Amber Valletta, Bob Gunton, Cody Arens

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 o...( read more  read more... )ut 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. But when his wife is grotesquely killed, Jamie reluctantly returns to Ravens Fair for the funeral, intent on unraveling the mystery of her death.

Flixster Users

58% liked it

41,751 ratings

Critics

17% liked it

69 critics

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: James Wan

Release Date: March 16, 2007

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DVD Release Date: June 26, 2007

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Stats: 17,047 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (17,047)


  • March 19, 2009
    James Wan is a hell of a lot better than Eli Roth, but he relies too much on technical elements and unnecessary twists to create horror instead of building real suspense through the characters and the story, both of which are completely absent here.
  • January 21, 2009
    I think James Wan and Laigh Whannell's hearts really lie in horror. They really seem to delight in putting onscreen haunted houses and creepy dolls and decrepit rooms, haunted cops and evil villains. I love the fairy tale quality to the story of Mary Shaw, and it plays very well ...( read more)with the eeri tone they're going for. This film is a throwback to a breed of horror movie that has yet to be overdrawn, and is thus uniquely welcome. I was quite pleasantly surprised by this one. Not that it doesn't have problems, but it's a good one.
  • October 13, 2008
    pretty boring. very predictable
  • September 3, 2008
    Atmospheric, passionate, and an enjoyable horror for the most part - Dead Silence is a film that finds its own quality increasing as its tempo rises and its running time extends. For what begins as a clunking film clutching to grab an audience soon turns into an homage that enjoy...( read more)s through familiarity with the freshness of passionate eyes. Dead Silence never extends further than what has been done before, but Wan's handling of the tension and his wonderful handling of the aesthetics are an impressive feat. But while the on screen execution works wonders, the heavy dialogue, abrupt story pacing, and short running time hinder the film in areas that considerably deteriorate it. As with the rest of the film's from the director's catalogue, Dead Silence proves there is much potential - but certain factors prove too overbearing to be discounted.
  • June 3, 2008
    A great modern Gothic horror story. As far as the "evil puppet" genre of horror goes, I'm usually not interested or stirred, with the exception that I thought the Chucky movies had their production moments. This movie delivers a cleaner chunk of story, more puppets, and the rare,...( read more) actually scary ghost. It plays up on the "if you scream, you die" gimmick that has been toyed with for a while now, and it's loaded with jump scares, but most of them land really damn well, as in I didn't even expect some of them. When it comes to horror without self-deprecating humor, horror that tries to be totally serious, this movie does a pretty damn good job. Many fans will have no doubt mentioned the "twist" ending, which I didn't guess but felt completely right for the story as it was appropriately foreshadowed. I won't say more than that the clues/characters involved are subtle and atmospheric enough that they click into their plot place without feeling forced.
  • October 29, 2009
    Watch this movie after 12 AM with the lights off!!!
  • October 29, 2009
    A very cool idea for a horror film that is just not executed too well.
  • October 29, 2009
    pretty good scary and awsome storyline
  • October 23, 2009
    23/10/09
    "You scream. You die"
    I did not feel scared in any part of thr movie.
    The only thing i liked is the twist in the end.
  • October 23, 2009
    It started out as a pretty good concept.. then it went down hill. The actual dolls were the scariest thing in the movie. They should've played a bigger part in the story.

Critic Reviews


April 11, 2007
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Somehow operates under the assumption that a dumb nursery rhyme, a colorless visual palette punctuated by deep reds, and some creaky dolls will frighten anyone over the age of five. full review

March 20, 2007
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Saw creators Leigh Whannell and James Wan know scary: all that stuff that heebie-jeebied you when you were a kid. (Or as Entertainment Weekly would say: Dead Silence is awash with atavistic horror tro... full review

March 16, 2007
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

A gothic chiller in which morbid atmospherics and simmering suspense build to an ingenious third-act climax. full review

View more Dead Silence reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • mielleb17
    April 7, 2009
    i really like this movie,,, its so very exciting to watch.. try it
  • liliecv1
    March 29, 2009
    this movie was incredible. every halloween i'll watch it. GREAT MOVIE!
  • uforialm3
    December 28, 2008
    gawddd...dat movie wz freakin' scary!! nd da dummy...it gave me da creeps!!
  • thesandmanII
    January 10, 2008
    my god!! i can't believe that this movie averages a 3 1/2 star rating!! are you serious?!?!! This is just a horrible movie. Not scary at all.. you have to be in middle school and never have watched any of the great horror films to think this deserves anything more than a 2 star average!! un-fricken-believable!
  • rachloveherbro
    December 11, 2007
    i love this movie (don't scream) i mean i was scared at i watch at least 1 horror movie every week. ill remind you one thing don't scream near mary shaw!! worth while seeing.
    DON'T SCREAM
  • Augus91
    November 22, 2007
    BAD MOVIE!!!!!!
  • christinatham93
    November 17, 2007
    super freaking scary!!!great!!!!!!!!!
  • agmarkwell
    October 25, 2007
    i don't care what other reviews say. this movie scared the shit out of me. one of james and leigh best movies. hats off to you sweet Aussie guys.
  • rileyking771
    October 17, 2007
    omg dat clown doll is sooooo creepy!!!! haha..

    come closer... closer.. let me whisper it to you


    lmao dat scared da crap outta me
  • sierrabby
    September 27, 2007
    I know it looks scary but it really isn't, the special effects were fake, and they used all of the scariest parts in the commercials, but in the end it was actually pretty good.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Dead Silence Trivia


  • In what 2007 does Steve Adams play a police officer in?   Answer »
  • How many dolls did Mary Shaw has in the movie Dead Silence?  Answer »
  • What was the name of the ghost in the movie Dead Silence  Answer »
  • In the 2007 movie, Dead Silence what was the name of the main ventriloquist dummy?  Answer »

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