Dead Silence (2007)
2007
R
89 Minutes
Jamie returns to his hometown in search of answers to his wife's murder, which occurred after receiving a weird package containing a ventriloquist dummy named Billy, which may be linked to the lege...
User Review
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Dead Silence is an effective creepy horror that just stays above mediocrity. James Wan pre-Insidious, clearly the man was still testing waters. After much success with 'Saw', Wan turned his nightmare inducing mind to a more supernatural state with this small flick. Having walked into his apartment with his wife dead, the son of a rich family goes back to his hometown to investigate who could be the culprit. Problem is, and deep down he knows, that the killer is a ghostly old ventriloquist named Mary Shaw. She had no children, only dolls. And if you ever see her, do not scream otherwise she'll rip your tongue out. The conception and execution of the Mary Shaw ghost story is the most memorable aspect to this horror flick. Her and her army of puppets, marionettes, dolls and anything else that has eyes. Wan is exceedingly skilled at creating an atmosphere, he can muster up suspense like a fly slowly going towards an electric lamp. Far too many good examples, such as the slow rotation of Billy the puppet's eyes or the silencing of background noise whenever something terrifying is about to happen. Speaking of the latter, incredibly effective and really pulls you into the screen. The scares were frequent albeit just loud noises and the tension was palpable at times. And for the final time, if an ominous clown doll demands you to come closer so it can whisper something...be the smart one and run away. Stupid characters do ridiculous things, and unfortunately these characters are lifeless. Expendable, dull and just a means to further the story. The acting was mediocre, Ryan Kwanten (yeah...me neither) was one of the most boring lead actors I've seen. Also the final twist felt too much like 'Saw'. It literally made no sense and left me more confused than anything. Even the explanatory flashbacks felt like 'Saw'. However, Dead Silence just about pushes itself in the creepy factor to be classed as good. Only just though. Should've got better actors and written more developed characters.0 member like this review.
