Dead Silence (2007)

Written by Axemaster April 18th 2011
Rating 9 out of 10

Director   -   James Wan

Cast
Ryan Kwanten   -   Jamie Ashen
Amber Valletta   -   Ella Ashen
Donnie Wahlberg  -  Detective Lipton
Michael Fairmen  -  Henry Walker
Joan Henry    -    Marion Walker
Bob Gunton   -   Edward Ashen

  Hey there all you Terror Trolls !! Axemaster here with another real hair raising treat for you ! Having recently seen the latest flick by Horror's Extreme Tag Team of director James Wan and writer Leigh Whanell , Insidious ( reviewed by yours truly with ever light in the house on !! ) , I was inspired to watch this flick again ! Dead silence , well It freaks me out ! There . I said it . Dolls man ! Eeewwwwww !! I had to watch it with the blanket pulled up to my nose , the dog on the couch with me (big help she'd be , She's as much of a chicken shit as I am !! Sort of a Scooby Shaggy like picture here ain't it !) , and the car keys on the coffee table for a fast get away !!

Open wide please !!

  The story in a nut shell goes sorta like this ......
Jamie Ashen and his wife Lisa (played by Laura Regan) have moved to the big city and are building a nice life there together . One night they receive a package from their dreary home town of Ravens Fair . Of course there is no return address on it and , puzzled , the two open it up . Now me , I'd be expecting , Oh I don't know... cookies from Aunt Gurt , or a new tackle box from Cousin Sheb , but NO !! Out pops Billy the puppet !! AAAAAAGGHHHHH  !!! What the HELL !!???
Yeah that little Sucker would have been right into the fire place if it had been You or I ....... but it wasn't , was it ? No .
   So , being rather at a loss as to who may have sent this bazar gift , jamie does what any red blooded young man would do .... goes out for some take out , leaving Lisa home alone with Billy ! (Brrrrr !)
When he returns home , his life is shattered as he finds Lisa has been brutally murdered . Enter Detective Lipton (tea anyone !?) played by Donnie Wahlberg . Lipton of course zeros in on jamie as the prime suspect in his wife's murder . Jamie tells Lipton about a local legend from his home town , about a evil undead ventriloquist , that murders people by tearing out their tongues when they scream ! Lipton (tea anyone ?!) says .. "Yeah right ! Don't leave town !!" Jamie is then released for lack of evidence , and promptly skips town ( Rebel ! ) and heads back home to Ravens Fair (taking the creepy Billy with him !) , convinced that Lisa's murder is somehow connected to Billy's sudden unexplained arrival , and ... an evil ventriloquist named ................
          Mary Shaw !!

What did you call Me !!

   .........shhhhhh !! Don't say that name too loud !!
  Back in Ravens Fair , Jamie learns Mary Shaw was a real person , and that she entertained locals back in the 40's out of a creepy old theatre down on Lost Lake . (GULP !) A local boy heckled her at one of her shows , and a couple weeks later disappears forever . So the locals blamed Mary Shaw and murdered her , ..After ..... they cut her tongue out ! Jamie plays detective , while reuniting with his estranged father , Edward and his super hot stepmom Ella , while being pursued by (tea anyone ?) Lipton , and running into creepier and creepier encounters with Mary Shaw and her dolls ! For me , this flick has what it takes for a lot of good scares and creepy scene's . The story is a pretty good one and really sat with me afterwards ! It has a classic element to it . I mean , haunted theaters on deserted lakes . Old funeral homes with equally old hearses . Creepy mansions with even creepier family portraits on the walls ! And the dolls . Yuck !
  See for yourselves Fright fans !! Get that bowl of popcorn , turn off all the lights and press PLAY !!
 And remember !!!...................
       Beware the Stare of Mary Shaw ....... She had no Children .... Only DOLLS .....
   And whatever you do ......... Whatever happens .........
                                          
                                      Don't Scream !

I've fallen and for your sake I better not get up !!

Insidious (2011)

 Written by Axemaster April 10th 2011
 Rating 9 out of 10


 Director  -  James Wan

 Cast 
 Patrick Wilson     -   Josh Lambert
 Rose Byrne         -   Renai Lambert
 Ty Simpkins        -   Dalton Lambert
 Lin Shaye           -   Elise Rainier
 Barbara Hershey -   Lorraine Lambert


 Okay Gore Hounds , if you're like me , and hags witches and crones send you screaming into the night or make your knees weak with convulsions of terror , then this is the flick for you !! Director James Wan and writer Lee Whannell ( who portrays the character "specks" in the movie ) have proven that they can go beyond the simple gross out shock fare of the Saw flicks with this beautifully frightening flick .
The plot is Quite familiar . New house . Family moving in . House is like a Vampires dream , complete with an attic that has old dressmakers dummies in it ! Eeeewww  !! And then the fun starts ! Things begin to move around on there own . noise's , voices creepy stuff !  Then young Dalton Lambert venture's into the attic for some exploration . He falls off a ladder and his parents come to the rescue .

"I've always felt , someone is looking over me !!"

"Is that a cob web I see up there !? EEeewww!"
 

They put him to bed and he seems fine . Next day though , all is not well !! I won't say to much about the plot from here on . The film will take you on a great ride of horror and tension ! I was unable to hold onto my bag of M&M's for the rest of the film !! Chocolate flew everywhere ! The magic of this picture is that the makers allowed the tension to build and your imagination to run wild . Some scene's are little more than darkness with a flashlight or a view up a spiral staircase with some inaudible whispers , and as your mind runs wild , the moment there is a spirit on screen , its that much more creepy ! Its obvious that Whannell borrows from classic's like The Shinning and Poltergeist . However he takes us beyond the white snowy Tv screen of Poltergeist , and into the realms of darkness and dread ......where the boogies go !!!!

"Oh god , I look so horrible in spandex !!"

As for the hags witches and crones ..... It seems that Wan and Whannell have a great talent at bringing them to life on the screen ! And its not the first time either . Anyone who remembers 2007's Dead Silence , and that films creepy queen Mary Shaw will agree . This leads me to believe that they must be as scared by them as I am !! I checked the closet five times before going to bed after seeing this flick !

And slept with the lights on for good measure !