Dead Silence is the First Offering by James Wan and Leigh Whannell after the Saw Franchise.
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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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