Dead Silence

Like a dumbass, I went and saw this movie in the theater. Something I usually downright refuse to do just because the audience almost always ruins the experience for me, just as it did this movie. People giggling every time the doll was shown or any time anyone spoke, everyone just laughing at all the intended scares, which damn it to hell got me laughing as well. So my first viewing left me with a bad impression, and my opinion of it suffered as well.

Giving it another chance in my quiet living room with the lights turned out did the trick though as I really came to dig the hell out of this flick. It was a totally different experience, allowing me to appreciate the gloomy atmosphere and the use of the shadows. It has an old-school Hammer feel to it almost. And those dummies were putting some wicked chills through my skin. What is it about those things that just naturally make them so freaky?

This is just a good ol’ fashioned ghost story, and in the horror game where almost all of the bigger budgets go into remakes, reboots and sequels, it’s cool to see some originality being funded. And I did think the story was pretty neat. The ventriloquist lady being buried with all her dolls, requesting to be turned into a dummy herself and then coming back, haunting and ripping out the tongues if they scream. It’s cool!

***SPOILERS MENG!!!***
As for that final twist, I’m really on the fence about that whole thing. I guess you could say I have a kind of love hate relationship with it. On one hand, I do think it’s pretty awesome to think about her turning the dude’s dead body into a giant dummy, and I have to admit that I didn’t see that shit coming.

But on the other hand, that’s pretty fucking stupid. It’s almost hard not to laugh about how ridiculous it is actually, not only because it makes almost no sense at all, but it mostly feels a little unnecessary, like fishing a little too hard for a crazy twist.
***END OF SPOILERS***

BOTTOM LINE: I thought it was pretty cool and I enjoyed it. Glad I gave it another chance and found a better appreciation for it. Some of it is a little silly, the fat Walberg is a bit of a doofus and the twist is kind of retarded. But overall I think it was well made, had a decent story and gave me a fair amount of chills.