It is almost impossible to discuss the current stage of horror without mentioning the names of James Wan and Leigh Whannell. The pair made quite the splash in the early 2000s with the film Saw and exploded into the mainstream as a result. Wan and Whannell would further cement their names in franchises like Insidious, The Conjuring, Furious 7, and Aquaman. This does not include solo films like Cooties or Upgrade or Dead Silence. Out of all of the films, Dead Silence is the most interesting since it serves as the transition between Saw and Insidious. With Wan preparing for Malignant and Whannell releasing The Invisible Man this week, there is no better time to revisit this project.
Released in 2007, Dead Silence follows Jamie Ashen, a recent widow who returns home to Raven’s Fair after his girlfriend is murdered by the ghost of Mary Shaw. At Raven’s Fair, the town has died down and the residents are haunted by the legacy of Shaw and refuse to acknowledge her existence. Along the way, he must deal with his father and step-mother, a determined detective, and the other town folks while he solves the mystery of Shaw and his girlfriend’s death.
First and foremost, I love the production design of this film. From the gothic sets, to the architecture of Raven’s Fair Shaw’s theatre on the water, and the Ashen’s home, the film is entrenched into this atmosphere. Wan and Whannell have a strong track record for this aspect in their works and makes the world transcend the screen. The next highlight are the dolls. I love a good creepy doll and this film had one hundred and one of them. You will get your money’s worth if you enjoy this type of horror. Along those lines, the highlight performance of the film was Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Jim Lipton. Wahlberg’s character existed as this perfect mix of intensity switching between dry shaving his facial and acting antagonistically towards Jamie. I could heap praises on this portrayal and how much fun it was watching him.
One of the weaker aspects of the film was the CGI used. Granted that digital effects can age quickly, even more so after thirteen years, it did not work well with the final product. One such instance occurred during the climax where Mary’s face pops out of the doll case. The effect took me out of the film and it did not positively serve the story. Along those lines, Mary’s face contorts out of a doll in a putty type manner. I would assume this is not the effect Wan was going for. I enjoyed the story, but the twist ending felt cliched. I will not spoil anything, but I wish that the pair would have done something different. Dead Silence is an interesting film that separates Wan and Whannell from the franchise that broke them into the industry and the more ambitious projects they would later pursue.