Beware the stare of Mary Shaw
She had no children, only dolls
If you see her in your dream
Please be sure not to scream
The minds that created the Saw phenomenon have reteamed to try and forge another new direction in horror. Unfortunately, it is not so much a new direction as it is a mash-up of previously mined ideas. Fortunately, they have merged those elements with style and have created a film that is seriously creepy, not necessarily scary, but definitely creepy. James Wan and Leigh Whannell have set aside the copious amounts of blood spilled in their prior creation, in favor of a ventriloquist's dummy. As you all know, there is always room for another creepy doll in the horror genre.
The story centers on Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten). It opens with him enjoying an evening home with his wife, when a package arrives mysteriously on his doorstep. Inside is a box containing a puppet, which sparks talk of Mary Shaw and the legend surrounding her demise. You see, Jamie comes from a town that is paralyzed with fear from this legend. Soon enough, his wife is dead and Jamie is the number one suspect, and is being hounded by a disheveled detective by the nane of Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg). What follows has Jamie returning to the town of his birth, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Mary Shaw and what she has to do with the death of his wife.
Jamie returns home to bury his young bride, and find out what he can about Mary Shaw. The more he uncovers, the more he discovers that the life and death of Mary Shaw is quite entangled in the roots of his own family tree. In a plot point worth of A Nightmare on Elm Street, we learn that Mary Shaw was... I fear I have already said too much. Suffice to say there is a distinct similarity between Mary and the legendary Freddy.
It is fabulously creepy, if not all that scary. That is, you won't find yourself jumping, or being grossed out, but when that doll's eyes move, your skin will crawl. There is something inherently scary in puppets and clowns (oh yes, there is a seriously messed up clown puppet). The way the blank, emotionless eyes and expressionless faces stare back at you from their resting place, the way the shadows play on their faces in the darkness, you will be creeped out. Just imagine yourself alone with the movie's Billy, and you will be sure to have some bad dreams crop up.
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Article comments
1 - chichi not my real name
that was so not a scary movie by the way
I'm 10 and this is 11/9/09