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 | Thriller

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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

Gross USA:

$16,809,076

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

There are two different versions of the "Mary Shaw" poem. In the movie the poem goes, "Beware the stare of Mary Shaw. She had no children only dolls. And if you see her in your dreams, be sure you never, ever scream." On the trailer it was, "Beware the stare of Mary Shaw. She had no children, only dolls. And if you see her do not scream, she'll rip your tongue out at the seam."

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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

[last lines]
Jamie Ashen: [reciting the nursery rhyme] Beware the stare of Mary Shaw / She had no children, only dolls / And if you see her in your dreams / Be sure to never ever scream.

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Crazy Credits

The 1930s Universal Pictures logo is used in the opening credits.

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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

Referenced in Death Sentence (2007)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Oh my God... I missed this kind of movie.

I thought the age of the horror movie was coming to an end. Occasionally there are a few gems (The Descent was excellent)but for the most part horror has been replaced by torture porn (saw, saw 2, saw 3, The Hills Have Eyes, and especially Hostel). Dead Silence has thankfully come to show us that Hollywood can still make a scary picture.

This movie is a throwback to the golden age of horror films. This is a Williams Castle sort of movie... a Vincent Price sort of movie. The filmmakers realized that all a horror movie actually has to do is be scary... and that is exactly what this movie is.

Atmosphere, jumps, startles, and eerie dolls. This movie is creepy as hell.

A little note though... don't go into this film with the attitude that it will suck... and don't pick it apart bit by bit. Just sit back and enjoy. The movie wants to to take you on a ride. You should just strap in and feel the terror that is Dead Silence.