Dead Silence (DVD)
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Jamie (Ryan Kwanten) and Lisa (Laura Regan) are an adorable young blonde couple with matching haircuts and a shared childhood in quaint Ravensfair. They reside in the big city now, but are soon lured back home: she in a coffin, and he with a mission to solve her murder.
It happens early on in Dead Silence, after the anonymous delivery of a mysterious package which contains something that reminds both Jamie and Laura of a scary legend from their hometown.
Armed with the only clue -- a vintage ventriloquist dummy -- and dogged by a suspicious homicide detective (Donnie Wahlberg), Jamie unravels the eerie events which led to the chilling ghost-legend of Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts) a vaudevillian performer who lived (and of course died) in Ravensfair decades ago. Her demise is the stuff of legend, and there’s even a requisite ditty that’s been passed down from generation to generation: "Beware the stare of Mary Shaw. She had no children, only dolls. And if you see her, do not scream. Or she'll rip your tongue out at the seam."
The combination of the delivery of the dummy, the death of Laura, and friction within Jamie’s estranged family (disapproving dad played by Bob Gunton, and new trophy stepmom played by Amber Valetta) speaks volumes as the creepy film crashes to a crazy climax.
I liked Dead Silence well enough when I saw it on the big screen, but I was expecting something a bit different judging from the early days of the filming (read Horror.com’s set visit report and interviews here). The movie, then simply called Silence, seemed to be aiming to be something subtle, scary, and nostalgic. The end result has glimmers of an old-school 60s or early 70s genre pic here and there, but in the end it becomes a screaming CGI-extravaganza.
Seeing the movie again on DVD, I knew what to expect at the end and was able to take it in as a whole with fewer preconceived notions. While I still have some of the same objections (a fairly bland lead character, too much aggressive music, and an overwrought “big finish”), one thing that’s much, much better on disk is the visual impact. The strategically placed reds really pop, and the hue desaturation in certain scenes is quite masterful. Director James Wan and his DP John R. Leonetti obviously put a lot of thought into composition, color and framing, making for a really beautiful-looking movie (that is, when too much CGI isn’t intruding).
Billed as an unrated DVD, there’s really only about one minute added to the film (or so I’m told; I didn’t notice anything markedly different), and the deleted scenes (three of them, not named) don’t offer up any more blood or gore (however, the actor who played “Boz the Caretaker” must be stoked -- he’s in all the cut clips!). The making-of featurette, showing cast and filmmaker interviews from the set, is pretty standard fare but it’s interesting enough to see the beautiful practical locations (most notably a wood-floored mansion in Toronto, Canada) and more details in the things displayed in Mary Shaw’s wicked workshop -- not to mention her wall of dolls.
There’s an additional featurette on Mary Shaw which outlines how Wan and his cowriter, Leigh Whannell, came up with the concept of centering their freaky fable on a female ventriloquist. It also explains how Broadway star Roberts was cast, and goes into some details that are definite spoilers if you have not yet viewed the film.
There’s a rather dull bit on the computerized storyboards, and a cheesy rock video by what looks to be a few 30 Seconds To Mars wannabes (Aiden is an Australian rock band that may or may not be good… it’s hard to tell from this very traditional tune).
Best of all is the optional opening and ending (which act as bookends -- one makes no sense without the other). I am not sure where these would have been placed had they been originally included (perhaps the opening before the credits, then the introduction to Jamie and Lisa?), but they’re really inspired and it’s a shame they cannot be viewed in context. (They’re standalone menu items, not incorporated into the Play Movie option at all.)
Most disappointing of all is the lack of a commentary. Wan and Whannell never fail to entertain with their giggly, self-effacing senses of humor (or their considerable knowledge of the horror genre), so that usually-included extra is indeed missed.
Although it’s a mixed bag and doesn’t say much for itself in the way of extras, Dead Silence is still worth the price of purchase for fans of ghost stories that thankfully do not star black-haired little girls.
Extras:
- Alternate Beginning & Ending
- Deleted Scenes
- Featurette: "The Making of Dead Silence"
- Featurette: "Mary Shaw's Secrets"
- Featurette: "Evolution of Visual Effects"
- Music Video for "We Sleep Forever"
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson