miss him.

Despite a tepid third act, Anthony Waller's 'Mute Witness' is a tense and sinister horror that rockets along at a brisk pace. Boasting striking cinematography from Egon Werdin and creepily atmospheric sound design, it is a stirring picture. However, while it is well-edited and Marina Zudina does strong work as Billy, the supporting cast don't all impress- with Evan Richards' misjudged, over the top performance hampering the film's impact. Despite that, though, 'Mute Witness' is not a film you'll want to keep quiet about.

An amazing piece of film that was well-conceived and kept me on the edge of my seat. Brilliantly orchestrated in its timing, and the comedy kicked in exactly when the tension needed a release. The acting was generally well-done (the "Director" should've asked Alec Guinness for acting lessons), and the shot selections were impressive (as in elongating the hall as Billy tries to race to the door in the studio). This movie didn't let up since the opening scene...

** 1/2 out of ****

For the better part of an hour, Mute Witness is a first-rate thriller. So good, in fact, it was quickly becoming one of my genre favorites. Good premise, great direction, mostly terrific acting, smart writing, this one had it all. That is until just a bit past the one-hour mark, when the film suddenly makes a mind-boggling idiotic decision to change the tone and approach of the material, and it all devolves into a cheesy mess that left a sour taste in my mouth. This is the perfect example of a would-be great film that's merely recommendable thanks to an awful finish.

Billy Hughes (Marina Zudina) is the make-up artist for a cheesy slasher flick being filmed in Russia. A quick intro shows us that she may be mute, but she's pretty good at her job, which she may have also gotten because her sister is married to the director. After shooting for the day is wrapped up, Billy stays behind and is accidentally locked inside the soundstage. Waiting for help to arrive, she stumbles upon two of the film's crew members shooting a porno film, which quickly becomes a snuff piece.

After a fairly amusing opening scene and an effective set-up of the characters, Mute Witness kicks into full throttle quickly. Immediately after Billy witnesses the murder, we get one of the more suspenseful extended setpieces I've ever seen. These fifteen minutes consist of Billy creeping around the soundstage, desperately trying to avoid those crew members she just witnessed. It's a genuine breathtaking, edge-of-the-seat sequence, quite possibly the movie's highlight.

But the fun's not over. A little over halfway through the picture, we get another great stalk-and-slash sequence inside Billy's apartment. You even get to see cutie Marina Zudina fully nude, in some of the more gratuitous bits of flesh baring I've seen in a while (she has a great-looking butt), not that I'm really complaining. Zudina is probably the best thing about the film, she's not only extremely cute, but also smart and likable, a quick thinker who evades her attackers not because she's physically stronger or faster, but because she's smarter.

(spoilers) While I figured the film couldn't possibly keep the momentum up, I wasn't expecting such a sharp turn of events, either. The film suddenly goes from edgy thriller to a cheesy spy film, packed with silly and predictable double-crosses and plot twists. The simplicity and stark atmosphere of the first hour is gone. The number of villains is bloated from two scary individuals to what is apparently the entire Russian mafia.

The introduction of the undercover cop robs the movie of its key strength. The fun of the plot was watching Billy outthink and outsmart her attackers by herself. Bringing this guy into the mix shoves her into almost a supporting role and virtually reduces her to a mere sidekick/damsel in distress.

Possibly worst of all is the decision to place Billy's sister and her husband into the thick of the action. I don't think I've ever seen such an extreme case of two characters who I initially liked that come to annoy me so much by the climax. These two are made into bumbling fools, they've basically become the film's comic relief. Attempts at humor include them accidentally killing the bad guys, dropping bullets in crucial situations, and generally acting as clumsy as possible but still somehow not getting themselves killed in the process.

Director Anthony Waller had such a firm handle of the movie's pace and tone that I find it hard to believe he'd suddenly undo all his solid work in an instant. But the film's downward spiral is entirely his fault, the man wrote and directed the picture. He should have just stuck with what worked. But the first 2/3's are so much fun, it's worth recommending to thriller fans.