Dead Silence (2007)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

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 | Detective | Dummy | Revenge

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

Color:

Color

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:

The film is dedicated to producer Gregg Hoffman.

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: [yelling] What do you want me to tell you?
Det. Jim Lipton: Something less perplexing than a ghost story.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Soundtrack:

Lucky in Love

Better than many recent horror films

Firstly, the story isn't bad at all, although it'll hardly win any awards. It's pretty difficult for horror movies to continually be original, and this certainly has some moments in it. The villain seems to have some originality; it's not some Chucky imitation. The story lacks depth, and the characters aren't fleshed out at all. The real point of this movie is to be a horror film and nothing more. After the first few (poor) scenes, this movie does one of two things: keep you waiting to jump or trying to make you jump. From the rest of the audience's reactions, I'd say it did a pretty good job at that.

The acting was nothing to write home about, but for this genre, it's more good than bad.

Overall, I would say this a horror movie that deserves a trip to the theater. Compared to many of the sad horror attempts that come out, this isn't too terrible. And it doesn't rely on an abundance of gore like many others do.