Dead Silence

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'.

When, in 2004, James Wan and Leigh Whannell ran, with just over $1 million and in just under a month, Saw, perhaps they did not imagine that they were performing what would be one of the best and most well- successful thrillers of a whole decade. The commercial success allowed young people to produce, with a much larger budget, sequences that, more technically sophisticated (mainly the second and third parts, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman) were absolute blockbusters, projecting the Jigsaw character (played brilliantly by Tobin Bell) to the post of first great horror film villain of this millennium.

The duo James and Leigh were filling their pockets with cash and becoming more and more powerful in Hollywood, gaining creative and financial freedom for what would be their next project: Dead Silence (as the sum of the budgets of the first three films in the Death Games franchise was approximately $17 and a half million, the resources available to the duo in their new venture exceeded $20 million). For all that, great expectations were created around the release of Dead Silence. The original script was developed by James Wan and Leigh Whannell themselves, and according to the authors' definition, it is closer to the classic horror, and would even be inspired by the productions of the legendary Hammer (English producer responsible for the first color adaptations of Dracula and Frankenstein). Therefore, the plot would develop much more atmosphere and explore violence less than Death Games.

The story is sure to make many remember the endless saga of Child's Play, Chucky. To start the plot, an interesting and convenient explanation of the origin of the word "ventriloquist" and the legends about it is presented, which makes the story more intelligible. Introductions made, we are led to the scene in which Jamie (Ryan Kwanten) and Lisa Ashen (Laura Regan), happily married and living far from their birthplace, Raven's Fair, receive a strange ventriloquist puppet, which reminds them of ventriloquist Mary Shaw, who was murdered in the city for being suspected of kidnapping and killing children. As expected, after something strange happens, Jamie leaves, leaving his wife at home alone. And to his surprise (not ours, of course), he finds his wife dead in his bed, her tongue torn out. And, of course, Jamie is suspect number one. To try to prove his innocence, Jamie returns to his hometown, even though he is banned by court orders, willing to face the legend and put an end to the ghost of Mary Shaw.

Dead Silence is perhaps the most significant film for understanding why James Wan's artistic vision has made him the most popular name in horror in the 21st century. The filmmaker, in addition to presenting an expert and skillful mastery of the camera, able to involve the viewer in his accelerated rhythmic and instigating mystery, while also valuing the atmospheric construction of the ambiance for the fright - which may or may not come and then he's one of the best at handling the jump scare feature - on top of that, he has a broad repertoire in the genre, used very well to his advantage to coordinate the haunting effect of his stories making them seem bigger than they really are. Wan and Whannell work with super established clichés in horror, especially in terms of plot. There is a pre-plot formula used in this regard, starting with as little information as possible at the base and supporting the plot hole on a growing mystery of figuring out what the main threat is. Through this, Wan manipulates the very lines of his text, essentially superfluous as it is a beaten string of elements of the genre that everyone knows and he has a lot of repertoire, but which are very well directed in stages in the film to base their main villain on an iconography visual that is the mainstay for the effect of distorting the supposed complexity of the story.

The script, however, suffers from some structural problems and creates some unlikely situations, such as the "avenger" husband, who seems more interested in unraveling the mystery of the strange puppet, than suffering the violent death of his recently murdered wife or the policeman who pursues a murder suspect with no real commitment to arresting him. The little credibility of the characters and their motivations, as said, are not noticeable when we are involved in this atmosphere, conducted in the sequencing of scenes that may or may not cause fright, being those that yield this compensation for the fear created by being frightened, working because they are really very well-orchestrated, hidden to be released at the right moment when our psychological kind of gave up on them and the ones that don't, being an integral part of this process of momentary and atmospheric involvement that binds us to the film. This is because Wan's manipulation always keeps us very comfortable in terms of information that is given to us, where the director provides it on a platter, through flashbacks well fitted in the outline of the narrative, which makes us think that we are with him in the resolution of the mystery which invited us at first to participate, but actually makes it one step ahead, or at least provides a hiding place for a great piece of information, used in the climax as a twist.

This big turnaround is built more on the effect of quickly tying everything together in the edit by reminiscing about scenes than on the surprise, the revelation itself and how it fits into the storyline. It doesn't matter whether or not it makes logical sense or not, the Dead Silence doesn't do the slightest thing, but it closes the line to what he prioritizes as terror, which is to say what is the threat. In this way, the public ignores any breach of verisimilitude and concentrates on the ultimate confirmation of Mary Shaw's dangerousness, which he sustained the atmosphere to emphasize her iconography. The icing on the cake was not proving that the story was smarter than we were invited to immerse ourselves in it - even if that is a bit of the feeling when we didn't notice the connections beforehand - but rather that we were afraid while it was. Being told. The lack of verisimilitude only fits this, as the supernatural and the unknown, which were the minimal basis for investing in the mystery, are also confirmed. Apart from Charlie Clouser's soundtrack, which even derived from Mortal Games, is very good.

The great asset of "Dead Silence" is, without a doubt, the look. What we see on the screen is a real candy for our eyes. Everything works: the photography is chilling, the settings are extremely luxurious and the atmosphere old-fashioned. The kills are stylish, the makeup is really well done, and the special effects are great. From what our eyes see, the script could be a little more generous with our intellect, especially when it comes to the Wan/Whannel duo, much more was expected. The story, despite its immensely inspired points, is by no means innovative. Just the fact that you, when watching a movie, immediately remember another, already shows that the idea has already been used, and well explored. Any horror movie that involves puppets will take us back to "Toy Killer", which marked horror fans in the 90s. But that is not the greatest resemblance. The number of dolls, 101 in all, is unnecessary (here, 101 dolls are practically the same, and they do absolutely nothing). Despite the relative passivity of the puppets, the main one, Billy (Mary Shaw's great partner in her shows), gives the viewer good scares. But the main scene of the film, apart from the ending (which I'll tell you below), is when one of the duo's performances is shown in a flashback. It's from her that we can be sure that Mary Shaw's stories are, yes, true, and that her favorite doll isn't exactly just a doll.

The film becomes technically interesting due to the well-known combination of James Wan and the atmosphere of a script that seeks the right light for the final immersion. The quality and guarantee of a somber presentation of scenarios proposed as belonging to this category is the bastion used here to finish the great tale about Mary Shaw with style and without burning too much the balance line between the imaginary and the real revelations that for a short period of discovery orbit the main character. Like "Saw", presents an ending that leaves any spectator awestruck (of course, not in the same magnitude as "Saw" does), and this ends up being the highest point of the plot. Despite the script's clichés and minor confusions, this is a great entertainment option for horror fans. Just don't forget one thing: "Never, ever scream!"

What can I say...I liked Saw, I'm scared of Ventriloquist Dummiess, this movie was a sure hit, right? Well...

My expectations were fairly high, I suppose. I was expecting a more intellectual, (or maybe just more interesting) plot. Let me cover the things this movie did well and what it lacked.

On the good side, the movie had a nice style to it. There were some legitimately scary scenes (cinemagraphically). The music was also appropriate, and they definitely took some chances, which is nice to see.

However, the entire movie is based on a fairly generic concept, and a very uninspired script. Don't get me wrong, the movie "works," but there is nothing to this movie beyond its base concept- no depth, no real characterization, and honestly, very few explanations at all. The end should tie everything together, but instead reveals how shallow the story really is.

Bottom line, it's the kind of movie that could easily be lost in the sea of other generic horror movies out there. I almost feel the story may have worked better as a farce, because it just didn't try hard enough as a horror.

If you have nightmares easily, I suggest staying away from this film: it's pure nightmare fuel. If you have an active imagination, you could have trouble sleeping with the film's imagery burned into the back of your eyeballs.

The story's intriguing enough. There just aren't enough horror films these days about menacing old ventriloquist ladies that are buried with their creepy dolls, who have come back from the dead to seek vengeance on the families that put her in the grave, by tearing out their tongues. The atmosphere is heavy, the creepy music is provided by SAW'S Charlie Clouser, the colors are washed out, and the sets are surreal.

Many will dismiss it as a formulaic, clichéd horror film. The SAW creators, who are huge horror fans, have fun making their own version of the American horror film by throwing in plenty of classic tropes such as the wise-cracking detective (Donnie Wahlberg) and the crazy old lady that knows more than she should.

I was pleased that the film didn't shy away from gore: it wasn't gratuitous, but it did enhance the horror. Most ghost stories tend to be separate from the gore flicks (I'm a fan of both), but I always enjoy seeing them combined. Another aspect that was interesting was the "silence" mode that signaled the presence of evil.

It's got plenty of horror elements to provide scares: aged film, folk tales, singing children, antique furniture, voice recordings fading out, flickering lights, dead loved ones beckoning from beyond the grave, photographs of dead families, cackling old women, wide-eyed dolls, billowing curtains, plenty of thunder and lightning, open caskets, dank crawlspaces, and a pervading sense of evil throughout.

Critics won't dig it, but I've shown it to two groups of friends and the majority were terrified and claimed it to be one of the scariest movies they'd seen. If you're a fan of atmospheric horror that aims to creep you to the bone, you should be more than pleased.

"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.