SILENT SCREAMPLAY very much wants to be a psycho thriller in the same mould as the genre of films being made during the 1990s after the success of FATAL ATTRACTION. Unfortunately, it was made on a very low budget indeed - basically somebody's video camera - which gives it a real cheapness in terms of look, which works against it.
What surprised me about this film is that it does have an actual storyline. It's not a very interesting storyline, but it's a storyline all the same, and that's usually missing from cheapie productions like this. An ordinary woman inherits her old grandfather's apartment and the mentally ill gardener who comes with it, but after moving in a series of brutal murders starts taking place.
The film has a voyeuristic feel to it which seems quite promising at times but in other places the camera-work is really bad indeed, like the sex scene where the camera person keeps zooming in to stationary objects and the bedroom mirror; you'll be hard pressed to see a worse bit of direction. Too much of the running time plods along with pseudo romantic stuff while the murder scenes are kept to a minimum. After earlier promise the ending fizzles out and the acting is, of course, only very basic. The main actress, who I believe was also played by the director, isn't too bad although those looking for the kind of erotic promise on the video cover will be disappointed by her no nudity clause.
What surprised me about this film is that it does have an actual storyline. It's not a very interesting storyline, but it's a storyline all the same, and that's usually missing from cheapie productions like this. An ordinary woman inherits her old grandfather's apartment and the mentally ill gardener who comes with it, but after moving in a series of brutal murders starts taking place.
The film has a voyeuristic feel to it which seems quite promising at times but in other places the camera-work is really bad indeed, like the sex scene where the camera person keeps zooming in to stationary objects and the bedroom mirror; you'll be hard pressed to see a worse bit of direction. Too much of the running time plods along with pseudo romantic stuff while the murder scenes are kept to a minimum. After earlier promise the ending fizzles out and the acting is, of course, only very basic. The main actress, who I believe was also played by the director, isn't too bad although those looking for the kind of erotic promise on the video cover will be disappointed by her no nudity clause.
