Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Dead Silence Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 8, 2020

Filmmakers have been keen on exploiting the inherent creepiness so many see in dolls. In the 1980s and 1990s, the foul-mouthed slasher Chucky ravaged screens and the character has even made a resurgence in recent years. But the creepy killer doll genre has matured in the last decade or so with more atmospheric, more psychological rather than visceral, films like Annabelle (and its sequels) and The Boy (and its sequel). Dead Silence is another film within the ever-expanding sub-genre, this one focused on ventriloquism, a realm at least recently made famous by Comedian Jeff Dunham but here, courtesy of James Wan and Leigh Whannell, given a much more sinister and violent bend.

The film’s opening title card reveals that in the sixth century B.C. some believed the dead would speak through the living via the stomach region, a practice from which stems the word “ventriloquist” when combined in the original Latin. In the present day, Jamie (Ryan Kwanten) and his wife Lisa (Laura Regan) receive a large, mysterious package on their doorstep that contains a ventriloquist doll. Lisa immediately remembers the story of Mary Shaw, a long-dead ventriloquist. When Jamie returns home with take-out dinner, he finds Lisa has been gruesomely murdered, and all signs point to the doll. The authorities suspect Jamie, but he quickly realizes that Mary Shaw is not just an urban legend but a very real piece of his hometown’s story. He returns to Raven's Falls where he faces a horrible truth about who he is and why he’s in the middle of bloody madness.

The film was written by Leigh Whanell and directed by James Wan, the tandem best known as the creative forces behind the Saw and Insidious franchises. And while Dead Silence is no crowning achievement, it’s definitely a solid Horror/Thriller with plenty of atmosphere, solid writing, a good bit of blood, and some legitimate scares. And it’s not half-baked like so many others of its kind. It certainly plays to and preys on essential fears and seeks visceral responses, but it’s done so well that in this case it doesn’t matter. Wan and Cinematographer John R. Leonetti use subtlety to define themes and reinforce content, and there's a wonderful interplay between the mood that seeps into the gut and more superficial assaults on the external senses. The story may not be the most original ever to grace the screen, but it support structures are so firm and sure that it doesn't matter. Propped up by a few positive performances and Dead Silence overcomes a few inherent obstacles through expert aesthetics and sheer force of will.

Dead Silence Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The picture is primarily defined by its colors, which are fairly to drastically muted, favoring a spectrum that heavily emphasizes blues and grays and blacks. Much of the movie appears dramatically desaturated for effect with only sporadic escapes from the cold, lifeless façade. Jamie's red sports car is severely oversaturated as seen in chapter six when he goes to visit his estranged father. Everything else in the scene borders on grayscale and the result is almost comic bookish. Red is used elsewhere for obvious aesthetic and thematic reinforcement, again in chapter seven as a red light blinks on and off through Jamie's motel room window, illuminating the doll and presented here to a more balanced and complimentary effect. Even as some of the most desaturated scenes likewise push extraordinarily bleak, flesh tones sometimes find at least a modest sense of saturation and vitality while still staying firmly within that essential tonal downturn. Black levels are vital and hold up excellently throughout. The image is reinforced by strong compression; there are no artifacts, even in the most challenging scenes, such as a densely foggy nighttime exterior in chapter seven. The picture's textural qualities are top-notch, too. Dead Silence was shot on film and grain is maintained evenly and complimentary for the duration. Skin textures are appropriately sharp and complex, ditto clothes and close-ups of the well-worn doll. Environments hold up well, which include Jamie's commonly appointed apartment seen at film's start, his father's palatial home, and a dirty and decrepit performance hall that plays a key role later in the film. Various outdoor environments are likewise finely detailed and well defined throughout. This is a very good looking Blu-ray. It's aesthetically its own creature and the Blu-ray delightfully delivers its precisely constructed elements.

Dead Silence Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dead Silence shouts out a barrage of intense sonic content by way of a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The opening title music is just about perfect. It's dense, detailed through a range of various instruments and styles, widely spaced, and folds in strong low end extension and surround positioning. It's a perfect opening score for the movie's tone, and it gives way to a fairly large, deep, hollow sound transitioning into a scene depicting Jamie working on the kitchen sink. In the next scene, rainfall comes down hard and soaks the stage with full driving information through all of the speakers. These are trendsetters for a track that yields consistently loud and well detailed information for the duration, with piercing screams, dense city atmosphere, and some spooky one-off sound effects like a whistling tea kettle heard in chapter three, all to excellent spacial effect. The track folds in some excellent discrete effects, such as during a flashback to a ventriloquist stage performance in chapter 10. Chapter 12 presents some wonderful spacial effects, too, as Jamie makes his way through a broken down and deserted locale. Music remains aggressive throughout, too, and dialogue is perfectly centered, prioritized, and detailed. This is a wonderful track all around.

Dead Silence Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Dead Silence contains a handful of rather standard bonus features. No DVD or digital copies are included and this release does not appear to ship with a slipcover. Do note that no "top menu" screen is included. All extras and language options, as well as chapter selections, can only be accessed during film playback via the remote's "pop-up menu" button.

• Alternate Opening (480i, window box, 1:37).
• Alternate Ending (480i, window box, 3:42).
• Deleted Scenes (480i, window box, 3:50): Several scenes clumped together with no identifying titles.
• The Making of Dead Silence (480i, 4x3, 11:55): In discussion of the film's story and style, influences, some technical and production design details, visual effects work, and more.
• Mary Shaw's Secrets (480i, 4x3, 6:41): Cast and crew look at the cooked-up tale that drives the film's plot.
• Evolution of a Visual FX (480i, window box, 3:59): A scene seen in various stages of digital and practical rendering.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:17): "We Sleep Forever."

Dead Silence Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dead Silence shouts loudly amidst its atmosphere and spooky story elements, angling to make itself the perfect hybrid of cinema style and meaty terror. It does its thing commendably well, and even if it's not any kind of instant classic there's enough here to make genre fans well pleased with the results. Universal's Blu-ray is a solid performer, too, boasting excellent 1080p video, essentially reference 5.1 lossless audio, and a complimentary smattering of extra content. Recommended.