THE LISTENING DEAD

A silent horror film. Will wonders never cease?

And frankly, just in terms of sheer novelty, this one is a wonder. It’s an actual, black and white, silent film, complete with text placards to show dialogue. If it weren’t for the special effects work, it’d be enough to make me wonder if it weren’t released back in the twenties.

The plot is short enough to make a spoiler-free synopsis difficult, but let’s just say a man just can’t get any work done with the lady of the house around, so the ghost of the house takes it upon herself to help out.

This is worth watching. If the sheer value component weren’t enough–fourteen minutes for a halfway decent movie? sure, why not?–the innovation involved in bringing back a long-defunct film style makes it rarity enough to watch.

For anyone with an interest in seeing just where the movies we know and love (and in all too many cases loathe) came from, “The Listening Dead” is an excellent touchstone back to the original days when people could put pictures, but not voices, on tape.