Dead Silence Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
You scream. You die.
Every town has it's 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 reunited with his ill father, Edward, and his father's new young bride, Ella, Jamie must dig into the town's bloody past to find out who killed his wife and why. All the while, he is doggedly pursued by a detective who doesn't believe a word he says. As he uncovers the legend of Mary Shaw, he will unlock the story of her curse and the truth behind the threat from a rhyme in his childhood: if you see Mary Shaw and scream, she'll take your tongue. And the last thing you will hear before you die...is your own voice speaking back to you.
| Ryan Kwanten | Jamie Ashen |
| Amber Valletta | Ella Ashen |
| Donnie Wahlberg | Det. Jim 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 | LisaÂ’s Mom |
| James Wan |
6.00 out of 10 (8736 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Was this movie a joke?
posted on 20 Aug 2009I just watched this movie, and have tried to find very positive things to say about it, because I couldn't imagine Leigh and James could EVER make a bad horror film. But I honestly thought it was very predictable, and the quote, shocking twists were obvious after 25 minutes. Donnie Wahlberg is a great actor, but this character was not for him. He has way to much talent to play a boring sarcastic, lurking character. I really hope I was just not with it when I watched this movie, and will give it another look, when it comes out on DVD. I must have missed something, because Im in disbelief, that they could team up,and make such a boring, unscary film. I hope I missed something? I almost feel betrayed!
just doesn't seem to do what is supposed to
posted on 20 Aug 2009OK i remember when i watched the first SAW movie and remembered how great a movie it was so when i found out this movie was made by the same guys i was pumped to watch this movie.i watched it at night to add to the atmosphere of the movie which no doubt the movie was able to successfully pull off. but other than that it just seemed mediocre.the ghost story that it revolved around was slightly interesting and the concept and what happens with it was alright but the acting wasn't the best so it was kind of let down with that.the very ending twist of the movie just didn't make too much sense, its like they tried too hard to put a plot twist in the end and they weren't able to pull it off.basically just a mediocre horror movie, nothing special.
Puts R. L. Stine's Night of the Living dummy to shame
posted on 14 Aug 2009As a kid, i was afraid of the slappy movies and books by R.L. Stine. I didn't see the movie in theaters since i'm broke, but i just watched it. To be honest, it scared me, and i haven't been scared in a while with all these junk horror films.I had reasonably high expectations of this movie. I'm scared of dummies, people who made saw made it, good movie right? And it was. People say the plot was bland and things, and it was. But for the most part, i was entertained! The good: - Creepy dummy - Interesting photos of tongue-less humans - liked the similarities of nightmare on elm street (see her in dreams...) - 101 dummies! woah! - awesome ventriloquist scene/ flashback - Very creepy The bad: - Bland plot - lacked "jumpy" parts - Not terrible acting, but no George cloony's - No hott females - music was iffy too Over all: The things i said were bad were very nit picky, so obviously, it's a good movie. If you got the time, go to a blockbuster or whatever, see if it's in stock, and rent it. It's worth the $4.00.
Not scary but quite clever
posted on 08 Aug 2009It's always good to see something new brought into the horror genre. We've seen sharks, we've seen monsters, bugs, chainsaws, machetes, rapists, zombies, but now someone was actually clever enough to build a scary story around the magic of ventriloquism. Originality alone however does not always make a good horror film, it has to be equally scary. Dead Silence is occasionally creepy but not scary. It is a little weak in other areas as well, but as a whole it is entertaining.One rainy night, Jamie Ashen receives a mysterious package in the mail containing a ventriloquist's dummy with the name 'Billy' on it. That same night his wife is killed. The police suspect homicide, but Jamie knows that something else is afoot. upon reexamining the package he finds a clue which takes him to the town of Raven's Fair, where the famous ventriloquist Mary Shaw once lived. There, he hopes to find out why his wife was killed, why no one says the name Mary Shaw and most of all why Billy seems to be alive!It is clear that director James Wan and his cinematographer have an eye for art. The film is shot in a very Tim Burton-like way. The color scheme is very bleak, with only prime colors heavily saturated (specifically red). It is also clear that Wan is smart enough to avoid major clichés. For example most horrors films end with a resolution of some sort. I cannot recall the last time in where I saw a recent horror film with a cleaver twist ending, like Dead Silence has. The acting is nothing special, but then again there is not much to the characters either. A couple of quirky performances shine through, one from Michael Fairman (who some might recognize from his appearance on Joss Whedon's series 'Firefly')Dead Silence is not likely to make you scream, but it certainly won't make you fall asleep either. I recommend it if your looking for a fun, and imaginative little horror flick.
A Nice Change
posted on 04 Aug 2009While I'm more into the full gore horror/triller movies this was a nice change of pace. It had the old skool horror movie feeling that James Wan wanted (view "Special Features".) The casting was really well done, it was a bit of a surprise to see Bob Gunton and even more of a surprise to see Aussie actor Ryan Kwanten casted into this movie.All elements of horror were pretty much covered in this. I'm sure a lot of people won't want dolls in the house after this >D...Certainly a must see.The end is defiantly a slap your forehead moment, specially since i was thinking certain things when they introduced Bob's character Edward Ashern ^_~...
Sigh...I am SO dang tired of these 'PLANTS' posting these rave reviews... ("Oh, go see it right now! " "Superb!" and other BS...)
posted on 31 Jul 2009Okay, I'm gonna be REAL generous and give this a 5.Here's the deal... YES, I friggin' LOVE films about dolls, mannequins, dummies (you know which kind I mean : ) etc., etc., Even the ULTRA-CHEEEEEEEZY ones like 'PUPPETMASTER', and yes 'CHILD'S PLAY' (the first 2 only) and great ones like 'PIN' & 'MAGIC', and the obscure ones like the Swedish film 'THE DOLL' and the quasi-CHEEEEZY Asian film 'Marrionner'or however it's spelled, and so on. So, I was really, REALLY looking forward to this film! AND knowing that it was from the creators of'SAW' except it THANKFULLY is not about people being tortured, its about DOLLS!!! Well, to give them credit ALL the friggin' elements were there; the neat back story, the dolls, some good and I mean GOOD scares! And there was a pretty neat twist at the end. But, ultimately the story was kinda superficial, the effects with the dolls eyes was VERY, VERY repetitive, they didn't really flesh out the story very much, the characters were sort of paper thin, and the ending although beautifully done (kind of reminds me of the GIALLO film 'THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW' in the sharp way they go back over the clues and give the overall PUNCH to the ending. BUT, and it's a BIG ONE too, like Mariah Carrey's (WOW!) They didn't explain at all exactly WHY it turned out that way at the end or WHO this person (not to give it away) behind the twist part truly was and how they fit in...I just got a strong impression that they had a GREAT idea and they had a bunch of great ingredients, but they just did NOT take the time to put them together properly so that the story and the characters would play out to full effect.So, because of the unnecessary WASTE of these great elements, I give it a 5. And I feel that I am being VERY generous...
Awful
posted on 31 Jul 2009Dead Silence (2007) * (out of 4) James Wan (Saw) directs this horror film, which turns out to be one of the worse I've seen in recent years. A man is left in shock when his wife is murdered but he suspects it was the dummy of a murdered ventriloquist. From the opening moments until the end credits this film had me bored to tears and not once did I ever get into the film. The biggest and main reason this film is such a disaster is due to the incredibly stupid story that never grabs the viewer nor does the viewer ever care what's really going on. The direction is also pretty poor as it seems like a director being forced to do a film, which couldn't apply here since Wan did the story. The one saving grace is Donnie Wahlberg who plays the cop investigating the murder.
Despite some problems, this is a fun, sometimes creepy, movie
posted on 29 Jul 2009From James Wan, the writer and director of Saw and producer of Saw 2&3, comes Dead Silence, a horror movie about dolls controlled by a crazy ventriloquist. It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one to know that this film is getting poor review scores. It has become sort of a tradition to ignore metacritic.com- 34/100 is the current score for Dead Silence. Once again, critics have forgotten that watching movies is about enjoying them, not nitpicking them to death looking for all the faults. Sure, not everything is perfect in Dead Silence, but enough was done right for me to enjoy it.Main character Jamie Ashen (Kwanten) has a good life with his short-haired wife, Lisa. But, as always, her name doesn't matter, because she is sadistically slaughtered by what appears to be a dummy that the couple found delivered to their house at the beginning of the movie. But wait…is it the dummy that actually kills her, or something else? At first, the mystery is good- not knowing what or who killed someone. Just be ready to be disappointed when some of your questions are answered halfheartedly at the end. Anyways, Jamie is "helped" by a cop, who's name doesn't matter. All I can remember about him is that he is Mark Wahlberg's brother. Honestly, I'd go more in-depth (and have fun doing it) but it would end up spoiling the movie for you. That's the problem with reviewing scary movies. Let's just summarize then- Jamie goes out to find out why and how his wife died.Ignoring the problems, there are a decent amount of positives in Dead Silence. What stands out is the backdrops: with the blue/green tint that has come to be expected in horror movies since The Ring perfected it back in 2002, the environments for which the characters run around in are luscious and spooky at the same time. The scares, for instance, wouldn't be as effective without the backdrops, especially the great job the production crew did on that old theatre- very haunting indeed! The ending of the movie is pure Saw, which is a great thing- the twist, not the screaming/gore. If you didn't know that James Wan was directing before, you sure as hell do now.Let me just throw it out there that back when I saw The Messengers back on February 8th (at Wynsong of all places), I witnessed the early trailer for Dead Silence. After watching the complete movie with my undivided attention (even though I have an extremely short attention span), I came to the realization that the past does repeat itself: another ultra-scary trailer promising to be the "scare of the century" turns out to be spooky, but nothing to keep you up at night. On another note, the characters and underdeveloped and incomprehensible, which is nothing new for the genre. If I had a really strong desire to, I would dive into a rant about the plot holes and the unexplained situations, but I don't feel like it. You know the drill- movie ends too soon for it's own good, leaving the audience confused as to what in the world just happened.If you are blessed with the ability to ignore certain logic-defying moments in movies, you'll have fun watching Dead Silence. If not, stay away (or just laugh at the people who get spooked easily).Good) some decent scary/creepy moments, art direction, ending Bad) plot holes, lame/dumb characters, unexplained parts galore New type of Killer) Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist
I truly expected more from this film
posted on 27 Jul 2009I liked the first two parts of Saw(I did not like the third one).Saw is an excellent horror film and Saw 2,without being great,is a fun movie.They also offer a lot of suspense and a lot of gore endorsed with ingenious stories.So,I had good expectations with Dead Silence,made by the same creative team from Saw and Saw 2.But Dead Silence kinda disappointed me:it was a boring movie,it totally lacks of originality and intelligence and it has clichés.I appreciate that director and co-screenwriter James Wan and co-screenwriter Leigh Whannel wanted to do something different from the gore to give us an old character from the horror genre:the doll of a ventriloquist.From the popular film Child's Play to more serious movies like Magic or The Great Gaboo,we have seen the contrast between a smiling doll and its sinister intentions.Dead Silence continues with the tradition with forced mythology and disposable characters.I had good expectations with this movie but the final result was a boring and clichéd film.I do not recommend it.
It's about time a horror movie like this came out.
posted on 23 Jul 2009I'm an old fashioned horror fan (mainly into zombie stuff). True I like the blood and guts but horror films these days seem to just concentrate on trying to make you feel ill rather than scare you. That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I caught the last hour of this on a movie channel. So much so that I bought it to catch the beginning.To sum it up, a young man's wife is brutally murdered shortly after a strange ventriloquist's dummy arrives at their home and he has a feeling the old stories about a woman named Mary Shaw and the curse she has put on the relatives of people who killed her may be more true than he first suspected. He heads back to his home town and from there on it just gets incredibly creepy. Almost 'Silent Hill' style.There is very little gore, just suspense and things that will make you jump out of your seat and as suspected when you see it's been made by the Saw creators; a killer twist at the end. I never saw it coming and for a recent horror that is unusual. I can normally guess who will survive in a film/what will happen in the first 10 minutes or so.This gets a solid 9 out of ten for being one of the best horrors of recent years for me. Donnie Wahlberg played an especially good part as a cop determined to find the young man guilty of murdering his wife.If you like a horror that doesn't just have brains and blood flying at the camera for 90 minutes, this is for you.
GREAT for this type of horror movie!
posted on 21 Jul 2009One thing that struck me about this movie right away, was that it would have made an AMAZING video game. It consisted (no spoilers here! You're safe to read on if you haven't seen it yet!) of a lot of scenes of the main character digging for answers, trying to solve a puzzle. It had only a few 'dialogue' scenes that would have been great as in-between segments in a solve-it-yourself style video game. Great puzzles could have been inserted at a lot of junctions, and it kept me guessing, even though it WAS a 'formula' film. It could be called predictable, but at the same time, it was very enjoyable for me to watch! It had a several great 'boo' moments to startle you, but it was not overdone. It relies on tension and interest to drive it, rather than explicit violence as some horror films do. I liked it a lot more than Saw or Saw 2, but I noticed many similarities too! As this kind of movie goes, it was really REALLY good!
Extreme Disappointment
posted on 13 Jul 2009I'm an enormous fan of James Wan and Leigh Whannell from their film "Saw", and I couldn't wait until "Dead Silence" came out because I was expecting something that would blow your mind at the end and have sizzling twists and turns throughout the film...and when I saw "Silence" for the first time, I never felt such a horrible let-down in my life. The idea of ventriloquist dummies "coming to life" didn't get to me at all -- unlike where "Saw" you have the more psychological thrills where you have to pay attention to what's going on. I also thought the acting in "Silence" was terrible. I was disgusted by everyone who was casted. And I hate to turn Leigh Whannell down, but...the script was lame. And I don't get why it has an "R" rating because...there was no swearing, hardly any gore, not a lot of violence...It just wasn't something I was expecting from the "Creators of 'Saw'". So, if you're a "Saw" fan and haven't seen "Dead Silence" yet, don't waste your time because it's not good. And the poem that's in it is kind of pathetic if you ask me. Just don't count on "Silence" to be anything like "Saw". It's just a film attempting to make ventriloquism seem scary.
About as good as an evil doll movie can get.
posted on 11 Jul 2009The only reason I watched this at all was because it was directed by the director of Saw and because I could rent it for a dollar. I have seen many evil doll movies and never seen a good one.Well Dead Silence is about as good as an evil doll move could get, I think. Probably because the main evil in the movie isn't the doll but the doll maker. Also because the characters are believable and likable for the most part and the movie doesn't always follow your expectations.Wan does an excellent job of setting the mood and keeping it ratcheted to the creepy side of the scale. There are also few places where people act in egregiously stupid ways.There are flaws, however. There are some very stupid shots where Wan is obviously trying to impress us with how clever he can be. (Down boy! Down! Good Director. Here's a biscuit.) I'm sure you'll recognize these. They all have to do with a car driving except one very early on that has to do with pupils.There is also a superfluous twist at the end that cheapens all that went before. But it's short and you can just ignore that it happened.In spite of the flaws it is a scary ride and well worth a rent.
Not perfect, but effectively creepy
posted on 09 Jul 2009Looking back on Dead Silence, I find it appropriate that the movie opens with the old black and white Universal Studio logo from the 1930s. This film is a throwback to when horror films were much more subtle and used silence and shadow to generate their scares. As a film-goer who has long grown tired of horror films that rely almost solely on numerous "jump scares" where loud noises crash on the soundtrack for cheap frights, I appreciated that this film played fair and generally had a couple good creepy ideas. No one will ever mistake Dead Silence for art, the story can sometimes be very silly, and the twist that comes during the very final minute of the film doesn't hold up very well to logic. But, I also can't deny that the film is better than a lot of the stuff that's been passing for horror these days.The film's backstory tells of a famous ventriloquist named Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts), who was supposedly responsible for the disappearance of a young local boy who heckled her during one of her performances. An angry mob seized the woman and, in an idea that I can't imagine must have ever sounded good even at the time they were doing it, tortured her by cutting out her tongue then murdered her. The story of Mary Shaw has apparently become a famous ghost story in the small town of Ravens Fair, where the dark deeds happened long ago and where the supposedly vengeful spirit of the woman haunts. Former town resident, Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten), comes home one night to discover his wife Lisa (Laura Regan) dead in their apartment with her tongue torn out of her mouth. Moments before he left his wife alone, a mysterious package containing a ventriloquist dummy was dropped off by an unknown person. Jamie remembers the scary old nursery rhyme that the children in his town used to sing about Mary Shaw, but grizzled detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) thinks Jamie is using an old ghost story to cover up his own murderous acts. Returning to his hometown of Ravens Fair, which is now virtually deserted for reasons unexplained other than the filmmakers thought a ghost town would be a scarier setting for the story, Jamie hopes to learn the truth behind the old story.It is unfortunate that Dead Silence is being advertised as being "From the creators of Saw". While it is true that the films share the same director (James Wan) and screenwriter (Leigh Whannell), the two movies are as different as night and day. Gorehounds expecting a torture-filled bloodbath like the horror trilogy that made the filmmakers famous will be disappointed. This is an old fashioned-style supernatural thriller that relies almost entirely on atmosphere, mood and genuine suspense. The movie sets up some good scares by living up to the title. Instead of assaulting our ears with loud sound effects, the movie uses total silence to signal the coming of the vengeful spirit that is going on a murderous rampage. All sound around the potential victim strangely goes completely quiet, and we can only hear the rapid breathing of the person. It's an effective tool to generate suspense, and the movie uses it well. The town of Ravens Fair also has some suitably creepy locations. From dusty old performance hall theaters that hold secrets of the past to cemeteries that apparently come equipped with their own fog and smoke machines, it may all be clichéd but it's all used very well in the context of the film itself.Like a lot of movies of its type, Dead Silence loses most of its charm once the answers start coming and the mysteries start to get unraveled. Likewise, the twist that pops up literally during the last minute will certainly leave some viewers feeling either confused or just plain angry. While it's certainly unexpected, it seems forced, almost as if the filmmakers didn't want their movie to end on a high note, so they intentionally threw this last minute revelation in so that they could end the story on a more "ominous" note. Up until that point, Dead Silence is a mostly successful and entertaining little ghostly yarn that does what it's supposed to. It unnerves us and holds our attention just enough to make us want to see the thing to the end, no matter how silly it may sometimes seem.Dead Silence is not an entirely successful venture, but it does do a lot of things right, and it at least proves that the minds behind the Saw franchise are willing to try something different and explore other forms of horror. You go to a movie like this to be entertained and creeped out, and it delivers just enough for the film to work. How you view this movie will most likely depend on the kind of horror you enjoy. I have a feeling that adults looking for a subtle and creepy tale will be more entertained than teens looking for a scream-fest to take their girlfriends to. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, though I sincerely hope the studio doesn't try to franchise the hell out of the picture like the Saw films. This works well enough as a stand-alone film, and should remain as such.
Darkness Falls Meets Childs Play
posted on 07 Jul 2009You Know, These days there is not a lot of good horror movies coming out. But this one actually surprised me in a good way. The plot wasn't bad, the acting was pretty good and it managed to be pretty creepy. I Noticed that this movie resembled Darkness Falls in a certain way, the way that it was an old woman who was murdered for a crime and came back to haunt those who represent those who did wrong to her in the past. In Darkness falls, if you look in her eyes, you die..In Dead Silence, if you scream, you die. It was still a pretty good movie with a good twist ending.Go give it a try. It may surprise you.7/10
Very entertaining
posted on 07 Jul 2009What can i say about "Dead Silence"? I felt this movie. I connected to this movie. But i saw so much more then what they did with it. I feel like they left out so much.. I saw so much potential that it bugs me. First off it could have been at least an hour longer. I don't think they had enough room for everything. They should have thought out the twist better. The twist does bring it all together but is a little sloppy. This movie was truly brilliant. The plot was just.. AMAZING. I loved it. Although there are its flaws its definitely a genuinely good worth a watch flick. Its an old school style ghost tale with a few good scares and again AMAZING plot line.
A Film About Dolls From the Creators of Saw
posted on 01 Jul 2009A man and his wife are having a pretty typical evening (ordering takeout, fixing the sink) when a strange package arrives with a ventriloquist's dummy. When the husband returns home with dinner, his wife is brutally murdered! While being dogged by an inspector (Donnie Wahlberg) who clearly has too much time on his hands and an obsession with shaving, he returns to his home town in hopes of solving the murder.Directed by James Wan ("Saw"), written by Leigh Whannell ("Saw") and James Wan ("Saw"), starring Donnie Wahlberg ("Saw II") with music by Charlie Clouser ("Saw II"). Do you see a pattern here? Yes, this film is full of "Saw" goodness. And as long as you don't find the obvious re-use of the light tinting and the Clouser music which seems suspiciously the same as "Saw II" (maybe these were the leftover tracks), you'll like this film if you like the "Saw" series, because all the talent is still in these guys.This film is noticeably lighter. Sure, there's a string of murders and a possessed doll on the loose. But you won't find torture scenes or high-tension scenarios. This is more of a "just for fun" film, as evidenced by Wahlberg's goofy detective, the undertaker's deranged wife, and the very odd exchanges between the protagonist's father and new wife. So don't bother taking this one too seriously.The twists are good. I saw some of them coming before they were revealed, but not too far in advance to make the entire film predictable or boring. Just quick enough to have that "I knew it" feeling in my belly. And when you're hungry like the wolf (like I am), you need a little bit of that in your belly every now and then. It lets you know the old brain is still working, and lets you also know the writers aren't pulling things out their wazoos. (We all like twists we can't guess, but it loses its fun when the twist is so bizarre it was impossible or nonsensical to see coming.) So I covered writing, directing, music... the acting was fine, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No Oscar moments, but nothing awful, either. The dialog was fine, which was a bonus... no cheesy one-liners or characters giving away the plot for no reason (you ever wonder why a character rambles sometimes?).I enjoyed "Saw" and I enjoyed this film. I watched it after seeing "30 Days of Night", and I enjoyed it more than "30 Days". Those two films really have nothing in common, but my point is that going from seeing a big film on the big screen to a smaller film on television -- and liking the television more -- really says, to me, that this film has something special behind it and some staying power. Wan and Whannell are doing things right and I hope they continue on... though maybe try to do something besides dolls, guys.
Better than I was expecting, but still not great.
posted on 19 Jun 2009My standards for horror movies are usually fairly low, and while this movie was entirely competent, I think it was actually brought down by the marketing. This was promoted more heavily than it should have been. If this were released to video stores with less fanfare, I probably would have felt like it deserved a 7 or maybe even an 8.The story is fairly simple. A ventriloquist's dummy arrives at Jaime Ashen's home. He steps out to pick up dinner, and the dummy kills his wife. This triggers both an investigation into him, as well as his return to his hometown to research the source of the dummy. Turns out that some evil, dead ventriloquist is possessing the dummy. And you know how it goes.There is a huge dose of tension, though not a huge amount of plot. In fact, the plot could have been condensed down into an episode of Night Gallery or Twilight Zone, provided that they eliminated the scenes that only existed to build tension. For all this tension, the movie is ultimately forgettable. As I was watching it, I was wondering if it might keep me up late. It didn't.The direction is competent. The fast cutting and stylistic approach of the opening credits does not continue, and this is a welcome change. While some of these techniques are employed during later sequences, they don't seem to be as overdone as other modern horror has been. The one touch that I didn't care for is a strange theme in the colors. Most of the colors in the movie are washed out. The exception is that they like to use a certain color of red, but the use of it doesn't seem to be consistent. The protagonist's car is red, we see red cloth here and there, there are red lights.... and so forth. I couldn't come up with any particular reason for this. Maybe it's in the commentary? Is it worth watching? Sure, if you like B-horror. Especially if you have a soft spot for evil dolls or ventriloquism. Is it worth re-watching? Not really.
A bit clichéd ...
posted on 17 Jun 2009This movie has a sort of "new director" feel to it, even though the director has done some good work before. A lot of the characters, screen shots and plot seem almost too formulaic/predictable to appreciated. However, the ambiance / atmosphere is pretty well done. There is a good serious tone and dark feel to it. The visual style is also pretty good - the sets and dolls really have a great old-time and ominous look to them.The story is basically about a guy who receives a ventriloquist doll in the mail. While he is out, his wife is murdered by the doll - and he is immediately suspicious of the doll. He goes back to his home town to bury his wife and investigate a strange "doll" poem he grew up with ... and the story progresses from there.If it sounds a bit ridiculous ... well, they made the movie, not me. However, it's not all bad, the tone and visuals are pretty good and for a horror movie that's pretty important. Plus, there's an unexpected twist near the end - not bad. If you're a horror fan, consider this a "6", for everyone else, its positives balance out the negatives.
Impressive, Fun and Fresh!
posted on 30 Aug 2009I watched it today!It's a very fresh movie with a very fresh concept although it doesn't look on the DVD cover. Well, I realized one can never judge a book by it's cover.I enjoyed the cinematography, it creates that disturbing relationship with some ventriloquists and their dummies! And the images of the victims were very original and fresh!!And WOW!! THAT MAKEUP!!It looked so sinister and very aesthetically pleasing; it made the dummies look spectacular and Mary Shaw too!And the music; not at all disappointing! For a 21st century doll movie, it was extremely impressive. And there is a lot of the unexpected, but I'm not going to spoil it! Watch as soon as possible. I warmly recommend this film to killer doll lovers!