Shortly after a ventriloquist doll named Billy shows up at the doorstep of a young married couple, the wife winds up dead. The husband, naturally, becomes the primary suspect in her murder, but in an effort to prove his innocence turns up a back story involving a poem about Mary Shaw, a creepy old lady who was buried with her collection of ventriloquist dolls -- 100 of them. There are other mysterious murders, both in the past and the present, connected with Mary Shaw and Billy. The closer the husband gets to unraveling the mystery, the closer he comes to becoming a victim himself.
Dead Silence (2007) is a diverting enough movie with lovely production design and an an effective music score, but as the mystery behind Billy is gradually revealed, it becomes more and more convoluted, and feels like its made up as it goes, instead of being something really effective. It's essentially a revenge from the grave story and less a creepy doll story. The dolls, in fact, are really not that creepy and do nothing more than roll their eyes to the side and turn their heads, very loudly. It's clear that James Wan wanted to create a classier horror movie that harkens back to a time before heavy reliance on gore effects, but he fails to create any sense of dread and no real scares. The movie is stylish looking, but bland as can be. There are no stand out performances, and star Ryan (True Blood) Kwanten continues to distract me by reminding me of George W. Bush.
No comments:
Post a Comment