The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
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Dead Silence
Horror · 2007
Jamie returns to his hometown in search of answers to his wife's murder, which occurred after receiving a weird package containing a ventriloquist dummy named Billy, which may be linked to the legend of ventriloquist Mary Shaw. Destined to find out the truth, Jamie goes to the town of Raven's Fair, where Shaw used to perform and is buried. But Jamie is in for more than he expected.
Movie details
Dead Silence
“You scream. You die.”
2007 Horror 1h 29m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
Jamie returns to his hometown in search of answers to his wife's murder, which occurred after receiving a weird package containing a ventriloquist dummy named Billy, which may be linked to the legend of ventriloquist Mary Shaw. Destined to find out the truth, Jamie goes to the town of Raven's Fair, where Shaw used to perform and is buried. But Jamie is in for more than he expected.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Dead Silence?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Daddy's Head
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A boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after an eerie creature resembling the boy's recently deceased father visits them.
Campfire Tales
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Anthology of famous, scary urban legends done with a modern twist.
The Haunted Palace
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A man and his wife claim the mansion of his warlock ancestor burned alive in 1765.
Until Dawn
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Dead & Buried
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After a series of gory murders commited by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses appear to be coming back to life and living normally as locals in the small town.
Hokum
Horror · 2026
When novelist Ohm Bauman retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents' ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past.
Dolls
Fantasy · 1987
A precocious girl, her nasty parents, two punk-rock losers and a weak-kneed salesman inadvertently become the guests of two ghoulish senior citizens in their dark, haunted mansion.
The Gate
Horror · 1987
Three young children accidentally release a horde of nasty, pint-sized demons from a hole in a suburban backyard. What follows is a classic battle between good and evil as the three kids struggle to overcome a nightmarish hell that is literally taking over the Earth.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
James Wan
Written by
Leigh Whannell · James Wan
Ryan Kwanten
Jamie Ashen
Amber Valletta
Ella Ashen
Donnie Wahlberg
Det. Lipton
Bob Gunton
Edward Ashen
Laura Regan
Lisa Ashen
Michael Fairman
Henry Walker
Joan Heney
Marion Walker
Court is in session
Put Dead Silence on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.