Customer Reviews

Dead Silence (Unrated) (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

What a breath of fresh air this film was to watch!.....or should I say a breath of good old fashioned "Universal" chills? I finally watched this movie and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of creepy atmosphere it had. The dolls in this movie are freaky looking and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up more than once while watching this classic style fright flick.

This is a "ghost story" in every sense of the words and ventriloquist dolls are very, very scary! There are some clever plot twist and excellent camera work in this spooky thrill ride that plays like your riding through an old creepy dark ride at an amusement park or carnival. I also found that the use of 'silence'("Dead Silence")when things are about to go wrong, was ingenious and it worked like the music in 'Jaws' did, whenever it went silent you knew something bad was going to happen! This is one of the cleverest horror movies I've seen in a while and it has little or no gore.

The unrated version has a little more visual blood(very little)and also a plot point which helps to make the story make more sense. I liked both versions of the film and I'm not sure if it matters which one you buy. I just wish that the studios would stop releasing these film on separate releases when there is so little difference.....no wonder it didn't sell well. This is a great Halloween flick to start that night with a good fright! Look quick for the "Saw Puppet" on the floor amongst the debris! Stay up late, turn out the lights and watch this alone!......you'll see what I mean!

This is a real CREEPSHOW DELIGHT with lots of surprises in store. Extremely
well directed, and it keeps you thinking trying to figure what is going on. No teenybopper-slasher film, but something to be appreciated by 'Gourmets' of horror, and I used that word for a reason. Yes, there are some plot disconnects with everything not being linear-but that was on purpose and not the result of some bad directing. Crank up the microwave with some popcorn [TWO bags], sit back and just ENJOY! Good Horror Flicks are hard to find and this one is good, IN SPADES!
Rod Serling would love it were he still around, and he is counted among the masters in story telling.

Jamie Ashen's wife is murdered, shortly after the couple receives the anonymous gift of an antique ventriloquist dummy called Billy. Uncovering a clue on the case the doll arrived in, Jamie heads for his hometown of Raven's Fair, where a puppet-mistress called Mary Shaw is said to have laid a deadly curse.

There've been rumblings here and there that Universal Studios whittled Dead Silence into something a little less than intended. If that is true, I'm holding out hope for the unrated cut on disc. I understand there's an alternate ending, and I'm curious to find out more. I saw the film in its theatrical release, and overall, I liked it: It's very atmospheric, and it's refreshing to see a director (James Wan, of Saw fame) keep trying new things.

The dolls in this movie are truly creepy, and if that's what you're after, plan yourself a marathon of certain episodes of The Twilight Zone, X-Files, the 70s classic Magic, and of course, Dead Silence as the cherry on top.

Staci Layne Wilson

There are some genuinely creepy moments in "Dead Silence." A wide-eyed, wooden dummy in the room is always a source of suspense. The movie gets especially interesting when its protagonist first returns to his hometown of Raven's Fair to bury his wife. Several suggestive scenes there might lead viewers to suspect a truly inventive horror. However these themes aren't developed in any coherent way. They are only explained in slapdash flashback at the end of the film. If they had been made into the concentrated heart of this film, this would have been a superior thriller.

As it is though, this movie loses its way in a hodgepodge of ghostly special effects. Avenging spirits are superimposed on all sorts of reanimated entities. It's like "The Shining," which actually was a series of unrelated eerie plot lines paraded across the screen. But this film doesn't have any of The Shining's style or conviction. In fact, James Wan, the Director of "Dead Silence," says in one of the DVD extras that he purposely threw every sinister visual he could think of - except the kitchen sink - into the story. Then when the film was almost complete - he threw in the kitchen sink as well. He boasts about this as if it were a good thing. However in fact, he spoiled his film with a superfluity of the supernatural.

In addition, he let too many amateurish performances crowd his scenes. The detective, for example, is very unconvincing.

There are perhaps some elements of this film that may haunt you. It features a good warning line that the townspeople repeat - "Beware the stare of Mary Shaw..." This incantation almost rivals the old rhyme that Madam Ouspenskaya recited to Lon Chaney, Jr. to warn him of his werewolf fate. "Even a man who is pure at heart, and says his prayers by night..."

On the whole though, there are many better film opportunities to be scared by potentially homicidal ventriloquist's dummies. There is of course Anthony Hopkins' turn in "Magic." However, the most truly frightening take and twist on the theme that I've seen was the Alfred Hitchcock TV episode entitled "The Glass Eye." That episode stars Tom Conway. It first aired in October of 1957 and is available in the complete "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" series.

Then if you want to catch a brief spoof of the genre, check out Seinfeld's "The Chicken Roaster" episode from that sitcom's 1996 season. Jerry and Kramer switch apartments and Jerry is left alone with Mr. Marbles, the dummy that Kramer acquired. He pulls the covers up to avoid facing whatever thing goes - not bump - but more ominously yet - pitta-pat, pitta-pat, pitta-pat in the night.

I'm just going to come out and say it... I like Dead Silence. Do yourself a favor and forget the fact that it was directed by James Wan of the Saw franchise. This movie is NOTHING like Saw. So when they marketed it towards the gore-hound, torture violence crowd they set themselves up for a backlash. Dead Silence is a good ol' fashion ghost story. It hardly has any gore, but it has plenty of creepy atmosphere to amp up the scare factor.

Dead Silence has a simple storyline and I really dug it. Jamie Ashen's (Ryan Kwanten) wife is murdered a few minutes into the film. The distraught Jamie heads home to find out more about the creepy ventriloquist dummy that showed up at his doorstep...minutes before his wife died. What follows is a tense journey into a small hick town with a bumbling detective (a scene stealing Donnie Wahlberg) hot on Ashen's trail. This ghost tale focuses on dead Ventriloquist Mary Shaw. Shaw had no children so she treated her dolls like her family. Oh, and apparently after she croaked she decided to haunt the lives/dreams of people from her hometown. According to a children's poem if you ever see her in your dreams, you shouldn't ever scream...or she'll kill you. There is a great sound effect of everything going eerily silent just before she shows up (hence the title). Dead Silence is a throw-back to the 70s where what you didn't see, was sometimes scarier than what you did. It's an effective tactic for scaring the bejeezus out of people and I wish more film-makers would employ it today.

Dead Silence isn't the greatest horror movie and at times it tries very hard to be clever (the ending in particular). However, it's different enough that I found it very enjoyable to watch. Its moody atmosphere was much more terrifying than your run of the mill gore-fests that hit theatres these days. The movie does an excellent job of making you feel tense and uneasy until the final credits roll. Turn off the lights, crank up the volume and watch this one alone or with your significant other.

Final Grade: B

Dead Silence (James Wan, 2007)

The team who brought you Saw return for Wan's first trip to the director's chair since his surprise smash hit. This one came and went with very little notice. Given the performance of a number of recent, and far inferior, films of its type, that's a crime. Dead Silence is a slick little horror flick that touches all the bases, and runs over all the familiar territory, without ever seeming terribly cliched.

Jamie Ashen (Summerland's Ryan Kwanten) receives a mysterious package on his doorstep one evening-- a ventriloquist's dummy. When he comes back from picking up dinner that night, his wife is dead. A bit too much of a coincidence for him, so, shadowed by police detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg), Ashen goes back to the town where he grew up to find out what happened to his wife, and what it has to do with the doll.

You can probably see a good bit of this coming (though I freely admit the ending totally blindsided me), but that doesn't necessarily matter. After all, ventriloquist's dummies are just plain creepy. If you're looking for a movie that will unnerve you, and you don't like ventriloquist's dummies, this one's definitely worth checking out. *** ½

Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) received a special ventriloquist doll mysteriously and his wife has been murdered, he believes the doll belongs to a famous ventriloquist named Mary Shaw a celebrity in the town of Ravens Fair. He takes the dummy with him and joins with an investigative detective (Donnie Wahlberg) as they go to Ravens Fair to investigate the mysterious murders that have been happening especially involving dolls as he discovers that the town is haunted by the evil spirit of Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts) and her demonic dolls.


Refreshing and different horror thriller from James Wan and Leigh Whannell the makers of "Saw" that offers actual scares rather then gore abound. It's a supernatural fable with an interesting story, decent acting, a nice twisted ending and dark atmosphere that help makes this an exciting and enjoyable ghost story, i'm sure that people that want story and supernatural scares rather then just gore will find this movie a nice change of pace.

This DVD contains the unrated version with some violence and scenes not shown in the theatrical version with nice extras like alternate ending & opening seuqneces, deleted scenes, Behind The Scenes of "Dead Silence", "Mary Shaw's secrets" featurette, "Evolution of a visual FX" featurette and Music Video.

Also recommended: "The Shining", "Tourist Trap", "Magic", "Devil Doll (1964)", "Trilogy of Terror", "Dolls (1987)", "Puppet Master", "Child's Play Series", "Saw Trilogy", "The Others", "Making Contact (a.k.a. Joey)", "Silent Hill", "The Ring (2002 and Japanese version)", "Ju-On: The Grudge", "Scarcrows", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Poltergeist" and "Dead of Night (1945)".

I can't believe all the negativity that some people have written for this movie.. I think, for once, some one has got the feel, the look, and definately the shock value all together in a nice little package called 'Dead Silence'. A genuine good all round horror movie. Just remember whilst you are watching.. dont ever let her hear you scream....

In her quest for vengeance, a sinister ghost stalks and kills those she cursed while alive. Brought to you by the folks responsible for the SAW franchise, DEAD SILENCE delivers genuine chills with a sprinkling of gore in a glossy well produced package. Check out the product review for additional details, but ignore the Amazon reviewer who thought this was lighthearted fun. This is not a fun filled Horror film. Further, that some New Age Horror buffs may pass on this, as there is a mix of dialogue (and action), because there is actually a script for this film! That means you will have to pay attention for more than 15 seconds. DEAD SILENCE is actually a blend of old fashioned as well as new Horror, (minus the comedy), that works surprisingly well. While many new films exist purely to thrust shock and repulsive imagery at the viewer, DEAD SILENCE has one foot planted in that realm though the other is firmly rooted in old time Horror. A fair to good script helps to create a creepy mood while investing in some decent character development. There are also some awesome "jump scares" that are punctuated with frightening imagery. While DEAD SILENCE does not chart as high on the "Gore Scale" as most contemporary Horror, it does pack a punch, as it works on levels that most contemporary Horror only flirts with. Highly recommended.

This is a very good Film with a bit of a twist. Brings back the old Horror theme. Very enjoyable