Dead Silence (2007)

A young widower returns to his hometown to search for answers to his wife's murder, which may be linked to the ghost of a murdered ventriloquist.

Director:

James Wan

Writers:

Leigh Whannell (screenplay), James Wan (story)

Stars:

Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Kwanten	...	Jamie Ashen
Amber Valletta	...	Ella Ashen
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Det. Lipton
Michael Fairman	...	Henry Walker
Joan Heney	...	Marion Walker
Bob Gunton	...	Edward Ashen
Laura Regan	...	Lisa Ashen
Dmitry Chepovetsky	...	Richard Walker
Judith Roberts	...	Mary Shaw
Keir Gilchrist	...	Young Henry
Steven Taylor	...	Michael Ashen
David Talbot	...	Priest
Steve Adams	...	1941 Detective
Shelley Peterson	...	Lisa's Mom
Enn Reitel	...	Billy (voice)

Storyline

Every town has its own ghost story, and a local folktale around Ravens Fair is about a ventriloquist named Mary Shaw. After she went mad in the 1940s, she was accused of kidnapping a young boy who yelled out in one of her performances that she was a fraud. Because of this she was hunted down by townspeople who in the ultimate act of revenge, cut out her tongue and then killed her. They buried her along with her "children," a handmade collection of vaudeville dolls, and assumed they had silenced her forever. However, Ravens Fair has been plagued by mysterious deaths around them after Mary Shaws collection has returned from their graves and have come to seek revenge on people that killed her and their families. Far from the pall of their cursed hometown, newlyweds Jamie and Lisa Ashen thought they had established a fresh start, until Jamie's wife is grotesquely killed in their apartment. Jamie returns to Ravens Fair for the funeral, intent on unraveling the mystery of Lisa's death. Once...

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Plot Keywords:

young couple | nursery rhyme | creepy doll | vengeful ghost | abandoned theater | 

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Taglines:

You scream. You die.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and images

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shhhh...

Filming Locations:

Elora, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,842,725, 18 March 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$16,809,076, 19 April 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,217,407

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Twisted Pictures, Evolution Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 92 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Donnie Wahlberg's character's name (Detective Lipton) has the same last name as his character in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers (2001) (2nd Lt. Lipton).

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Goofs

The ventriloquist dummy is considered evidence due to the fact that it arrived the same day Lisa died yet the doll is not retrieved from the crime scene allowing Jamie to take it to his hometown to investigate it's history. Det. Lipton confronts Jamie for trying to get rid of evidence by burying the doll which could have easily been avoided if the authorities had simply retrieved the doll from the crime scene.

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Quotes

Lisa Ashen: Oh Jamie, you adopted us a baby.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits starts with a dedication to producer Gregg Hoffman.

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Alternate Versions

Unrated DVD contains the following extended shots which were omitted from the "R" rated version.

• Mary Shaw has a creepy, disgusting, long tongue.
• A gorier death for Henry, as Mary Shaw is shown eating Henry's tongue and saying "I now have your voice, Henry."
• The tongue comes out and licks Jamie after the clown admits the "secret" to him about his wife.

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Connections

Featured in

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Soundtracks

Lucky in Love
Written by Alex Heffes
Courtesy of Evolution Music Partners

User Reviews

Dread the Silence

When James Wan and Company decided to make a flick that paid homage to the horror genre, they went to it with the exertions of funding a third world nation. The result is a wildly pleasant terror fest. With enough gore to please the eye, Dead Silence achieves its ends by way of creepy atmosphere, with brutal eye candy used with occasional flair as opposed to the whole enchilada. The story was rich enough, including all of the necessary touchstones of horror, random dolls, lightening, crawl spaces and the like. The lighting and use of shadow was incredible and it shows. The direction, competent as expected. Even the cinematography worked to great effect to create the feel of a classic horror flick. The sound, as hinted by its titular intimations, was perfectly utilized to throw down the red carpet for tension's inevitable approach. And where all the requisite features of great horror can come crashing down by pitiful acting, no such party pooper is to be found here. The acting was solid and even punctuated with perfectly timed humor by way of Donnie Wahlberg, cynical detective undaunted by performing some of his own stunts. In all, Dead Silence is the type of chilling horror flick that one could only hope to inspire the genre to emulate. Merci beaucoup.

Genruk of Evil Eye Reviews