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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Creepy dummies will make you scream, March 17, 2007
One day, Jamie (Ryan Kwanten) and his wife find a box with no return address on their doorstep: It contains a ventriloquist dummy. When Jamie goes to buy takeout that night, he comes back to find his wife's been murdered and her tongue's been cut out. He becomes the number one suspect in Detective Lipton's (Donnie Wahlberg) investigation. Upon returning to his hometown of Raven's Fair to bury her, he begins to think that there might be more behind his wife's murder than he first thought. The old poem about Mary Shaw and her 101 dolls to scare the kids might have been true after all. He starts digging and soon finds out a lot of nasty things about Raven's Fair. From James Wan and Leigh Whannell, co writers of the Saw films comes a creepy killer doll movie. James Wan, who's directing his second film (he only directed the first Saw film), masterfully directs this very atmospheric film; the fog, eerie lighting, zoom outs, and gloomy score by Charlie Clouser (also a Saw veteran) all contribute in making this film an above average horror film. You can tell that this project was done by true horror fans that are passionate about their craft. Don't expect a Saw-type film; this isn't a torture, gore and guts kind of movie, more of a sinister ghost story and it works on most levels. The film had the touch of classic fifties and eighties horror films which I think it paid great homage to. If you've been missing good old-fashioned horror flicks without all that ultra violence, this movie's for you. Kwanten is very believable as the protagonist. Wahlberg, whose screen time is minimal, steals the scene every shot he gets. The supporting cast is filled with familiar faces and does a good job as well. The special effects were nicely done and the doll designs oozed creepiness to boot. There were a few reactions from the characters that made me wince; Lisa goes back to the bedroom after everything stops and goes dead quiet (Dead Silence, get it?) when she should have been running out of there, also, after Jamie's done burying the doll and he sees shadows moving around his car, no one in their right mind would've opened their door to check what it was (but that's what characters did in eighties horror movies). The finale had a good build-up and in true Whannell-Wan fashion, yes, there's a cool twist-ending. Make sure to pay attention to the pan of the camera during the confrontation near the end, you'll be able to spot a cameo from a character from the Saw films (kind of like Where's Waldo). If you're part of the new kids who dig their horror movies with buckets of blood, lots of gruesome torture scenes and plenty of violence, then this might not be the film for you. Although, if you're a fan of those old killer doll movies a la Dolls (1987), Puppet Master (1989) and Child's Play (1988), then you'll really dig Dead Silence.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been even better with decent cast, March 17, 2007
This movie, from the guys who brought us the SAW trilogy, is going to disappoint anyone who is expecting that sort of gore, torture and griminess. Okay, it is grimy, but it is not gory. Despite an R rating, it's a fairly tame CREEPY supernatural story. It feels very old school, almost like an episode of NIGHT GALLERY. The creepy ventriloquist's doll Billy, who actually does almost nothing in the movie...is the STAR. Just sitting there, lovingly photographed in shadow...he'll make the hairs on your neck stand up. We respond to him in an illogical way, but it can't be helped. Those dummies are just a little weird. The story of DEAD SILENCE is not terribly original, but it does stay true to the expectations of the form. It also has a decent surprise ending that you'll probably see coming...but only a few minutes before our "hero" does. My wife, 14 year old daughter and I were all quite satisfied. This is a genre film that for a change of pace, actually delivers some solid chills...unlike THE MESSENGERS, DARK WATER, etc. etc. It does have some problems, though. Namely Ryan Kwantan, the lead actor in the film who is such a dreadful actor I felt actually angry at him for ruining the film. Totally incapable of any display of convincing emotion. Just the pits. And Donnie Wahlberg mostly looks bored by his character...a cop who is the worst law-enforcement officer ever and apparently works for a police force that consists of just him. The film is low-budget, but some decent CGI work saves it. But the poor casting really shows the low-budget seams. It's an okay film that could have been more.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
GOOD OLD FASHIONED HORROR FILM ! VENTRILOQUIST DOLLS ARE SCARY!, January 26, 2008
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!
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