Predictable evil-doll story (Dead Silence (DVD))

Member Name: bluerose81

Product:	Dead Silence (DVD)
Date:	19/09/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It had a few good moments

Disadvantages: Cliched and no depth

'Dead Silence' is a 2007 horror film, directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the creators of 'Saw' (2004). I haven't seen 'Saw' as the torture and gore put me off, but 'Dead Silence' seemed to be a more old fashioned kind of horror flick, based on the familiar story of a possessed doll; a ventriloquist's dummy called Billy. Like a lot of us now rational adults, I was scared about dolls coming to life when I was a kid, especially when I found out the foreign doll I had been given had REAL HAIR!

A newly wed couple, Jamie and Lisa Ashen (Ryan Kwanten and Amber Valletta), receive a strange package in the post one morning. They open it to find a coffin-like case containing the most god-awful looking ventriliquist's dummy, named Billy. Instead of torching the vile thing straight away which is what most of us would have done, Lisa props it up on her bed and chats to Billy sweetly, not even seeming too freaked out when she looks back at it and Billy seems to have turned his head in her direction. Jamie returns to find his wife dead, with her tongue ripped out and a grotesque look on her face. As there was no trace of forced entry or any fingerprints found, Jamie is suspected of her murder.

Donnie Wahlberg (Saw, New Kids on the Block!) plays probably the best character in the film, Detective Jim Lupton, constantly on the trail of Jamie because he doesn't buy his story that the doll did it. Before she died, Lisa mentioned that the doll reminded her of a poem originating in their hometown, Ravens Fair, concerning dolls and a woman called Mary Shaw. Jamie is convinced there is a connection between the doll and his wife's murder so when he returns to Ravens Fair for her funeral, he sets about finding out about the local legend, and who or what did this thing to his wife.

In Ravens Fair, he meets up with his poorly-looking father and his young wife, Ella, and mortician Henry Walker (Michael Fairman). As people continue to die with their tongues ripped out, Jamie finds out about the story the poem is based on. A ventriloquist in the 1940s, an old lady called Mary Shaw, was heckled by a small child who claimed he could see her lips moving. The kid was subsequently abducted and presumed murdered so a vigilante mob sought out the old lady and killed her, by ripping her tongue out when she screamed. The old lady was nuts and obsessed with the hundred plus dummies she owned which she called her children, and she was obsessed with creating the perfect dummy, wanting it so life-like she preferred real flesh to wood. Now her evil spirit is seeking revenge on the bloodlines of the people that killed her, ripping out their tongues if they scream. That Billy was bad enough, but eventually the rest of the little monsters start coming to life.

'Dead Silence' ends with a twist that whilst gross, is a tad unbelievable. Oh well, it is a film about talking dolls so who cares! I think more could have been got out of this 'possessed doll' story cliché, but it was all pretty basic stuff, apart from when it goes a bit WHOA! at the end. It felt a bit clichéd generally, eg. the loony wife of Henry (Joan Heney) who walks round stroking a raven. The best thing about the film was the cinematography (I mean the visuals were sometimes cool), dark and gothic, with a few shocking computer generated apparitions of Mary Shaw, played creepily by Judith Roberts.

'Saw' is R rated due to the few scenes involving tongue-ripping but there are only a few and they are quick. It is about 88 minutes long. It launches clumsily into the story right at the beginning and lacks any real suspense throughout. So it's not exactly a riveting film. That poem by the way, is really poor and I think we could all make a better one up:

Beware the stare of Mary Shaw
She had no children, only dolls
And when you see her in your dreams
Be sure you never ever scream

Bit naff isn't it!

Summary: Not the best horror flick, just samey stuff