Underrated James Wan Horror Movie Finally Streaming

10/13/2021 08:22 am EDT

Just like Hulu has "Huluween" this month, Peacock -- the new streaming service from NBCUniversal -- has Peacocktober. And while that name might not roll off the tongue in quite the same way as its competitor's, the platform is doing a pretty good job of celebrating spooky season. In addition to Friday's release of Halloween Kills and a bunch of Child's Play movies, Peacock is bringing one of the most underrated James Wan movies to the platform today in the form of James Wan's 2007 film Dead Silence. Written by Wan's Insidious collaborator Leigh Wannell, the film arrives on the streamer today and gives fans a look into the early work of a modern horror master.

Starring Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, and Donnie Wahlberg, Dead Silence centers on Jamie Ashen (Kwanten), a widower who returns to his hometown to search for answers about his wife's death. The search leads him to the realization that his wife may have been murdered by a haunted ventriloquist's dummy, stemming from a bizarre incident in his hometown's past. Its former owner had been disgraced and humiliated after a young heckler claimed to see her mouth moving during her act. When the child went missing, the ventriloquist was lynched by the townsfolk, her last wish being that her body was buried with her 101 dolls.

The movie didn't exactly light the world on fire upon its release, earning $22 million against a reported $20 million budget. Of course, Wan would revisit the "creepy doll" motif with a good deal more success a few. years later, serving as a producer and sometimes writer on the Annabelle series.

Since Dead Silence, Wan has gone on to be a key voice in horror for more than a decade, and his films have become such a commercial success that he was called upon by Warner Bros. to transition to big-budget blockbusters, directing the Aquaman films and serving as an executive producer on the Swamp Thing TV series for DC Universe.

Did you see Dead Silence back in '07? Are you planning to watch it on Peacock sometime between now and the end of the month? Let us know in the comments, or hit up @russburlingame on Twitter to talk all things comics and horror. 

Wan's next film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, is currently in production and slated for a 2022 release in theaters.

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