Dead
Silence (2006)
Universal
Cast:
Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valetta, Donnie Wahlberg.
Rating:
Unrated
Run
time: 91 mins.
Genre:
Horror
Verdict:
Beautiful
(see rating
system)
OK,
I can see that watching this in the theatre with a group of
friends might be kinda fun. We could all laugh (somewhat nervously)
through the scary bits and joke about how hokey it all is.
But
put me alone late at night when everyone else has gone to
bed and it's quite a different matter.
In
short, I was jerked around on a short leash - kudos to director
James Wan (Saw) for scaring me good and proper. And yeah,
I had to turn it off...
Dead
Silence follows in a long line of movies that have used ventriloquists'
dummies to scare audiences (Dead of Night and Magic come to
mind). Ryan Kwanten plays Jamie, who receives a gift-wrapped
dummy at the city apartment he shares with wife Lisa (Laura
Regan). He has no idea who sent it, but when he pops out to
get takeaway food, Lisa comes to a horrible - and I mean horrible
- end.
A
skeptical detective (Donnie Wahlberg) doesn't buy Jamie's
story and tells him he's the No.1 suspect. However, he doesn't
arrest him straight away but follows him back to the creepy
town of Ravens Fair, where Jamie and Lisa grew up.
Jamie
figures out the local legend of Mary Shaw - a ventriloquist
murdered long ago - has something to do with his getting the
dummy, and Lisa's death. Reputedly, anyone who screams at
the sight of Mary Shaw's spectre will have their tongue ripped
out.
What
follows is a classic succession of "don't go in there"
moments as the ghastly story of Mary Shaw unfolds. Creaking
doors, shadowy rooms, a spooky cemetery and the ruins of an
old theatre on a lake form the backdrop to the story. There's
also the creepiest collection of dummies and dolls you'll
ever see.
A
making-of featurette is among several extras. Don't watch
this alone - and whatever you do, don't scream...
