Saw duo James Wan and Leigh Whannell re-team for this chilling tale of a widower who returns to his hometown to unearth clues about his recently departed wife's untimely death. In the quiet town of Ravens Fair, children taunt one another with spooky stories about a ventriloquist whose mind was ravaged by insanity. Mary Shaw was a popular entertainer until she was accused of murdering a young boy. Subsequently hunted and captured by the vengeful townspeople, Mary's tongue was cut out before she was mercilessly killed and committed to the earth in the company of her handmade collection of vaudeville dolls. In the years that followed, the town seemed to be haunted by those ghastly puppets. After mysteriously disappearing from Mary's grave, the menacing figurines would sometimes be glimpsed by the damned in the dead of night -- their appearance consistently foreshadowing the death of whoever laid eyes upon them. Entire families were found slaughtered, their tongues brutally torn from their mouths in a sickening scene that eerily recalled the execution of the elderly ventriloquist. Newlyweds Jamie and Lisa Ashen both grew up in Ravens Fair. Now, following Lisa's inexplicable death, Paul has returned to the pair's hometown in order to say his final goodbyes and find out the truth about his wife's enigmatic demise. After being reunited with his ailing father and the aging man's pretty young bride, the grieving widower will finally uncover the shocking truth behind the curse that has plagued Ravens Fair for as far back as he can remember.
From SAW director James Wan comes DEAD SILENCE, written by Leigh Whannell and that is a movie that truly has a nightmarish tone to it. Filled with creepy imagery, horrific dolls and a ghostly atmophere, DEAD SILENCE is a movie made by horror fans for horror fans. Having heard a lot about the film beforehand I was afraid it was gonna be a bit too commercial for my taste, and even though it was kinda commercial it still has a lot to offer hardcore horror fans as well. While it may not scare you, you're definitely in for a really good time. Sure, the film delivers quite a few horror clichés but looking at the overall movie, it's not as tired as some may think.
A great thing about DEAD SILENCE is that it does not rely on cheap scares, it does not make you jump out of your seat or stuff like that but instead it delivers lots of haunting imagery all the way through and it's the overall creepy atmosphere that makes it worth while. While it may not be half a creative as SAW was, I don't even think it makes sense to compare the two films since they're both very different from each other. DEAD SILENCE is sorta traditional ghost story that pretty much has all that you're looking for when it comes to the genre with a story that is relatively simple, yet intriguing.
 
As for actors and character, I must say that I really did enjoy Donnie Wahlberg's performance as the detective since his character added some good humor to the overall film without making it feel tacky. Mary Shaw is creepy enough when clips from the past are shown to us and the old crazy lady that spouted omens added to the overall weird and creepy feel. Don't expect too much gore though, it's just not that kinda film but even so, it did actually have some to offer which is cool because most films like this often shy away from it since it may not fit the overall concept. Anyway, I'm glad the filmmakers didn't do that completely.
Another very cool thing is that whenever something scary is about to happen all ambient noise disappears for a while... providing dead silence, very awesome indeed. The pacing is good and never does the film move slow and I must say that it was a very easy to film to sit through, and even though it didn't really provide those scares that I'm constantly seeking, I still had a very good time watching DEAD SILENCE.
If you want a film that have tons of horror elements DEAD SILENCE is an excellent pick; A cemetary scene at night, thunder and rain, folk tales, a small superstitious town, singing children, haunting imagery, aged film, a creepy white haired lady, nursery rhymes and loads of creepy dolls... this is DEAD SILENCE in a nutshell.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
MOVIE YEAR: 2007
DIRECTOR: James Wan
WRITING CREDITS: James Wan, Leigh Whannell
GENRE: Horror
CAST: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 91 min
RATING: 7/10
Dead Silence Website/IMDB Click here
Dead Silence Trailer Click here
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