Mute Witness (1994)

Billy Hughes, a mute makeup artist working on a slasher film being shot in Moscow, is locked in the studio after hours. While there she witnesses a brutal murder, and must first escape ... See full summary »

Director:

Anthony Waller

Writer:

Anthony Waller

Stars:

Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley, Evan Richards

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marina Zudina	...	Billy Hughes (as Marina Sudina)
Fay Ripley	...	Karen Hughes
Evan Richards	...	Andy Clarke
Oleg Yankovskiy	...	Larsen (as Oleg Jankowskij)
Igor Volkov	...	Arkadi
Sergei Karlenkov	...	Lyosha (as Sergej Karlenkov)
Alec Guinness	...	The Reaper (as Mystery Guest Star)
Aleksandr Pyatkov	...	(as Alexander Piatkov)
Nikolai Pastukhov	...	Janitor (as Nikolai Pastuhov)
Aleksandr Bureyev	...	(as Alexander Buriev)
Stephen Bouser	...	Lovett
Valeri Barakhtin	...	Mitja (as Valeri Barahtin)
Nikolay Chindyaykin	...	(as Nikolai Chindjaikin)
Vyacheslav Naumenko	...	(as Vasheslav Naumenko)
Larisa Khusnolina	...	(as Larisa Husnolina)

Storyline

Billy Hughes, a mute makeup artist working on a slasher film being shot in Moscow, is locked in the studio after hours. While there she witnesses a brutal murder, and must first escape capture at that time, then keep from being killed before convincing authorities of what she's seen. Plot twists galore follow as Billy tries to stay alive.

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Plot Keywords:

mute | murder | nudity | sign language | home invasion | 

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Taglines:

She Can't Speak. She Can't Scream. She Can't Beg For Mercy.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and a strong scene combining sex and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics [us]

Country:

Russia UK Germany

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

15 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Testigo mudo

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,204,430 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avrora Media, Cobblestone Pictures, Comet Film Produktion GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Anthony Waller filmed Alec Guinness' scenes nine years before the rest of the film from an earlier draft of the screenplay. Guinness gave his performance in one morning before catching a plane. When Waller needed an additional scene, he used the film from earlier and reversed it.

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Goofs

When Karen is holding the gun inside Billy's apartment, it suddenly disappears from her hand. A few moments later, it appears in Andy's hand.

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Connections

References The Spiral Staircase (1945)

User Reviews

Words cannot express the horror.

Billy Hughes is a mute young lady working for make-up on a cheap horror picture being filmed in Moscow by an American director. One night Billy gets locked in the movie studio. Later that night she hears that someone might be in the building and goes to check it out. That's when she stumbles across a woman being brutally murdered, while being filmed. After escaping the clutches of the murderers, Billy informs the authorities, only to be red-faced when the men show it was an act. Billy knows what she saw and soon her life is in turmoil again from underground figures that believe she has something of importance.

I don't know how this heart-pounding sleeper passed me by, but I thought it was a much older flick. There's one thing though, it's got to be one of the most jarringly, and intense thrillers I've seen in quite a while. It's just a great suspense builder and mostly everything clicks into place! The first half of the feature is surprisingly gripping with taut sequences that have your heart in your throat and clouds us with an atmospherically foreboding environment of alienation. Underling this is a humorously wicked black streak. Faults do pop up in the story, as it does lose that furious grip it held so early and goofy humour (or better putter comic relief) between Fay Ripley and Evan Richard's characters is a hit and miss affair by being too forceful. In the long run, it probably could have done without. Despite some cringe moments, this aspect didn't hinder my enjoyment of it. For me, the soft ending they decided to go with just didn't feel right.

The interestingly mysterious premise was eerie to the bone and packed some unsettling goods. So multi-facet was the context and its thrills, there was something fresh to how this all plays out and the nervy jolts and unbearable tension are weaved into a range of sudden plot turns and twists. Really, they made superb use of the novel idea of this disability and to handicap the situation, by staging it in a foreign place where not too many spoke English and so we are caught up in the confusion too. The delicate Marina Zudina gives a harrowing portrayal of the American mute girl Billy. The way she able to display the erratic emotions through her eyes and actions gave it some gruff and believability. Director Anthony Waller shoots the flick in a rather stylish, well-timed and skillful manner, without loosing that grimy look that eventuates from its rigid surroundings and a powerfully airy music score persistently nags at you. The only real name to make an appearance was small cameo part by Alec Guinness. The performances by the cast were all fine, especially the nail biting turns by Oleg Yankovsky and Igor Volkov as the Russian murderers.

This riveting feature that's mostly made up of unknowns, is way better than your average dark thriller. Highly Recommended.