Dead Silence

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Dead Silence

R

2007

1h 29m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

22%

Tomatometer

85 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

After his wife meets a grisly end, Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) returns to their creepy hometown of Ravens Fair to unravel the mystery of her murder. Once there, he discovers the legend of Mary Shaw (Joan Heney), a murdered ventriloquist whose eerie presence still looms over the town. As he desperately digs for answers, Jamie encounters the curse that took his wife's life and threatens his own.

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Critics Consensus

More tasteful than recent slasher flicks, but Dead Silence is undone by boring characters, bland dialogue, and an unnecessary and obvious twist ending.

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Nicholas Barber

Independent (UK)

09/13/2023

Dead Silence is a guilty pleasure, especially if you have a gottle of geer beforehand.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

12/03/2007

Wan and Whannell have a carnivalesque sense of fun and a sure instinct for recycling classic horror tropes, but their characters are so flat and their plotting so listless that this low-budget feature fails to generate much suspense.

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Adam Smith

Empire Magazine

07/27/2007

1/5

For the love of Chucky, avoid this insipid attempt at reviving the killer doll horror.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

3d

4/5

‘…the result plays like a Twilight Zone/Outer Limits short story, and one with a punch-line…’

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Cheryl Eddy

io9.com

Jun 6

Dead Silence agreeably ties up most of its plot threads by the end.

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Sebastian Zavala Kahn

Me gusta el cine

Mar 31

2.5/5

It ends up feeling like a horror experiment that is not lacking in interesting elements (such as stylized and attractive photography by the experienced John R. Leonetti), but that at the end of the day, falls short. [Full review in Spanish].

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Steven F.

@SteveGotScored 3d

Overall a heck of a great twist ending!

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Tan C

@TanZoi Mar 7

After finishing this film, however, all I could do was applaud. Dead Silence isn’t really a horror film in the traditional sense, but rather a mystery film dressed in gothic aesthetics. Dead Silence doesn’t rely only on jump scares—its sense of horror is constantly present. An empty town, an abandoned theater, dust-covered puppets, and a nursery rhyme that should never be heard all combine to create a slowly tightening gothic atmosphere. The only place where this film loses to is in the memorability of its characters. But the thing is—Mary Shaw is simply too powerful. She is absolutely one of the most underrated horror villains. What truly elevates Dead Silence from a B-movie horror film to something close to a classic is its final twist. In this regard, only can really rival it. But there’s still one thing I’m curious about: was Jamie’s stepmother actually possessed by Mary Shaw, or a "perfect doll" created by Mary Shaw?

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ParasiticalAqua T

@AveryCape Dec 4

Great story, great acting, terrible ending

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Wenqi W.

@Edogawa Nov 6

Don’t know why lot’s of people unlike it lol. It’s definitely the most horrible and unpredictable ending I’ve ever seen in all the horror movies. It’s a cheap movie but wan shows a good sense of making it attractive.

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Paul S.

@PapiSlick Oct 31

Eerie atmosphere but also a bit boring at times. Probably would’ve scared me if I saw this when it came out, but it doesn’t do anything special for me.

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Alexander S

@RT61935749 Oct 20

I admire the eerie atmosphere of Dead Silence, expertly crafted by the legendary horror director James Wan. Although the story is clunky and may not appeal to everyone, a horror film with puppets and a puppeteer entity will undeniably bring you multiple fright nights. Grading: C+

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James Wan

Director

Ryan Kwanten

Jamie Ashen

Amber Valletta

Ella Ashen

Donnie Wahlberg

Det. Lipton

Bob Gunton

Edward Ashen

Michael Fairman

Henry Walker

Dead Silence: Official Clip - Kill Billy

1:33

Dead Silence: Official Clip - Now Who's The Dummy?

2:16

Dead Silence: Official Clip - Our Family's Curse

2:06

Dead Silence: Official Clip - Attack of the Killer Dolls

2:05

Dead Silence: Official Clip - Sleeping with the Enemy

2:35

Dead Silence: Official Clip - Mortuary Massacre

2:33

Dead Silence: Official Clip - The Perfect Doll

2:55

Dead Silence: Official Clip - It's a Boy

2:32

Dead Silence: Official Clip - White As A Sheet

4:08

Dead Silence: Official Clip - The Story of Mary Shaw

2:47

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Synopsis

After his wife meets a grisly end, Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) returns to their creepy hometown of Ravens Fair to unravel the mystery of her murder. Once there, he discovers the legend of Mary Shaw (Joan Heney), a murdered ventriloquist whose eerie presence still looms over the town. As he desperately digs for answers, Jamie encounters the curse that took his wife's life and threatens his own.

Director: James Wan
Producer: Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Twisted Pictures, Evolution Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Rating: R (Horror Violence and Images)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 16, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.5M
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: SDDS, DTS, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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