Dead Silence

Film review of (2007) Dead Silence starring Ryan Kwanten – of True Blood fame – about a man investigating the death of his wife that leads him back to his cursed hometown and a ghost story of long dead ventriloquist. Despite this film being made in 2007 I’ve only have come across it recently at a second hand shop. I was surprised that despite being an avid film fan I haven’t heard about it; however I was more surprised to find myself enjoying the overall experience. The story follows a widower Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) investigating a ghastly death of his new bride, which lead him back to his home town and a ghost story about a dead ventriloquist. Jamie is relentlessly seeking answers, which provides difficult as the town residents, including his own father, are refusing to co-operate. This is made even more difficult by being obstinately pursued by the detective of his wife’s murder, who’s convinced of Jamie’s guilt. The small scale production of the film if anything adds to the overall effect of the film, which I found, reminded me quite a bit of the old Hammer Horror films with its budget special effects which heavily relying on make-up of the ghost rather than CGI and the horror at times verging on comical. The suspense of the murder mystery, where the protagonist is trying to investigate the gruesome death of his new bride, while revisiting his past, effectively sucks you into the story, even if it’s somewhat predictable. Kwanten’s performance is adequate and it’s nice to see him play something different from his True Blood stuff. His experience dealing with the supernatural material comes in handy, as he manages to hold your interest as well as your sympathy for his character’s predicament. In the end I was pleasantly surprised to see this low budget production to be so entertaining and different from other horror films that been out recently, which rely mostly on shaky cameras CGI monsters. Dead Silence doesn’t take itself seriously, nor does it pretend to be something it’s not, it’s simply there to be enjoyed and entertained.