I've been curious about Silent But Deadly for quite some time. I'm not sure if I've seen non-Jay Jason Mewes in anything, and "cheap Canadian Slasher" is not a deterrent for me (in spite of Dark Fields). But honestly? The title kept me away. Not that I'm above fart jokes or anything, but naming your movie that just seemed like a bit much. But, despite being mostly absent of fart jokes/potty humor, it's actually a pretty good name for the film. I mean, it lowered my expectations to the point that I ended up enjoying my time watching it. A lot of the reviews (rightfully) give it a hard time about the CGI kills, but I honestly can't get too upset that a film called Silent But Deadly went the crappy/cheap route. The title all but tells you it's going to. It still falls short of a pleasant surprise though. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't unwatchable garbage at least, if that makes any sense.
Jason Mewes plays Thomas Capper, the titular character: he's silent (mostly mute, except when he's saying the names of weapons) and deadly (he murders people). Thomas lives with his father and stepmothers (plural) on a farm in a small town. People say he's "simple," and the film doesn't show you anything to dispute this. His first scene sees Thomas peeping on his sexy lesbian stepmothers getting it on. They are Russian mail order brides that his father ordered, you see. So that should give you an idea about the maturity level of this film - one of it's taglines was "Boobs n' Blood... Enough Said." Silent But Deadly feels almost Troma-esque in its goofy political incorrectness. Anyways, Thomas' dad (William Sadler, who seems better than this - although it had to just be a days worth of work, so whatever) is Super Pissed, and threatens him with a shotgun. When Thomas hides, his dad does the next best thing and kills his beloved pet goat. (This movie is pretty heavy with the (fake) goat violence... so if you're a goat fan, beware.) This basically makes Thomas snap, and he violently murders his father and stepmothers. So he takes the family truck and starts driving.
On his way out of town, he picks up a hitchhiker. Bobby is clearly a big city guy, and is here in this small town to film a Hollywood movie (a cheap slasher called "Silent But Deadly"). Bobby, grateful for the ride, finds out that the ornery director needs a new assistant, and gets Thomas the job. Meanwhile, local law enforcement is investigating the murder of Thomas' family. The police force consists of a little person with a Napoleon complex, his good natured deputy, and a documentary filmmaker doing a film on small town police life. And actually, these folks are probably the best part of the film. The sheriff and deputy are a legitimately funny tandem and have good comedic chemistry. And unsurprisingly, Silent But Deadly has no qualms about taking the cheap route to get a laugh - there are *lots* of jokes about the sheriff's diminutive stature, and there are a number of racial jokes as well. But there's nothing too mean-spirited about it, you know? Still, it could be a bit much for the easily offended.
Eventually, the law turns up at the movie shoot, but don't know Thomas is there... he's keeping a low profile. That is, until someone kills his other pet goat. Then he starts a CGI killing spree. And everyone else tries not to get killed, I guess.
As a horror film, Silent But Deadly isn't much to behold. It's mostly toothless... you aren't ever really scared of Thomas or concerned for any of the characters, and the goofy tone isn't trying to create any tension. It's very much a slasher movie that is trying - maybe a little too hard - to be "fun." But even if it was supposed to be frightening, the crazy-bad CGI kills would take you out of it For Sure. They are really poorly done, although they are framed in a way where they almost *have* to be CGI (lots of people getting cut in half, with organs flying everywhere). They are ambitious, but they look terrible. And again, fart joke title and all, I can't get too mad at them. Given the budget, I assume they knew it would look bad. (Although the opening scenes at the farm seem like a cynical bait and switch - they look pretty good and feature mostly practical effects. I feel like they front loaded the good kills, so by the time you get to the bad, bad CGI stuff you are too invested to turn it off. Crafty, Silent But Deadly.)
The performances are just fine for a loud, obnoxious horror-comedy. Mewes is mostly quiet the whole time (although his line reads when he says the name of a weapon are pretty good). He's serviceable, but I think anyone looking for a more bold performance will be disappointed. The standout for me was Jordan Prentice as Sheriff Shelby. The film gets a lot of mileage out of the fact that he's a little person, but it's the sort of deal where *everything* is fair game, so it doesn't feel super exploitative. Prentice just gives a brash and energetic performance, and is just flat-out funny every time he is on screen. He's not a very realistic character - but I don't think really anyone here is.
So I guess I'm saying some good things about Silent But Deadly. But I probably shouldn't. It's one of those knowingly dumb films that is kind of enjoyable while you're watching it, but you feel a little bad about it afterwards. If you are looking for stupid and "non-PC" comedy mixed with some bad CGI kills, this will fit the bill. I have been watching a lot of Troma films as of late, which is why the Amazon algorithms thought I would like this. Silent But Deadly feels more polished (and conversely less-charming) than some similar Troma films, but I suppose they are in the same ballpark comedy and gore-wise. At any rate:
I would not really recommend this film.
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