Dead Silence

Beware the stare of Mary Shaw.
She had no children, only dolls.
And if you see her, do not scream.
Or she’ll rip your tongue out at the seam.
—1940s Children’s Rhyme from Ravens Fair—

Gosh, this is one of the best English thriller I've ever watched so far. Damn, the idea of living vaudeville dolls is totally gorgeous. Yes, dead spirits use their favourite item as vessel to haunt human beings - or so people said. This common idea is so well-played by the film director in Dead Silence. I swear, for one second, I found this common understanding refreshing.

Some of you may not be able to take the horrible graphic of victims whose tongues are ripped off upon death. Others may think that the film director is only using dolls because they can be moved by strings, thus add to the creepy mode. But I think it's a good concept with a wonderful twist to the ending. And the rhyme (above), gosh, it was addictive. I kept repeating it to myself for a week before I finally got it out of my head.

Synopsis from movie.aol
Dead Silence saw duo James Wan and Leigh Whannell re-team for this chilling tale of a widower (Ryan Kwanten) who returns to his hometown to unearth clues about his recently departed wife's untimely death. In the quiet town of Ravens Fair, children taunt one another with spooky stories about a ventriloquist whose mind was ravaged by insanity. Mary Shaw was a popular entertainer until she was accused of murdering a young boy. Subsequently hunted and captured by the vengeful townspeople, Mary's tongue was cut out before she was mercilessly killed and committed to the earth in the company of her handmade collection of vaudeville dolls.

In the years that followed, the town seemed to be haunted by those ghastly puppets. After mysteriously disappearing from Mary's grave, the menacing figurines would sometimes be glimpsed by the damned in the dead of night -- their appearance consistently foreshadowing the death of whoever laid eyes upon them. Entire families were found slaughtered, their tongues brutally torn from their mouths in a sickening scene that eerily recalled the execution of the elderly ventriloquist.

Newlyweds Jamie (Ryan Kwanten) and Lisa Ashen (Laura Regan) both grew up in Ravens Fair. Now, following Lisa's inexplicable death, Paul has returned to the pair's hometown in order to say his final goodbyes and find out the truth about his wife's enigmatic demise. After being reunited with his ailing father (Bob Gunton) and the aging man's pretty young bride (Amber Valletta), the grieving widower will finally uncover the shocking truth behind the curse that has plagued Ravens Fair for as far back as he can remember.

By the way, if you plan to go and watch this movie, please please please remember not to scream when you see Mary Shaw. Who knows, she might rip your tongue off!