Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Dead Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Dead Silence is an entertaining horror-thriller from executive producer Peter Oillataguerre (Scream, Scream VI). Produced by the Saw franchise team of Mark Burg (Saw, Saw II), Gregg Hoffman (Saw, Jigsaw), and Oren Koules (Spiral, Jigsaw), Dead Silence is an original horror film with a story by James Wan and Leigh Whannell. Starring Ryan Kwanten (and a ventriloquist dummy).

Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) and his wife Lisa Ashen (Laura Regan) receive a strange and mysterious gift in the form of a ventriloquist doll. The doll has the ominous name of “Billy” (and looks almost as eerily creepy as The Conjuring universe’s Annabelle).  During a shocking turn of events, Jamie loses his wife Lisa and is suspected as a murderer. Yet the creepy doll might have taken a bigger toll than expected.

When Detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) releases Jamie from his custody due to a lack of sufficient evidence, Jamie sets out to learn more about a mysterious figure known simply as Mary Shaw (as it may hold the answer to what happened to his wife). As Jamie visits his father, Edward Ashen (Bob Gunton), alongside Ed’s much younger spouse Ella Ashen (Amber Valletta), the mystery unravels as Jamie learns more about the legacy of Mary Shaw – and the sequence of terrifying deaths that have followed in the sleepy town of Ravens Fair. Can Jamie survive long enough to solve the mystery – or will a creepy doll be all it takes to bring him down?

One thing that doesn’t impress me much about Dead Silence is the lead performance by Ryan Kwanten. Though the actor delivers a decent enough performance for a genre film, Kwanten simply isn’t all that great in this role. The best performance in Dead Silence is by the ventriloquist dummy (or dummies, rather). As much as I hate to say it, the dummies delivered better performances.

The eerie ventriloquist dummy element of the film is what makes Dead Silence such a fun horror-thriller and these aspects are handled perfectly. With a superbly eerie production design by Julie Berghoff (The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2), Dead Silence has a fantastic sense of spooky atmosphere and this helps to build tension and raise the stakes of the production. The film looks like a haunted house playbook in some respects and it lives up to this creepy-crawly environment.

The art direction by Anastasia Masaro (Tideland, Honey) adds to the eerie vibe of Dead Silence as well. The filmmaking fits right in with classic horror films and the art direction helps to highlight the creepy nature of the tale. The effort certainly enhances the entire aesthetic and is highly impressive.

The costume design by Denise Cronenberg (Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Incredible Hulk) are impressive, too. The costuming – especially in regards to the aesthetic design of the dummies – makes this quite effective. A solid effort by Cronenberg. The efforts paid off well.

The cinematography by John R. Leonetti (The Conjuring, Insidious) is one of the greatest highlights of Dead Silence. Dead Silence is an extremely atmospheric horror film and the visual style is enormously effective right from the start. The cinematography is creepy, enthralling, and engaging. This is a great looking film and it was well handled by one of the great modern maestros of horror cinematography.

Edited by Michael N. Knue (The Ring Two, The Lazarus Effect), Dead Silence isn’t always perfectly paced and some of this was due to the editing. The editing is solid enough (and the film is never a bore) but compared to some other films by the same overall filmmaking team, Dead Silence is less impressive in this regard. A decent editing effort but it could have been a little better at the same time.

The score composed by Charlie Clouser (Saw, Resident Evil: Extinction) gave me the creepy-crawlies. The score is spooky good fun and adds to the atmosphere of Dead Silence. The music certainly never feels out of place and the score always manages to provide the filmmaking with a more surrealistic tone (aiding the horror filmmaking).

The screenplay by Leigh Whannell (Upgrade, The Invisible Man) is nothing spectacular. Dead Silence has a fairly standard B-movie horror script. The dialogue isn’t much to write home about. The story isn’t as creative as some other horror films are and it simply doesn’t hit all the right notes. A reasonably good script but one that is also lackluster at the same time. Whannell just doesn’t seem as good with the characterizations.

The powerhouse behind Dead Silence is the filmmaker at the helm. Directed by James Wan (Malignant, The Conjuring), Dead Silence is a great showcase for the visual inventiveness of its filmmaker. Wan is one of the best working filmmakers in Hollywood and he has one of the most keen and hypnotic visual styles for crafting horror films.

Wan understands the horror genre more than most filmmakers and manages to find creepy and atmospheric ways to enhance the genre in even the most subtle of ways. While Dead Silence might not be a horror masterpiece like The Conjuring, Dead Silence is an underrated and enthralling “dummy” horror film and one with a lot of great scares for genre fans. Don’t miss it.

Dead Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on 4K UHD from Shout Factory, Dead Silence is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 widescreen. The release is presented with an enormous bit-rate of 85.04 mbps. The presentation includes a HDR10 grade. The high dynamic range allows for the deepest blacks and brightest parts of the image to appear more realistic and to provide greater detail. The HDR was impressively handled on the presentation and looks naturalistic (retaining the cinematographic style).

The naturally filmic presentation looks remarkably crisp during the encode. The picture quality has an outstanding sense of depth. The HDR also never appears too dark for the presentation (which is sometimes a complaint some viewers have with movies with a particularly dark atmosphere). The results are effective without overshadowing detail reproduction. An excellent presentation and one that offers a subtle but worthwhile upgrade.

Dead Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The lossless audio selections are presented in high resolution at 24-bit depth. The audio quality on the release is fantastic sounding. This is a crisp and rewarding audio design. The eerie soundstage of the surround track is immersive and compelling. Dialogue reproduction is also excellent. The score has great clarity during the presentation and is well integrated in to the mix.

Dead Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray disc included in the 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo pack includes both the theatrical (HD, 1:29:08) and unrated cuts (HD, 1:31:33) of the feature-film. The release also includes an attractive o-card slipcover on the first print run. 

The new 4K UHD master is used on both the 4K UHD disc and the newly authored Blu-ray disc.

Master of Puppets – An Interview with Director James Wan (HD, 15:45)

NEW INTERVIEW - Dead Assignment – An Interview with Writer Leigh Whannell (HD, 12:26)

No Children, Only Dolls – An Interview with Ventriloquist Dummy Creator Tim Selberg (HD, 12:15)

Alternate Opening (SD, 1:37)

Alternate Ending (SD, 3:42)

Deleted Scenes (SD, 3:50)

The Making of Dead Silence (SD, 11:55)

Mary Shaw's Secrets (SD, 6:41)

Evolution of a Visual FX (SD, 3:59)

Trailer (HD, 2:15)

Dead Silence 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dead Silence is an underrated horror film and one that fans of filmmaker James Wan (Malignant, The Conjuring) will consider essential viewing. The atmosphere of the production is remarkable and the thrilling horror provided is superb. Though Dead Silence has a few quirks (such as a below-average leading performance by Ryan Kwanten), the stellar atmosphere and production values go a long way. Dead Silence is fantastic and well worth seeing for horror aficionados.

The 4K UHD release includes a stunning 2160p presentation. The HDR grade for the film provides a naturalistic and pleasing upgrade. The lossless sound design sounds enormously pleasing on the release as well. The set also includes a selection of bonus features – including a new interview with screenwriter Leigh Whannell. Fans of Dead Silence will find the 4K UHD package irresistible. Highly recommended.