Dead Silence is the First
Offering by James Wan and Leigh Whannell after the Saw
Franchise.
Dead Silence hits theaters
following the meteoric rise to notoriety by Wan and Whannell resulting
from the wildly successful Saw
Franchise...and what a brilliant ride.
Written by BHM
Contributor Michael Saunier March 21, 2007
Release:
March 16, 2007
Directed by: James Wan Written by: James Wan and Leigh Whannell
Starring:
Ryan Kwanten as Jamie Ashen Amber Valletta as Ella Ashen Donnie Wahlberg as Det. James Lipton Judith Roberts as Mary Shaw Michael Fairman as Henry Walker Bob Gunton as Edward Ashen
The setting for the dark and atmospheric ghost story Dead
Silence is Ravens Fair, a small town that hides a dark
secret. Dark secrets are, of course, a staple of the horror genre, but
Wan uses a unique topic and well-paced story to set it apart from the
rest.
The dark secret of Ravens Fair revolves around a ventriloquist named
Mary Shaw who “never had children, only dolls” and
is murdered and has her tongue cut out by angry townsfolk after a local
boy goes missing. Her ghost comes back to seek retribution against the
families of the people who murdered her.
Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) finds his wife Lisa murdered after coming
home one stormy night from picking up takeout. Due to the fact he is
the last person to see her alive, along with his weak excuse that the
doll they received earlier that day has something to do with his
wife’s grisly demise, Detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg
of Saw
2 and Saw
3, and New Kids on the Block - What? You
thought I was above mentioning that?), follows Ryan as he
journeys back to his hometown to vindicate himself, find the truth
behind his wife’s death, and unravel the twisted tale of Mary
Shaw.
Dead Silence obviously grew from the response of
horror fans to the doll used in the Saw series,
which is utterly creepy and sticks in your mind well after finishing
the movie. What Dead Silence does not focus on is
over-the-top-gore and torture scenes (which are fine and dandy by me)
but rather on the atmospheric tension created through ghastly images
and the use of complete silence that foreshadows upcoming scares.
For instance, picture Jamie sleeping on a motel bed and Billy the doll
sitting in chair by the window. Then add the faucet dripping at regular
intervals along with the electric pulsing of the neon sign outside with
both continuously becoming louder forcing the audience to focus on the
sounds. As the sound grows, envision the pulsing red neon reflecting
off of the dummy’s face as his eyes slowly shift to Jamie
sleeping soundly mere feet away…and then dead silence. Trust
me, you could hear an ant cough in the theater during those parts.
James Wan creates such an uneasy atmosphere in Dead Silence
that a few people sitting near me buried their faces in their hands to
escape what was to come, my girlfriend included.
Judith Shaw plays a devilishly good villain as Mary Shaw, from the
flashbacks of her alive to her downright disturbing ghost form. Due to
a quick start and no lag in the story along with an unlikely ending
courtesy of the Saw-creators, Dead Silence
did not come off as overly hokey or kitsch.
When
I first heard about the premise of Dead Silence
surrounding a ventriloquist dummy, I immediately thought of Childs
Play and how this would be a rip-off replay of the
“killer doll” idea. After sitting through Dead
Silence, however, I now rest assured that my preconceived
notions were dead wrong. Questions
or comments about Dead Silence? Contact us!
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Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) finds his wife Lisa murdered after coming
home one stormy night from picking up takeout. Due to the fact he is
the last person to see her alive, along with his weak excuse that the
doll they received earlier that day has something to do with his
wife’s grisly demise, Detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg
of 
For instance, picture Jamie sleeping on a motel bed and Billy the doll
sitting in chair by the window. Then add the faucet dripping at regular
intervals along with the electric pulsing of the neon sign outside with
both continuously becoming louder forcing the audience to focus on the
sounds. As the sound grows, envision the pulsing red neon reflecting
off of the dummy’s face as his eyes slowly shift to Jamie
sleeping soundly mere feet away…and then dead silence. Trust
me, you could hear an ant cough in the theater during those parts.
Blink
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Simpy
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