Dead Silence poster

Dead Silence (2007)

Film · 1h 29m · Rated R

Horror

A chilling legend of ventriloquism and murder unravels with atmospheric dread in a gritty hometown.

Suspenseful. A late-night trip at a measured pace. Emotionally it is heavy.

Not on a US subscription service as of Oct 28, 2026.

Dead Silence parents guide

What we could confirm fits an R: real scares and lots of jump scares.

Scare
Properly scary
Frightening, not just tense.
Jump scares
Lots
Jump scares are a main device.
Gore
Light gore
Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence
Some violence
Some fighting or peril.
Sex and nudity
None flagged
It is rated R, so treat our zero as unconfirmed.
Language
Moderate
Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is Dead Silence scary?
Yes, properly. Dead Silence is the real thing without being an endurance test.
How gory is Dead Silence?
Light gore and some violence.
What is Dead Silence rated, and is it OK for kids?
It is an R, with real scares, lots of jump scares and some strong language. Keep it for adults.

What is Dead Silence about?

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.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

There is a twist, and that is all we are saying.

Cast and crew

Directed byJames Wan
StarringRyan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Bob Gunton, Laura Regan, Michael Fairman

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.