Dead Silence: 2007: +-: Horror: Dolls and horror movies seem to be making a come back since the days of Chucky, especially when you consider Annabelle, which I plan to watch soon and review.
Dead Silence, directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannel, strayed far from their level of excellence demonstrated in the Saw franchise. There were parts of this movie that I liked, but lack of prominent cast members as well as poor execution keep this movie from achieving higher, or even mediocre, status. In addition, there were many "cheap" scares that just involved "quiet to loud" sequences that lacked little substance.
"I can't believe that my creators wrote this movie!"
Don't get me wrong, there were some adequate scares in this movie such as when the wife gets thrown across the room by the doll and when she appears with her tongue out, but this is the same scare that appears throughout the movie. It will jolt you once, but after about the third time, it gets very repetitive.
This was one of the beginning scenes that set the tone.
The initial scare of the wife with no tongue was noteworthy.
Donnie Walhberg's appearance in this movie also lessened my appreciation because I just don't feel he is a convincing actor. It's not that his performance was lackluster, it just seems forced. Let's face it, he's an actor because his brother is famous, enough said. If Mark Walhberg hadn't existed and been famous, what chance do you think Donnie would have starring in a movie? None, exactly..
Just go away Donnie, please.
Back to the movie and the scares. There were some instances where I liked the music and it heightened the suspense a bit. One of the best parts is when the Mary Shaw comes into the window for a moment and also when the doll follows the movements of the main character in the car. These worked well a few times, but after that it, was just rehash.
This part was somewhat frightening, but most of it was being jolted by loud noises.
You can start to see James Wan's techniques germinate in this one, but overall, he still had some refinements to make. Obviously he made them because he went on to direct some killer movies. Maybe this was where he as trying out some ideas.
Wan seemed like he was searching for effective techniques to frighten audiences.
The plot itself was pretty ridiculous, but once you bought into it, the movie seemed to flow a little better. Fight the premise and the whole movie falls apart. I wouldn't disagree with anyone that took that stance. I almost did a few times but fought turning the movie off because it was getting late and I didn't want to start another movie. I'm sticking to my horror movie a night experiment so this had to do. Tonight I need something really gory and scary to make up for this farce.
The plot was often spoon fed to the audience ad nauseum.
Some parts that I enjoyed were when Mary Shaw is performing and a young boy critiques her ventriloquist act, when it's mentioned that Mary wants to become a doll when dead, and when they enter the theater with all the dolls staring at them in unison. I also liked it when Donnie Walhberg dies. It was as if I was watching the movie just to see that happen. Hey we all need goals right?
Finally, the only way I can tolerate Donnie Walhberg.
Ultimately, this movie does deliver some scares and will make you jolt out of your seat a few times, but after that it just seems like an idea that seemed good on paper, but just dissolved when it was made into a movie. To their defense, making a horror movie based on a doll, especially after the successes of the Child's Play franchise, must be difficult. Especially when the doll itself isn't scary looking.
There's nothing scary about a doll that looks like Pee-Wee Herman...wait maybe there is!!
I look forward to seeing Annabelle and forgetting this attempt at a horror movie based on a doll: 63%
"Shhh, this movie isn't very good!"
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