Dead Silence attempts to rekindle that old 80's horror magic by creating a new iconic mythology (think the Freddy Krueger legend). It's also a return to R rated terror, but after watching it, I'm still trying to figure out why it received an R rating. There is absolutely nothing in this movie that pushes the envelope in terms of violent content, nor is there any nudity to speak of. Come to think of it, I can't think of a single, solitary bad word save for one brief moment in which Donnie Wahlberg mouths the word "fuck." The thing is, he doesn't actually say it. I just don't get it. There's nothing here that's any worse than anything in The Ring and that movie was PG-13. I expected something much edgier from the creators of Saw, but for what it's worth, they were cheated by the MPAA.

This is not an R rated movie. It's a PG-13 disguised as an R. Oh, and did I mention that Dead Silence is piss weak? I know many folks in the on line community are simply embracing this flick because of Leigh Whannell and James Wan's involvement. And while I do feel sorry that they were unable to get Dead Silence released sooner (it's reportedly been on the shelf for quite sometime), I can't recommend it. I'm a huge fan of the genre, and sadly, this film lends nothing interesting to the world of horror.

In Dead Silence, a young man journeys to his old home town after his wife is killed in a bizarre fashion. She is murdered, presumably by a creepy looking dummy (as in puppet) that was anonymously shipped to their home earlier in the day. When the distraught husband arrives at his old stomping ground (he hopes to find the mysterious party responsible for sending him the dummy), he discovers a deep rooted secret harbored by the locals in the sinister looking town. Making matters worse, he's being followed by an eager police officer who believes he is responsible for his wife's death.

Dead Silence opens well enough. The first sequence is extremely familiar in terms of how it unfolds, but it's atmospheric and it hits a couple nice notes, tonally speaking. Once the film makers take the audience to Raven's Fair (a town all too reminiscent of Silent Fall – only far less creepy) however, the movie quickly unravels and becomes a true bore-fest chalk full of telegraphed scares, stock characters, and a truly crappy twist ending that simply pisses me off.

Dead Silence is the brainchild of Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell. That movie too had a twist. Many of them in fact, but at least that flick earned it's ending. The big reveal made sense and felt like an organic part of the story. Here it's a tag-on thrown in to punch things up.

The performances are completely uninspired save for Judith Roberts who livens up the proceedings as creepy ventriloquist Mary Shaw. Sadly, Roberts is relegated to a couple of flashback sequences. As it turns out, the initial flashback is the most entertaining (and evil) part of the movie.

Lead Ryan Kwantan looks thoroughly bored, and Donnie Wahlberg (who appeared in the last two Saw films) shows up in one the most painfully underwritten (and flat out dumb) cop roles I've ever seen in a movie, horror or otherwise. Now it could be argued that many of these roles are purposely written in a stock manor as to give the movie a cheesy 80's horror film vibe, but I think that's a cop out. Regardless of whether or not it was intentional, it doesn't work at all, because the movie is playing things straight.

All that doesn't work in this picture would have been easily redeemed had there been a scare to speak of. Even the dolls look bored. There's a gimmick early on in which one of the dummies slowly moves it's eyes to the side, while the potential victim sitting to the side is oblivious to this fact. It's a frightening moment–THE FIRST TIME! Sadly, the film makers go to this well about ten times bringing new meaning to the term "beating a dead doll." I'm all for understated, but Whannell and Wan were clearly able to score a substantial budget after reaping massive benefits from Saw, so why didn't they put more cash flow into the effects.

There's a great moment in Tom Holland's Child's Play. It's that first scene when we actually see Chucky come to life. You know the part I'm talking about. It's the scene when Catherine Hicks threatens to throw the doll in the fire. Without warning, the seemingly soul-less Chucky comes to violent life and calls Hicks "a stupid bitch." It's a chilling moment. What I wouldn't have given to see one of the dummies in this movie come to life in a similar fashion. I'm all for less is more, particularly in the horror genre, but as played in Dead Silence, less is...less.

Furthermore, there's a bit of nonsensical supernatural business that plagues the movie. Before a possessed doll strikes, a "dead silence" overcomes the potential victim, and the supernatural force can only pounce if the victim screams. A similar hook was used in Jeepers Creepers, and while I always thought that movie was somewhat overrated, it made a hell of a lot more sense. There was a reason for it.

Dead Silence is a weak excuse of a movie. Somewhere buried deep within, is a fun flick waiting to get out. The film is shot well and much of the tone reminded me of a great 70's slice of horror called Phantasm. I also thought the dummies looked cool, but I wanted to be scared, and this flick simply didn't get the job done at all. If you want to see a good movie with puppets or dummies in action, may I suggest Child's Play, Team America, Meet the Feebles, or even the original Puppet Master. Or, if you prefer subtle tales about evil play things, may I suggest two great Twilight Zone episodes - Living Doll and The Dummy, and Richard Attenborough's Magic starring a young Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margret.