Dead Silence - Blu-ray Forum

gettodamoofies · 01-09-2011, 01:40 AM

"Dead Silence" (2007). Directed by James Wan and starring Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta & Donnie Wahlberg, this title is released by Universal Studios in Australia.

My review

"Dead Silence" is James Wan and Leigh Whannell's follow up horror effort after introducing us to the "Saw" franchise. The film is an interesting horror which relies a little more heavily on atmosphere than it does in delivering non-stop scares. Ryan Kwanten of "True Blood" fame stars and delivers a solid acting performance even if the character he plays is a little 2 dimensional. Donnie Wahlberg is also solid as Detective Lipton though the dialogue of his character comes across as being written to be hard as nails and Wahlberg doesn't quite deliver the intensity and hardness to back it up. Still, along the way there are plenty of revelations and interesting moments to keep you paying attention and the film succeeds for the most part by delivering an immersive experience. It's an above average horror which bests many of it's contemporaries by looking to deliver more than just cheap scares. 3.5/5

Video
"Dead Silence" features a highly stylised look with an extremely desaturated palette. At times the film is almost monochromatic save for splashes of red and an overarching general blue tone. This intended look gives the film a dark and dreary appearance which helps with the atmosphere being created. Being such a dark and dreary film it's a surprise to see that the video quality is quite good. Grain for the most part is fine and intact, though occasionally it is a little splotchy though this could be due to the processing used to achieve the desired look. Fine detail is apparent in a number of shots such as the threading in the doll's suit. Black levels are generally quite good however towards the end of the film when all the scenes are set in darkness the black level does stray somewhat and there are instances where it appears gray-ish. All in all though, I could not detect any overzealous meddling via DNR or EE and the film retains it's intended look quite nicely. One of Universal's better catalogue transfers of recent times. 4/5

Audio
As with most horror films, they can either live or die by their soundtrack. Fortunately for "Dead Silence" the soundtrack lives up to the challenge and supplements the visuals quite nicely by delivering a very effective and atmospheric experience. The scare moments have excellent dynamics whilst the various effects (creaking doors, whispers etc) are delivered with some precise directionality. The track features good use of the LFE in select moments to supplement the more intense scares and on the whole dialogue is delivered consistently with good clarity. All in all the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is quite effective and works well in conjunction with the image on screen to deliver a great overall experience. 4/5

Extras
As one of Universal's cheaper catalogue releases this title unfortunately does not have any special features. 0/5

Overall
Whilst not the best horror to come out recently, "Dead Silence" scores marks for attempting to take audiences on a ride and deliver atmosphere in spades. In this way it succeeds even if it is a little light overall on the scares. With solid video and audio, if you don't mind overlooking the missing special features this one is well worth a rental or a purchase considering it is one of Universal's budget range of catalogue titles and can often be picked up for around $10. 3.5/5

Please note: Title is region free.

gettodamoofies · 01-09-2011, 01:41 AM

Screenshots: click spoiler tag to reveal.

[Show spoiler]

Disclaimer: These screenshots have been taken directly from the disc with no post processing other than the placement of a watermark. They are PNG format so the file size is larger however this retains the original image quality. They are of course only intended as an indication of the quality of the title. As always, a motion picture should be viewed in motion.

gettodamoofies · 01-09-2011, 01:41 AM

BDInfo scan:

Code:

                                                                                                                Total   Video                                             
Title                                                           Codec   Length  Movie Size      Disc Size       Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track                          Secondary Audio Track
-----                                                           ------  ------- --------------  --------------  ------- ------- ------------------                        ---------------------
00800.MPLS                                                      VC-1    1:31:30 28,080,568,320  29,882,431,831  40.92   28.20   DTS-HD Master 5.1 3690Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)

Code:

DISC INFO:

Disc Title:     DEAD_SILENCE_G51
Disc Size:      29,882,431,831 bytes
Protection:     AACS
BD-Java:        Yes
BDInfo:         0.5.6

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00800.MPLS
Length:                 1:31:30 (h:m:s)
Size:                   28,080,568,320 bytes
Total Bitrate:          40.92 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
VC-1 Video              28198 kbps          1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / Advanced Profile 3

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         3690 kbps       5.1 / 48 kHz / 3690 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS Audio                       French          768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio                       German          768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio                       Italian         768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio                       Japanese        768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio                       Portuguese      768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio                       Russian         768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio                       Spanish         768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio                       Spanish         768 kbps        5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit

SUBTITLES:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Presentation Graphics           English         20.626 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Chinese         15.606 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Danish          18.305 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Dutch           18.724 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Finnish         17.047 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           French          18.577 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           French          0.313 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           German          20.788 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           German          0.730 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           Greek           19.826 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Italian         18.574 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Italian         0.582 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           Japanese        12.866 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Japanese        0.569 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           Korean          13.514 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Norwegian       18.505 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Polish          17.688 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Portuguese      18.693 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Portuguese      18.721 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Portuguese      0.113 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           Russian         0.426 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           Spanish         18.920 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Spanish         17.986 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Spanish         0.196 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           Spanish         0.140 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           Swedish         17.595 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Thai            14.852 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           Turkish         18.859 kbps                     

FILES:

Name            Time In         Length          Size            Total Bitrate   
----            -------         ------          ----            -------------   
00010.M2TS      0:00:00.000     1:31:30.485     28,080,568,320  40,915

gettodamoofies · 01-09-2011, 01:55 AM

Screenshots added

kopkiwi · 01-09-2011, 05:15 AM

Had seen this cheap at JB recently. Assumed it was a cheap C grade horror flick.

gettodamoofies · 01-09-2011, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kopkiwi

Had seen this cheap at JB recently. Assumed it was a cheap C grade horror flick.

It's definitely not cinema at it's finest but it's certainly not cheaply made. The production design is excellent as are the effects. James Wan definitely knows how and where to spend the limited $$$ to get every bit on the screen. It's not going to wow you but it is definitely worth a rental or even a purchase if you're into the horror genre.

01-09-2011, 01:40 AM	#1
gettodamoofies Moderator Top contributor Member since:Sep 2009 Location:NSW, Australia 4K collection:609 Blu-ray collection:3162 DVD collection:125 Blu-ray reviews: 26 Trading Score:91	Dead Silence "Dead Silence" (2007). Directed by James Wan and starring Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta & Donnie Wahlberg, this title is released by Universal Studios in Australia. My review "Dead Silence" is James Wan and Leigh Whannell's follow up horror effort after introducing us to the "Saw" franchise. The film is an interesting horror which relies a little more heavily on atmosphere than it does in delivering non-stop scares. Ryan Kwanten of "True Blood" fame stars and delivers a solid acting performance even if the character he plays is a little 2 dimensional. Donnie Wahlberg is also solid as Detective Lipton though the dialogue of his character comes across as being written to be hard as nails and Wahlberg doesn't quite deliver the intensity and hardness to back it up. Still, along the way there are plenty of revelations and interesting moments to keep you paying attention and the film succeeds for the most part by delivering an immersive experience. It's an above average horror which bests many of it's contemporaries by looking to deliver more than just cheap scares. 3.5/5 Video "Dead Silence" features a highly stylised look with an extremely desaturated palette. At times the film is almost monochromatic save for splashes of red and an overarching general blue tone. This intended look gives the film a dark and dreary appearance which helps with the atmosphere being created. Being such a dark and dreary film it's a surprise to see that the video quality is quite good. Grain for the most part is fine and intact, though occasionally it is a little splotchy though this could be due to the processing used to achieve the desired look. Fine detail is apparent in a number of shots such as the threading in the doll's suit. Black levels are generally quite good however towards the end of the film when all the scenes are set in darkness the black level does stray somewhat and there are instances where it appears gray-ish. All in all though, I could not detect any overzealous meddling via DNR or EE and the film retains it's intended look quite nicely. One of Universal's better catalogue transfers of recent times. 4/5 Audio As with most horror films, they can either live or die by their soundtrack. Fortunately for "Dead Silence" the soundtrack lives up to the challenge and supplements the visuals quite nicely by delivering a very effective and atmospheric experience. The scare moments have excellent dynamics whilst the various effects (creaking doors, whispers etc) are delivered with some precise directionality. The track features good use of the LFE in select moments to supplement the more intense scares and on the whole dialogue is delivered consistently with good clarity. All in all the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is quite effective and works well in conjunction with the image on screen to deliver a great overall experience. 4/5 Extras As one of Universal's cheaper catalogue releases this title unfortunately does not have any special features. 0/5 Overall Whilst not the best horror to come out recently, "Dead Silence" scores marks for attempting to take audiences on a ride and deliver atmosphere in spades. In this way it succeeds even if it is a little light overall on the scares. With solid video and audio, if you don't mind overlooking the missing special features this one is well worth a rental or a purchase considering it is one of Universal's budget range of catalogue titles and can often be picked up for around $10. 3.5/5 Please note: Title is region free.

01-09-2011, 01:41 AM	#2
gettodamoofies Moderator Top contributor Member since:Sep 2009 Location:NSW, Australia 4K collection:609 Blu-ray collection:3162 DVD collection:125 Blu-ray reviews: 26 Trading Score:91	Screenshots: click spoiler tag to reveal. [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] Disclaimer: These screenshots have been taken directly from the disc with no post processing other than the placement of a watermark. They are PNG format so the file size is larger however this retains the original image quality. They are of course only intended as an indication of the quality of the title. As always, a motion picture should be viewed in motion. Last edited by gettodamoofies; 01-09-2011 at 01:54 AM.

01-09-2011, 01:55 AM	#4
gettodamoofies Moderator Top contributor Member since:Sep 2009 Location:NSW, Australia 4K collection:609 Blu-ray collection:3162 DVD collection:125 Blu-ray reviews: 26 Trading Score:91	Screenshots added

01-09-2011, 05:15 AM	#5
kopkiwi Special Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Christchurch, NZ Home Theater Gallery:10 Blu-ray collection:248 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:2	Had seen this cheap at JB recently. Assumed it was a cheap C grade horror flick.

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