Dead Silent (1999)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

"Julia Kerbridge (Catherine Mary Stewart) is working hard to become a doctor. Suddenly, Julia finds herself the guardian of her young niece, Amanda, after her parents are found murdered. Julia has a new neighbor, the mysterious Kevin Finney (Rob Lowe). Her hectic life comes crashing down when it becomes apparent that the young Amanda holds the key to a terrible secret. For she too is now the target of the killers. Julia must discover whether Kevin is friend or foe, and unlock the sinister mystery before the murderer strikes again," according to the DVD sleeve synopsis.This thriller quietly falls apart at the seams, but it is interesting some of the time. Stalker Sean Devine's background telephone scene (outside the police station) and Mr. Lowe's violin (restaurant) are tensely played. But, early on, it's difficult not to miss the fact that one of the supposedly sophisticated killers purposely twists his foot in some red paint at the murder scene. Unfortunately, this is not an intricate plot point; and, there are worse story stumbles afoot. Overall "Dead Silent" is not a bad way to spend some time, if there is nothing better on, or you're into Lowe and his co-stars.**** Dead Silent (1999) Roger Cardinal ~ Catherine Mary Stewart, Rob Lowe, Arlen Aguayo-Stewart, Larry Day

This film held my interest enough to watch it several times. The plot has holes, but the lead performers make it work.Catherine Mary Stewart (Julia Kerbridge), does a great job as a woman of 37 who has sacrificed everything else to become a physician. She worked years to earn the money to go to medical school. She is performing brilliantly in her residency and is just about to take her board exam and realize her dream.Meanwhile, Julia's sister and brother-in-law are murdered and as the nearest living relative she is compelled to take in her niece Amanda (Arlen Aguayo-Stewart) to avoid having her become a ward of the state. Amanda is about 7 years old from her appearance. Amanda is so traumatized from her parent's murder that she has become mute. Needless to say, Julia's 16-hour days get longer caring for Amanda.Rob Lowe plays Kevin Finney, a charming neighbor man in their apartment building who works his way into the lives of Julia and Amanda. He is always there with a trick or a joke to help Amanda deal with her distress. Amanda really starts to warm up to Kevin as the film progresses, perhaps more than to her aunt. Julia starts to rely on Kevin to take some of the load of caring for Amanda as she attempts to handle her case load and prepare for her board examination. Kevin is always there whenever some crisis erupts for Julia.The chemistry between Rob and Catherine Mary was great. You keep watching to see them get together before the end of the film. The chemistry between Rob and Arlen was good as well. Arlen managed to convey quite a lot without the benefit of words. The plot had Julia and Amanda gradually warming up to each other. You can see them working out a relationship as the film progresses.We discover that Julia's sister and brother-in-law (the Meyers) were involved in industrial espionage. They stole an extremely valuable prototype microchip from their employer. They had three associates who intended to share the proceeds of the theft. Julia discovers that the Meyers were planning to skip the country under assumed identities. The plot is unclear whether the Meyers intended to double cross their associates or were themselves double crossed.In any case the Meyers are murdered in their home by 2 of their former associates. The killers make no attempt to extract the location of the microchip from the Meyers before killing them. The killers search the home and fail to find their prize. They leave a living witness to their crime, Amanda. The killers then spend the remainder of the film making clumsy attempts to extract the microchip from Julia and Amanda who have no idea where the prize is located. Eventually, the killers kidnap Amanda in hopes she knows something about the microchip's location.Eventually Julia discovers the truth about Kevin. He is an investigator hired to recover the stolen microchip. After some rough moments in the relationship they manage to rescue Amanda and dispatch the bad guys. The predictable ending has the three forming a family and moving happily into a future together.What struck me about the plot were major holes. Kevin moves into the same apartment building as Julia and Amanda the day after the murder of the Meyers. How does he know that the microchip is not already in the hands of the killers? The killers blithely leave fingerprints at the murder scene, with no concern for concealing their identity. The killer that pretends to be a psychiatrist is revealed to Amanda by the remnants of red paint from the murder scene on his shoe soles. He was not shown in the murder scene at the start of the film. There are other weaknesses along these lines too numerous to mention.The film could have been a lot better if the script had been refined more before filming. Filling in the plot holes would have added little expense and greatly improved the effort.

**SPOILERS** Better then you would expect Canadian import that has a twist ending to it that comes as almost no surprise at all. With the killer acting so obnoxious and weird, before his identity is revealed,that you can spot him almost as soon as you see him. The movie begins with young Amanda Mayers witnessing the murder of her parents , Larry & Elizabeth, in a home invasion by two ruthless thugs that leaves her so traumatized that she loses her ability to speak. With Amanda's closest relative being her aunt third year hospital resident Julia Kerbridge she's put in Julia's care which has her parents killers zero in on the two in their attempt to recover a micro-chip, that can revolutionize the world of technology. It was that chip that Amanda's dead parents had in their possession that their killers were looking for. We also have the mysterious and handsome next-door neighbor the on and off musician Kevin Finney who seems to take a more then a passing interest in Amanda and her aunt Julia. Kevin is always hanging around the place looking for something, the missing micro-chip?. He also has compiled a massive file, that Kevin foolishly leaves out in the open for Julia to later find, on the Mayer murders.Kevin gets very friendly with both Amanda and Julia which leads him to become a target of the two killers who are trying to get their hands on the missing micro-chip that they overlooked when they murdered both of Amanda's parents. Having her niece get treated by psychiatrist Dr. Ettinger has Julia and Dr. Ettinger realize that she's hiding the secret of her parents murder, and the missing micro-chip, in her subconscious mind that if cured, and able to talk again, would reveal their identities! even more important where the micro-chip is hidden! What Julia doesn't know is that the man behind Amanda's parents murder is a lot closer to both her and Amanda that she could have ever imagined.Well acted and eye-popping photographed, looking like it's in high definition, made for TV movie has Rob Lowe as the odd man out, who also plays a mean violin, as the hero. Lowe, or Kevin, after a few false starts shows who's side he's really on as the movie leads it it's final and unexpected conclusion. The killers in the film are so determined to get the missing,or stolen, micro-chip that they so far as getting themselves exposed by hanging around Julia's apartment house and Amanda's school, where they can easily be identified.***SPOILER ALERT****Things get out of hand for the killers when the real Dr. Ettinger shows up, from a two week vacation, and you begin to realize that Amanda's life is in far more danger then you, or both Julia and Amanda, could have ever suspected. It turns out that very person who's supposed to help Amanda recover from her trauma, of not being able to speak, is the one who caused it! The film has a wild and effective final with Amanda now again traumatized, by the fake Dr. Ettinger, to the point where she can talk again. With no one suspecting who he is will it be enough for both Julia and Kevin, who turns out to be a private investigator, to get the drop on him before he does them both, together with a terrorized Amanda, in!

The movie uses motifs that could be plagiarized from "Wait Until Dark" (1967), a much better movie by Terence Young, starring Audrey Hepburn. "Dead Silent" is a pale paraphrase. There is nothing new here -- the hidden object in the doll, the bad men wanting it, the bad guy posing as a good guy. The disability, though, has shifted : Audrey Hepburn couldn't see, the child in DS cannot speak. But both stories hinge on the handicap. Where "Wait Until Dark" built up unbearable suspense, "Dead Silent" lets you guess the outcome, the story being such a stereotype.