Dead Silence film review

certificate_15

DEAD SILENCE

There is something inherently creepy about ventriloquists' dummies. Perhaps it's those big eyes, or just that dolls aren't supposed to move or talk. Their fright factor has been exploited before in the movies, most notably in 1978's Magic and, more recently, in Dummy. Here director James Wan (Saw) has used them to good effect in the discomforting, if somewhat leaden, Dead Silence. There are plenty of 'door creaking' and "Don't go in there" moments along the way to the twist at the end, which sets up the inevitable sequel.

Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) and his wife, Lisa, are discussing whether to eat out or in when the doorbell rings. Jamie opens the door to discover a large package with no indication of who sent it. Upon opening, they find a ventriloquist's dummy. Jamie heads out to pick up dinner, but when he returns Lisa is dead, a terrified expression frozen on her face, and her tongue cut out. Jamie finds himself the prime murder suspect in an investigation led by the disheveled Detective Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg), who is always clutching his electric razor and making wise cracks.

Jamie links the mysterious dummy to his hometown, which was haunted by the dolls of a ventriloquist, Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts), who was murdered by the locals after she was suspected of being involved in the disappearance of a young boy. Jamie returns home to look for clues to his wife's death. He visits his estranged father (Bob Gunton), who lives with his young new wife, Ella (Amber Valletta). The town sign reads, Raven's Fair - 'A quiet place to live.' It's little wonder. Run down and deserted, its only inhabitants appear to be a gnarly undertaker (Michael Fairman) and a mad woman who has a dead crow for a pet and lives under the floorboards.

Populated with suitably strange people and eerie locations, including a hotel with the inevitable flickering sign, Dead Silence has all the ingredients to generate some chills, even though it's hard to see what's going on half the time. Clearly the modest budget didn't extend to lights as the whole film takes place in almost impenetrable darkness. Wahlberg's character adds some welcome comic relief (whether intentional or not), but Kwanten's presence is so slight as to get lost in the gloom.