Dead Silence (2007)

Director:

James Wan

Writers:

Leigh Whannell (screenplay)
James Wan (story) ...

Release Date:

16 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

You scream. You die.

Plot:

A widower returns to his hometown to search for answers to his wife's murder, which may be linked to the ghost of a murdered ventriloquist.

Plot Keywords:

Ventriloquist | Ghost | Package | Doll | Detective

Cast

Ryan Kwanten	...	Jamie Ashen
Amber Valletta	...	Ella Ashen
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Det. Lipton
Michael Fairman	...	Henry Walker
Joan Heney	...	Marion Walker
Bob Gunton	...	Edward Ashen
Laura Regan	...	Lisa Ashen
Dmitry Chepovetsky	...	Richard Walker
Judith Roberts	...	Mary Shaw
Keir Gilchrist	...	Young Henry
Steven Taylor	...	Michael Ashen
David Talbot	...	Priest
Steve Adams	...	1941 Detective
Shelley Peterson	...	Lisa’s Mom
Enn Reitel	...	Billy (voice)

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and images.

Runtime:

89 min | 92 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #42784) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M (unrated version) | Australia:M | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Elora, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

"Billy" was not only the name of one of the dummies in this movie, but also the name of the puppet used by the Jigsaw killer in the "Saw" movies, also created by Leigh Whannell and James Wan.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Detective Lipton confronts Jamie at his father's house, the perspiration on the left side of the Detective's face alternates between dry and wet between shots.

Quotes:

Jamie Ashen: I promised to make you dinner right?
Lisa Ashen: Yeah.
Jamie Ashen: Well, I'm making you a gourmet dinner.
Jamie Ashen: Trust me. It'll be worth the wait.
Lisa Ashen: Surrender. Hmm. Surrender to the wonders of take-out.
Jamie Ashen: Oh. I knew this was coming.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Sentence (2007)

Soundtrack:

Lucky in Love

Meh.

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.