the Villain's Halloween Marathon

[The Villain]

Originally Posted by horcrux2007

8/10

This isn't the first time I've seen this movie. I remember watching it about a year ago with a friend of mine. The killer doll concept was definitely original for the time and a very disturbing concept. That really isn't what scared me, though. The shots from Chucky's point of view provided extra scares, and the film never stopped being intense and scary. The special effects were quite amazing, and they still hold up 26 years later. I also enjoyed the little bit of humor the movie had.

And to The Villain, I didn't really find it too cheesy.

The only thing I found cheesy was Chuckys one liners

Originally Posted by Sculpt

Well said. Magic is of my favs. I also impressed with Hopkins when I saw Magic again, as adult. He became a good ventriloquist act for the film. Pretty impressive. The 'make Fat's shutup for 5 mins' is great scene.


Ha! Great choice, Villain! I've never seen Child's Play, nor Dead Silence, but will be seeing Dead this week. I've put off Chucky, but I'll see it as a fan of animation.

Definitely check them both out

[horcrux2007]

Originally Posted by The Villain

The only thing I found cheesy was Chuckys one liners



Definitely check them both out

Oh, then I get where you're coming from.

[Straker]

Originally Posted by The Villain

Another thing that makes this one so memorable is Brad Dourif's portrayal of Chucky. It wouldn't be the same without him in the role. This is one of my favorite horror movies despite it's cheesiness.

9/10

I'm not a huge fan of Child's Play as a franchise, but the first movie is nicely done. Dourif's performance is quality (as it always is, dude is a legend) and Tom Holland does a great job creating a really solid atmosphere

[metternich1815]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

Ha! Great choice, Villain! I've never seen Child's Play, nor Dead Silence, but will be seeing Dead this week. I've put off Chucky, but I'll see it as a fan of animation.

I can't believe you have never seen Child's Play, it is an absolute classic. While it is not the greatest of the slashers, it is definitely one of the high quality ones. There are some excellent performances, in particular by Brad Dourif. He really is a talented actor, it is too bad that he never really got the career to match the caliber of his acting. The score is really effective and while the score in the credits was not employed during the film, I really loved that part of the score in particular. It is absolutely beautiful. Overall, the entire score definitely adds an extra layer to the film. The atmosphere is pretty dark too. Even during the daytime scenes, there is a certain darkness to them. On the surface, the plot is kind of ridiculous, but, for some reason, it works quite well. There are elements of drama, but they do not overshadow the horror. This film never really scared me, but I have always enjoyed it. Villain mentioned the effects and I have to agree, they were very solid for a film from the 1980s. They really helped to add to the film. What is especially interesting is that for most of the film we do not even see Chucky do any of the killing. That really does not occur until later in the film. He is essentially off screen. I would give the film a 9/10 as there was some cheesiness (this did not detract too much from the film though). The sequels never manage to match the quality of this film though. They don't even get close. I love Bride of Chucky, but for very different reasons than this film. As a horror, Bride of Chucky is not the best, but it works well as a comedy. There really is not a whole lot of humor in the first film. Sure, there are some one-liners, but overall, it is relatively devoid of the humor that so often characterized the later films.

By the way, I managed to watch the film last night.

[Sculpt]

I saw Dead Silence last night. Wow... that's a quality made film. I found quite scary at parts. The cinematography, sets, lighting, sound, and constructed shots of scary scenes, were really well done. It peaked high on my scary meter.

The story, plot and characters, were not nearly on par with everything else I mentioned. I'm not citing the actors, they didn't have much to work with. The story/plot/characters were shallow.

Too bad the producers didn't use some of this large budget to hire a good writer to expand on the story concept adding depth to plot & character; cause with this directorial team, this could have been a huge film hit.

[The Villain]

Dead Silence


So this is the second or third time i've seen this but it's still very creepy. The dolls are used very well. They're not shoved down your throat or are shown running all over the place. For a movie where it's the focal point like Child's Play it would be needed but the dolls are secondary to the ghost story that is prominent here which is very interesting. Both of the themes could have done ok on their own but combining them made for a very creative and spooky movie. I loved the folklore feel they gave the movie with the dolls and the womans backstory and the curse she started. I also liked that their were rules for the movie being that the ghost could only get you when you screamed. It was talked about more then it was utilized but it was still good.

The one downside to the movie is Donnie Wahlberg. The whole movie he just seems bored like he really didn't want to be there and it shows in his acting. Given the right role, Donnie can be a very good actor but he just whispers and shrugs his way through this movie. Also his character made no sense, one minute he's telling Ryan Kwanten's character that the dolls has nothing to do with his wife's murder but then he tells him that he was stealing evidence and trying to hide it when he buried the thing. But if it was evidence why didn't the police take it? They don't just let people walk away with vital evidence. Also there was no reason for him to dig up the doll graves except to move the story along.

Aside from Wahlberg this is a very effective interesting ghost story.

8/10

[Sculpt]

DEAD SILENCE -- SPOLIERS......

Originally Posted by The Villain

Dead Silence


So this is the second or third time i've seen this but it's still very creepy. The dolls are used very well. They're not shoved down your throat or are shown running all over the place. For a movie where it's the focal point like Child's Play it would be needed but the dolls are secondary to the ghost story that is prominent here which is very interesting. Both of the themes could have done ok on their own but combining them made for a very creative and spooky movie. I loved the folklore feel they gave the movie with the dolls and the womans backstory and the curse she started. I also liked that their were rules for the movie being that the ghost could only get you when you screamed. It was talked about more then it was utilized but it was still good.

The one downside to the movie is Donnie Wahlberg. The whole movie he just seems bored like he really didn't want to be there and it shows in his acting. Given the right role, Donnie can be a very good actor but he just whispers and shrugs his way through this movie. Also his character made no sense, one minute he's telling Ryan Kwanten's character that the dolls has nothing to do with his wife's murder but then he tells him that he was stealing evidence and trying to hide it when he buried the thing. But if it was evidence why didn't the police take it? They don't just let people walk away with vital evidence. Also there was no reason for him to dig up the doll graves except to move the story along.

Aside from Wahlberg this is a very effective interesting ghost story.

8/10

DEAD SILENCE -- SPOLIERS......
Well, I'm not an expert in law, but Ryan's bedroom (entire apartment, I would guess) is a crime scene. Ryan can't go by himself, break the police tape, and take things from the crime scene. This would be Obstruction of Justice, which one can be arrested for. Conviction is another matter. Since it's his home, at some point police take all their pictures and evidence, and then he can live there.

Ryan can't steal from himself, and Obstruction of Justice (OOJ) is continually unfolding. As a case evolves, something can become relevant, and thus becomes OOJ. Of course police detectives would be following Ryan, and trying to get him to say something that would help solve the case. And police are allowed to lie to cause that to happen.

So I didn't find it too strange for Donnie to say the doll had nothing to do with the case, to get Ryan to utter something important. And then to also tell Ryan he's arresting him for "stealing evidence", and then not arrest him -- whatever shakes acorns off the tree.

But then again, the film doesn't really bother to explain these things because it's pretty shallow.

[The Villain]

Yeah but for it to be evidence wouldn't it have to be taken down to the police station and locked away as evidence? If it's just left at the scene of the crime i don't see how he can say that he was stealing evidence.

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by The Villain

Yeah but for it to be evidence wouldn't it have to be taken down to the police station and locked away as evidence? If it's just left at the scene of the crime i don't see how he can say that he was stealing evidence.

Right, that's what I'm saying in a roundabout way. Police take items (interviews & pictures) they guess might be evidence. Items are taken to the police evidence lockup. But what is "evidence" is continually evolving in a case. Items taken may never be used by either prosecutors or defenders. And new items from a "former" crime scene may be taken later if the investigator comes to believe it might be evidence.

If you take something you own from a 'former' crime scene and bury it, investigators are going to get it and pick it apart. It's not 'stealing'. They could arrest someone for doing that, but they'd have to prove it's relevant evidence, or prove that you were trying to confuse or waste their time, that is obstruct the process, to convict you of OOJ.

So items left at a former crime scene are not 'evidence', but they can become evidence later.

[The Villain]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

Right, that's what I'm saying in a roundabout way. Police take items (interviews & pictures) they guess might evidence. Items are taken to the police evidence lockup. But what is "evidence" is continually evolving in a case. Items taken may never be used by either prosecutors or defenders. And new items from a "former" crime scene may be taken later if the investigator comes to believe it might be evidence.

If you take something from a 'former' crime scene and bury it, investigators are going to get it and pick it apart. They could arrest someone for doing that, but they'd have to prove it's relevant evidence to convict you for OOJ.

Well either away it came across in the movie like he was just an asshole cop who was looking for ways to put him away for his wife's murder despite having no proof. Whether or not it was a mistake of the filmmakers, it doesn't change that his character was written badly and acted badly. Really low point of the movie which is disappointing considering the rest of the cast was pretty good.