User Score
6.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 51
  2. Negative: 15 out of 51

Review this movie

  1. Your Score
    10 out of 10
    Rate this:
    out of 10
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  3. Characters remaining: 5000 out of 5000

  1. AmarilisM.
    Apr 5, 2008
    8
    I don't usually get scared by movies, but this one was spooky. I actually liked it better than the Saw movies, which are making me sick already.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. Ellie
    Mar 15, 2007
    0
    A simply stupid film. Repetitive, boring, and not even amusing in its stupidity. Very bad.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. NickH.
    Mar 16, 2007
    10
    Dead Silence is an actual horror movie that is scary and effective!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. Sam
    Mar 18, 2007
    8
    Relied more on atmosphere than plot, which ended up raising the movie above all the other horror fodder that's out there now.... despite the lame twist at the end.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. MelanieM
    Jul 2, 2007
    0
    This film had no redeeming qualities...the rhyme was annoying (can 'Shaw' and 'dolls' even be considered slant rhyme?), the acting was probably the most horrific aspect of this movie...and I'm not certain that the directors have been in an actual graveyard--most of the tombstones would read 'Betty' or 'Fred' with no last name or date. Also, Mary Shaw's grave was in pristine condition, even though she had died like 50 years earlier and her headstone was covered in these weird cockleburr-type things--a setting needs realistic details, otherwise, it's just a distraction. Those "atmospheric effects" were like trying to watch a movie through a dang smokescreen--if you plan on watching this, invest in some good glasses. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. AndrewG.
    Mar 19, 2007
    1
    I like the Saw movies, but Dead Silence is terrible. The idea to telegraph the scary parts by making everything go absolutely silent was cool, and earns the movie one point. Otherwise, it's easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. Ryencoke
    Mar 19, 2007
    6
    The movie wasn't anything beyond amazing, nor good. It couldn't do anything but remind me of 'Bogeyman'. That's all this film reminded me of. Couldn't tell you why, but it did. The movie has no major scares. Of course, a twist.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. CalvinH.
    Apr 20, 2007
    10
    I don't give a crap what the critics say, I thought the movie had its scary moments and as always in any of James Wan's movies there is a great twist.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. AMovieCritic
    Jul 15, 2007
    6
    Pretty decent horror movie. James Wan (Saw 1) is a really good director who can really build to some great scares. Unfortunately, he's working with a pretty dumb script and scenario, and the movie can't escape its "B-movie" feel. The twist ending at the end is REALLY stretching it, although I'll praise it for being, at least, unique. Still, the movie itself feels a little slow at times, James Wan yet again reverts to the "clowns are scary" technique to scare people (they're not scary.) and there aren't really many likable characters here. Still...decent horror movie. I would have been disappointed if I saw it in a theater but it makes pretty decent DVD entertainment. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. MelodyM.
    Mar 18, 2007
    8
    Ever since I first heard that this movie was done by the writers and directors of the Saw trilogy, I have been waiting to see it. Even though it was no Saw, I still enjoyed this film. They had some great scares, and the ending was very unexpected. For people who were looking for tons of gore, your going to be dissapointed, however this ghost story will keep you covering you eyes and holding onto the person besdie you. Overall I enjoyed this film, and if anyone wants to see a decent horror film, I would suggest this one. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. NormD.
    Mar 25, 2007
    9
    I don't get the people who watch, movies. I mean seriously, you got here a movie that is creepy, spooky, and its the best it can do with a doll type series, not like Chucky. It's not Saw its just PRODUCERS From SAW. You get what you want in this movie, I think its totally creepy, if just see it, geesh, never seen a movie like this before, the only reason I don't give it a 10 is I don;t like endings like that. But with all the dumb movies out anymore a bunch of kiddie movies that are funny or so, or some lame idea, you got a real freak zone and still, people whine about it not being like another movie its freaky. Eyes moving I mean what more do you people want! I am not being harsh or mean i just dont' get critices or people, too much people judge movies, because its not like another movie, if you exspect a movie to be creepy or a doll like or ghostly or about dolls thats what your gonna goet if you go into the movies to see what its producers did in another movie or your soo picky then i don't know what to say. This movie is too freaky, and to creepy it was all it asked in my book, but of course the VERY best movies people hate the dumb movies people love. I mean seriously do I have to write a very lame story to make people read than a really, good idea and freaky plots and get hated. I love this movie, you all can hate it or have a big issue with it all, I didn;'t like is the ending. I don't like bad winning. But the rest RULES. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. Donna
    Jan 18, 2008
    9
    The acting had me in stitches. As did the dolls. It's kind of a Chucky meets Nightmare on Elm St. But I liked it! It even made me jump once, which movies never do. The ending was... imaginative... think that's the nicest way of putting it! It was a big twist, but one of those silly ones that tries to make you go "ooooh!", unfortunately it didn't quite work that way.. Rather than being shocked by the ending, I was amused to see how far the writers had stretched it. Nonetheless, I thought it was a great film and will be watching it again! Although I'm yet to figure out why I enjoyed it so much.. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. John
    Mar 12, 2008
    1
    James Wan should never direct, he should go back to his day job, and not get into movie indsutry.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. Jonathans.
    Dec 21, 2007
    3
    The movie could have easily taken a turn as a throwback/satire of all those old, terrible horror conventions, and it most likely would have been better if it had. Look at all the most generic aspects of the horror genre (or at least the oldest, and, now, never really used any more): a mysterious package with no sender listed; constant, inexplicable lightning and thunder that appears even though there was no previous signs of even rain falling; a weird hotel room and cemetery; a dusty, cob-web filled (and of course cavernous) theatre (which would normally have been a mansion in other cases); and of course a town lynching and the vengeful spirit that comes as a result. Not to mention horrific acting-- a must. However, unfortunately, the movie was fully meant to be taken seriously, and, as a result, was pretty much insufferable except for a few minutes of footage every now and then. The beginning was undeniably the worst part, due mostly to the atrocious pacing and poor writing that seems to have been just hastily thrown together for that scene to exist and set up the following "plot." And from then on, the pacing is just as uneven throughout most of the movie until you reach the flashback-- which, by the way, was the only intriguing part of the movie, along with a few minutes that followed it-- which was paced and filmed well (or maybe it was all just relative, compared to what we just had to sit through). The pace didn't stay completely even after that for very long, but it was still much improved. The dialogue-- sorry New York Post-- WAS terrible, in all cases, and was (in my opinion) probably the main reason Wahlberg did such a bad job with the part. It's like the Star Wars Prequel Effect-- actors who have proven that they can do a good job are given horrific dialogue, and their performance is reduced exponentially. The only reason to attribute this movie a 3 is because of the minor jump-scene scares it elicited (but only on a 50% mark), cinematography which deserves a much better movie to go with it, and the fact that there were points in the movie where I was somewhat interested in what happened (though that amounts to maybe 15 minutes of screen time in a 90 minute movie). As for the "twist"-- well at least it was SOMEWHAT contextual to the plot, unlike the first Saw's-- which, really, wasn't a twist at all and added absolutely nothing to the movie whatsoever. However, the twist still didn't really have to much effect on the plot. And given the fact that it was such a terrible movie up to that point, and the fact that we had basically already suspended all disbelief (most likely due to brain cells shutting down)-- it wasn't terrible, just about 95% illogical. The only other thing I can say the movie had going for it, was the fact that the innovators of the splat-pack did manage to make a horror movie that didn't rely on gore, and actually built minor tension every now and then. That, and this was an incredibly tame "R" movie, even more so when looking at the people behind it. And Calvin H., sorry the twist wasn't great-- just because you can't see a twist coming doesn't mean it's good (especially when they don't even add much to the movie)-- in fact, if you have absolutely no idea about a twist, it's likely a bad one, since a good twist will still leave evidence along the way (and no, three seconds of cumulative footage "explaining" the twist does not count as laying evidence-- please go watch Shyamalan movies or, if you thought this twist was good, you might enjoy even the predictable twist in Se7en). And Norm D. (I'm on a roll here), no, you seem to be one of the few people who hasn't seen this doen a million times before, and can't seem to recognize that all the things you're saying are basically untrue. This "freaky idea" would barely even hold up as a Supernatural episode. And in terms of what more do we want than "eyes moving"? Are you serious? I'm a sixteen year old boy who has a horror fix, and I can still basically see all these things you somehow can't. I honestly hope you're a 10 year old who wants to see grown up movies (which I also would hope accounts for your atrocious writing). So for anyone actually reading this, it does work as a cheap horror fix, but I would strongly suggest other movies to help out the fix: The Descent, which is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror movies to come out in quite some time; 28 Weeks Later, one hell of an incredible thrill ride; even guilty pleasures like Hostel, which at least is well shot, pretty well acted, and at least has a smart script (or themes to it, if you'd rather). So I would generally reccommend against this movie, even to those who think it'll be scary because of the doll-- the eyes moving, head turning schtick gets old pretty quickly, sicne that's about the only gimmick they employ. Honestly, I had realized this was going to suck utterly, but I had expected some good scares given the premise. Unfortunately, no. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  15. Oct 17, 2010
    6
    this movie was certainly not bad, most reviews i read said leave this movie alone, well thats just not the case, the story isn't very good but moves along nicely, as for scares well thats what this movie does well ur be behind ur pillow quite a few times. and the lighting looked quite nice in this movie, i dont normally notice but i did with this one. not as good as the first saw but probably better than the rest. Expand
  16. Nov 26, 2011
    0
    It was pretty terrible. Too much like any other generic straight to dvd horror film and wasnt all that interesting and it wasnt even scary either. I was disapointed.
  17. Oct 26, 2010
    1
    I was the type of horror movie done over and over. Where the viewer should be surprised, there is often disappointment. The main character was dull, and the plot line even more so. The ending was supposed to shock, but I just looked down and thought, "I wasted a thing of Popcorn on this?"
  18. Jan 14, 2012
    6
    Not as bad as people made it out to be. Fantastic twist at the end. Kind of scary. It will sruprise you how everything is set up. Great for watching it with the girlfriend.
  19. Nov 14, 2011
    7
    I watched this movie as an ongoing look into what the director of SAW did after his first Masterpiece Horror. If you have ever seen the chucky films like myself and laughed your ass off at them cause they were so stupid then this one might open your eyes another ways. The film follows A man who gets a puppet as a gift and it ends up killing his wife and the whole film is him trying to prove his innocence that he did not kill his wife along with discovering the dark secrets of the puppet and its owner. The movie is called Dead Silence as the puppet only strikes when there is total quiet, which works VERY well with the suspense of the film. Like the saw film it ties most things up at the end with a very UNEXPECTED twist. Fans of SAW and those who want a decent version of CHUCKY should like this film People scared of PUPPETS,CLOWNS and OLD SCARY WOMEN should lock their doors and try not to think about the movie at all Expand
Metascore

Generally unfavorable - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 15
  2. Negative: 8 out of 15
  1. Boasts nothing new under the sun, but it does provide a few decent scares.
  2. Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    30
    Only those in a cold sweat for their weekly horror fix will bother with this formulaic and rather lazy exercise in booga-booga scare tactics.
  3. Reviewed by: Ed Gonzalez
    0
    A conflation of the horror genre's laziest tropes, plot angles and shorthands, this inept creation isn't so much a film as it is a smorgasbord.