Dead Silence (2007)
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A grieving widower returns to his hometown to uncover the truth behind his wife's mysterious death, only to be haunted by a vengeful ventriloquist doll.
The story
Jamie Ashen, a young widower, returns to his hometown of Raven's Fair to investigate his wife Lisa's mysterious death. After receiving an anonymous gift of a ventriloquist doll named Billy, Jamie discovers his wife's body with her tongue cut off. He learns of a local legend involving Mary Shaw, a deceased ventriloquist who was lynched by a boy named Michael. Jamie seeks out his estranged father and a local mortician to arrange a funeral, but he soon finds himself entangled in a terrifying cycle of violence linked to the dolls and the dark history of the Ashen family.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After his wife Lisa is murdered and his tongue is cut off, Jamie Ashen investigates the mystery of a ventriloquist doll named Billy. He discovers that the doll is linked to Mary Shaw, a woman who was lynched in Raven's Fair after a boy claimed her lips moved during a performance. Mary's last wish was to be buried as a doll with her 'children.' Jamie learns that his great-uncle Michael was murdered by Mary, and the Ashen family silenced her by cutting out her tongue; she now seeks revenge on their bloodline. Mary kills the mortician Henry and reveals she killed Lisa because she was pregnant with an Ashen child. Jamie and Detective Lipton attempt to burn the dolls, but Lipton is killed when he screams. Jamie discovers his father is actually a doll made from his corpse, while the woman he thought was his father's wife is a 'perfect doll' created by Mary. Mary possesses the doll Ella, and Jamie is ultimately killed as she completes her revenge.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 89
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- James Wan
- Writers
- Leigh Whannell · screenplay; James Wan · story; Leigh Whannell · story
- Cast and characters
- Ryan Kwanten · Jamie Ashen; Amber Valletta · Ella Ashen; Donnie Wahlberg · Detective Jim Lipton; Bob Gunton · Edward Ashen; Michael Fairman · Henry Walker; Keir Gilchrist · Young Henry Walker; Joan Heney · Marion Walker; Laura Regan · Lisa Ashen
- Genres
- supernatural horror; horror punk; Gothic rock
- Themes
- Revenge; Family Bloodlines; Silence; Gothic Horror
- Tone and mood
- Ominous; Supernatural; Gothic
- Premise and plot tags
- Ghost Story; Haunted House; Ventriloquism; Spirit Possession
- Content notes
- Horror
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics and was a commercial failure, though it garnered a cult following.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 21% · review count: 84; Metacritic · score: 34 · scale: 100 · review count: 15; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The character of Billy was not actually featured in the film despite being on the soundtrack.; The film was shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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