Robert's Review

In the town of Ravens Fair, there's an old ghost story about a woman named Mary Shaw. She was a ventriloquist who loved her dolls so much that she called them her "children." One day a young boy heckled her during her performance... he was never seen again and the angry townspeople took matters into their own hands, killing Mary Shaw and cutting out her tongue. The town has been plagued by death ever since. Mary and her dolls were all buried together, but never forgotten – and over the years, many families from Ravens Fair were found brutally murdered with their tongues cut out and Mary Shaw's vengeful spirit to blame. 

"Dead Silence" centers around Jamie (Ryan Kwanten), a native of Ravens Fair who had moved away with his lovely wife, making a fresh start together. One day, a ventriloquist doll arrives in a mysterious package on their doorstep. Ignoring the old ghost story, they think it's just some kind of joke... but when Ryan comes home one night to find his wife brutally murdered and missing her tongue, he travels back to Ravens Fair to uncover the truth about Mary Shaw and why all this was happening. 

"Dead Silence" does a lot of things right and it's really quite creepy, well-made and fun to watch. The cinematography and set designs are fantastic... creepy, moldy, disheveled old buildings; creepy lighting, fog and shadows; great special effects and the dolls were really lifelike, creepy and disturbing. The acting and musical score were both good, but not great. In addition, the dolls themselves were incredibly creepy (and to me, dolls and clowns that come alive and kill people have always been creepy) – they freaked me out and made me jump several times. Lastly, I totally LOVED the ending (but don't worry, I'm not going to spoil it here), it had a really great twist that nobody saw coming and it was brilliant! There were really only two things that I didn't like about "Dead Silence."  First of all, watching the dolls turn their heads and move their eyes to watch people got really repetitive. I didn't mind it the first few times, but then it got incredibly overused. Secondly, the police officer that follows Jamie around (since he thinks Jamie killed his own wife) is really annoying and I didn't his acting or his character in general. He gets kind of cool towards the end, but by that time I didn't care about him anymore... just a case of too little, too late for him. 

All in all, I'd give this movie 3.5 STARS (out of 5). Re-watch value: MEDIUM (It's a great movie to watch in the dark, in a quiet place. This will make a great DVD rental).

There is an old ghost story in the sleepy town of Ravens Fair about Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist who went mad. Accused of the murder of a young boy, she was hunted down by vengeful townspeople who cut out her tongue and killed her. They buried her along with her "children," a hand-made collection of vaudeville dolls. Since that time, Ravens Fair has been plagued by death. The ghastly dolls from Mary Shaw's collection have gone missing from the grave and reappeared over the decades. In the dead of night--wherever they are glimpsed--families are found gruesomely murdered... with their tongues torn out. Far from the pall of their hometown, newlyweds Jamie and Lisa Ashen thought they had established a fresh start. However when his wife is grotesquely killed, Jamie reluctantly returns to Ravens Fair for the funeral, intent on unraveling the mystery of her death. Once reunited with his ill father and his father's new young bride, Jamie must dig into the town's bloody past to find out who killed his wife and why. As he uncovers the legend of Mary Shaw, Jamie unlocks the story of her curse and the truth behind the song from his childhood: if you see her and scream, you will never speak again. 

Honestly, I thought this was one of the better ghost stories I have seen in a long time. It had all the feel of a good scare, the acting was fairly OK considering the story, the plot had very few holes and the creepy little town was pretty cool.  If dolls scare you then you'll probably get a little creeped out. If clowns also scare you then you will defiantly get the heebie jeebies.  However, even though the movie had a descent story that seemed to flow well, it was the ending that really set it off for me... it rocked!  Overall, this was a really good ghost story (finally). 

Overall rating: 3 Stars (out of 5). Re-Watch Value: Moderate (A good matinee or rental.)

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