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

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 Lisa is attacked by the Doll and is spitting blood out on the floor, the white sheet on her back keeps moving from being wrapped down around her waist, to pulled back up almost to her shoulders between shots.

Quotes:

Children's Rhyme: Beware the stare of Mary Shaw / She had no children only dolls / And if you see her in your dreams / Be sure to never ever scream.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Sentence (2007)

Soundtrack:

Who's Holding You Now?

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.