After his wife meets a grisly end, Jamie Ashen returns to his hometown of Ravens Fair to find answers. His investigation leads him to the ghost of a ventriloquist named Mary Shaw who seems t... Read allAfter his wife meets a grisly end, Jamie Ashen returns to his hometown of Ravens Fair to find answers. His investigation leads him to the ghost of a ventriloquist named Mary Shaw who seems to have ties to his entire family treeAfter his wife meets a grisly end, Jamie Ashen returns to his hometown of Ravens Fair to find answers. His investigation leads him to the ghost of a ventriloquist named Mary Shaw who seems to have ties to his entire family tree
- Billy
- (voice)
- Clown
- (voice)
- Michael Ashen
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Bos
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia(at around 1h 10 mins) During the climax, in the storage area with all 101 dolls, you can see Jigsaw's doll from the "Saw" films sitting on the floor, and Edgar Bergen's doll Charlie McCarthy on one of the shelves. The doll that Detective Lipton throws over his shoulder in this scene is a replica of ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson's doll, Danny O'Day.
- GoofsThe 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 its 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.
- Quotes
Children's 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.
- Crazy creditsThe 1930s Universal Pictures logo is used in the opening credits.
- Alternate versionsUnrated 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Oh, We Review!: Dead Silence (2012)
- SoundtracksLet It Go
Written by Bob Mair, Dino Soldo
Performed by Bob Mair, Dino Soldo
Courtesy of Black Toast Music
Directed/co-written by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the men who brought us the successful "Saw" series, are also behind this splendidly spooky horror film. Originality is a hard thing to find in the horror genre these days, but this film manages to sluff off most of the typical horror set-ups and create an interesting and compelling story. This is quite a turn around from the "Saw" franchise, which, while it is a good series, has become more of a gore fest than anything. On the other hand, "Dead Silence" is a supernatural horror film with a very well written story. Character development is strong, and the acting helps that out as well, which is always a plus. Ryan Kwanten, an Australian actor, plays the lead role and is very believable. Donnie Wahlberg (of "Saw II" and "Saw III") plays a skeptical detective, and Amber Valetta ("What Lies Beneath") plays Jamie's new stepmother. All of the acting was really believable, I didn't see any below-average performing here.
Puppets and ventriloquism are main themes in the plot, which might sound a little clichéd. I suppose it is, puppets and dolls have become almost a joke in the genre because they are so over-used (as well as creepy little children, among other things), but since they are in the core basis of the plot, they actually come off as being scary. People who have that fear of dolls and/or puppets would be advised to steer clear of this film. There is some great sets in the film as well. The entire town of Raven's Fair has a heavily Gothic tone to it, almost to the point of complete surrealism. The sets are spooky and appropriately so, because it really adds the atmosphere of the movie. The villain/ghostly ventriloquist Mary Shaw, was actually quite terrifying. Her makeup effects made her one creepy looking woman. As for the gore, those expecting anything close to the over-abundance of violence in the "Saw" films will be disappointed. This film doesn't contain much gore - it has a little, but it doesn't use typical violence and graphic gore to get some scares out of the audience. I loved the way the movie ended as well. It's a twist-ending, but don't let that put you off - it works well with the rest of the movie, it's not one of those "bad movie twists". It was very unexpected and very well-written.
Overall, "Dead Silence" is a refreshing, semi-unique horror movie. The storyline is original enough, and the creepy themes and atmospheric setting add to its overall effect. Don't expect a gore fest though, because the violence is pretty tame compared to what you'd see in the "Saw" films. If you like James Wan and Leigh Whannell's work, I'd really recommend seeing this - it's a pleasant change from your typical horror films, and a nice change of pace from their previous work. It has a few flaws here and there, but it's such an enjoyable movie that all of that is forgivable in the end. Very refreshing. 9/10.
- drownsoda90
- Mar 15, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Mary Shaw
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $16,809,076
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,842,725
- Mar 18, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $22,382,047
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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