Dead Silent

This movie has it all. Poor casting, slow pace, Rob Lowe slumming, you name it. To start off, the little girl was a very bizarre casting as Stewart's niece (though she really may be, for all I know) and as the child of the people we saw in the beginning of the movie. She looks adopted. Perhaps she was - and I wouldn't put it past this script to not bother telling us.

The pace of this thing is deadly. There's no acting to speak of because the characters are cardboard. Everyone acts sinister. And what is all the fuss about? When actors chased after McGuffin in Hitchcock, there was another storyline to keep them interested. Not in this movie.

One sits through this entire film feeling as if something is off. Off with the acting, off with the story, off with you for watching it. So let's have one more off - off with the TV.

Rob Lowe must have eaten up the entire budget, but I can't fault him for running with the money. Even he would have to agree, there was nothing good about this movie. Filming, editing, direction, dialogue, sets, makeup, writing, casting (especially the young girl and imposter child psychiatrist), and the story all were just the worst. I have never seen such a horrible movie. Pass this one up for any other rental selection, or find yourself shouting out vile comments at the TV. Dead Silent should be silenced for all time.

When Dr Julia Meybridge's (Catherine Mary Stewart) sister and brother-in-law are murdered in a burglary, she takes care of their daughter Amanda (Arlen Aguayo-Stewart) who cannot speak due to the trauma of witnessing the murders. However as accusations of stealing industrial secrets are levelled at Amanda's parents and someone continues to stalk Julia's apartment it is apparent that Amanda is still in danger.

This is a reasonable TV thriller. It doesn't particularly pretend to having high aspirations and knows that it's plot isn't great but it's still OK if you're not expecting great things. The main story about the industrial espionage and the gang hunting for "an item" is pretty good if a little unbelievable. You can see the twists coming from miles but it doesn't take too much away from the conclusion.

It's difficult to care about either Stewart (Dr Meybridge) or Amanda (Aguayo-Stewart). With Stewart her character is so work focused that she neglects Amanda, the idea being that we would gradually see her warm to the prospect of motherhood. However she is so unsympathetic for the majority of the film that it is that that stays with you and not the sudden urge of motherhood experienced towards the end. As an aside Stewart looks so much like Meg Ryan that if her current work dries up she should be able to get a job as one of those celebrity impersonators at parties!

Amanda being mute for almost the entire film makes it difficult for Aguayo-Stewart to convey a lot of character. This would have suited a more experienced or better child actress and makes you wonder about how she was picked out for the role. Rob Lowe brings a bit of "star-power" to the film but, as projects like 'The West Wing' shows, he's too good for projects like this.

A reasonable TV thriller, this would have benefited from better performances from both the female leads.

The story starts off in the home of a little girl who is going to have a Birthday Party and both the mother and father seemed to act rather quiet and reserved with each other. They proceed to give their daughter her present which is from both of them and it stuck me funny the expressions on the two parents faces as they gave their child this gift, it was almost like, 'I hope she likes it'! There is a killing in the film and Catherine Mary Stewart,(Julia Kerbridge),"Reaper",2000, gets involved with the case because of family ties. Julia is working hard to become a doctor and this particular murder disrupts her entire life. Rob Lowe, (Kevin Finney),"View From The Top",03 is a next door neighbor in the same apartment dwelling as Julia and he eventually goes to bed with her and tries to help her in other ways. This is not a bad film, but it is certainly nothing to go crazy about, unless you like a film location in Canada and a good looking Catherine Mary Stewart, a native from Canada.

The movie uses motifs that could be plagiarized from "Wait Until Dark" (1967), a much better movie by Terence Young, starring Audrey Hepburn. "Dead Silent" is a pale paraphrase. There is nothing new here -- the hidden object in the doll, the bad men wanting it, the bad guy posing as a good guy. The disability, though, has shifted : Audrey Hepburn couldn't see, the child in DS cannot speak. But both stories hinge on the handicap. Where "Wait Until Dark" built up unbearable suspense, "Dead Silent" lets you guess the outcome, the story being such a stereotype.