Dead Silence - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Dead Silence



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


​

Movie
Most people forget that before he was made STUPID famous with the Insidious and Conjouring series, James Wan cut his teeth on the horror genre by making the first Saw movie (back before it became an over the top and worn out franchise), and just after Saw, he and co-creator Leigh Whannell made a little known throwback horror flick called Dead Silence. At first glance from the cover one might assume that Dead Silence was a 1980s or 1990s killer doll flick, and that was kind of the point. Whannell and Wan both wanted to make a creepy atmospheric doll flick like the movies of old, and the attempt was actually rather good even though the movie was a box office “meh” for the most part. It’s creepy all right, and got a VERY atmospheric tone, but somehow didn’t manage to capture audience hearts when it came out in 2007, even though the 2004 Saw was a smash “gorefest” hit.

Years later, Dead Silence has gained an almost cult like following (especially with the mildly superior unrated cut), but still is not exactly widely known to the public. It instead is relegated to cult horror collectors and genre fans who have a love for Wan’s earlier work. The film starts out creepily enough, with a young couple named Jamie (Ryan Kwanten, a year before he became famous as Jason Stackhouse in True Blood) Lisa (Laura Regan) who are young and in love. However, a late night delivery changes their lives forever when a ventriloquist dummy shows up on their doorstep, only for Lisa to be brutally murdered with her tongue ripped out.

Going home to bury his wife and confront his estranged father Edward (Bob Gunton), Jamie finds out more than he ever wanted about his family past, and the suffering that falls from one generation to the next as a result. Turns out that the entire town has been plagued with murders since the passing of ventriloquist Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts), who supposedly has haunted the town for a full generation. Realizing that the ghost of Mary Shaw may be more than just a myth, Jamie does his best to figure out what is causing the deaths, and how to free his family of the ancient curse before it’s too late.

Dead Silence is a genuinely creepy movie that has a lot of things going for it. Wan and Whannell (say that 5 times fast) do a great job of creating a throwback ghost story involving dolls, and does so in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s a copy cat, or an homage to the past. Instead it feels fresh and new, yet strangely like it’s from a completely different era. The visual aesthetics are heavily stylized, and the twist at the end is disturbingly creative. Sadly Scream Factory only put the Theatrical cut on 4K UHD, but the unrated cut (and theatrical cut) is included on the Blu-ray to enjoy. Personally I have to give the nod to the Unrated cut as the superior version of the film, but not by a whole lot. There’s not much different between the cuts outside of a CGI added body part that makes for an incredibly awesome (and disturbing) scene at the ramshackle theater. It’s just a personal “ahhhh, bummer” fact that the Unrated cut isn’t on the 4K disc as well.




Rating:

Rated R for Horror Violence and Language




4K Video: Video:

I don’t have the 2015 Blu-ray on me, but this 4K UHD release looks AMAZING. Taken from a brand new 4K remaster from the original negative, Dead Silence is an absolutely stellar viewing experience (the Blu-ray sports the same 4K remaster, just down rezzed to 1080p). The film is highly stylized, with incredibly desaturated and muted colors that are pretty much predominantly blue and gray. While there’s not a ton of color pop outside of the blues, there is some cool contrasts going on, allowing reds to really pop off the screen (such as Jamie’s car, or the red of lipstick). Black levels are deep and inky, and contrast nicely with the bright primary reds, and really showcase some incredible shadow detail over in the family manor or the old theater. All in all, this is a great looking 4K disc for a film that always looked a bit problematic in the DVD era (my old DVD looks like garbage in comparison to the 4K and even the 1080p Blu-ray).





Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix (the same track that was on the 2015 Blu-ray, no Atmos upgrade this time) is a KILLER mix (pun intended) and still a fantastic sound some 7 years later. Ambiance is fantastic, with creeks, groans and various other background noises for the moody town, and the bass is utterly superb. The subwoofer hits like a ton of bricks when needed, and also fades into the background during some of the more dialog centric bits. Surrounds are wildly active and dialog is above reproach. I’m a big believer in the fact that a horror movie lives and dies on it’s sound mixing, and Dead Silence is top notch for sure..







Extras:

• NEW Masters of Puppets – an interview with director James Wan
• NEW Dead Assignment – an interview with writer Leigh Whannell
• NEW No Children, Only Dolls – an interview with ventriloquist dummy creator Tim Selberg
• Unrated Cut of the Film
• Alternate Opening
• Alternate Ending
• Deleted Scenes
• The Making of Dead Silence featurette
• Mary Shaw's Secrets featurette
• Evolution of a Visual Effect featurette
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Dead Silence is heavily underrated by the general horror audience, and I forgot just how much fun the 89 minute flick was until I reviewed it this week. Wan and Whannell showcase some amazing atmosphere, and a few winks and nods to previous generations of films (also, as an Easter egg, one of the dolls in the run down theater is a Jigsaw doll for you Saw fans). The 4k UHD looks and sounds amazing, and the new extras are well worth it, making this a big upgrade over the 2015 Universal Blu-ray. Great Watch


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Bob gunton, Michael Fairman, Judith Roberts
Directed by: James Wan
Written by: Leigh Whannell, James Wan
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DD 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R (Unrated)
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 28th, 2023

Recommendation: Check it Out

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never saw this so will check it out.