Mute Witness

It's effectively two films, firstly a tense giallo about imperiled disempowerment and then a campy thriller-comedy. While I enjoyed both sides of the coin, if Waller had committed to the intensity he built early in the film, I feel this could have been a deeply scary feature.

It's a mystery to me why Anthony Waller never managed to find notoriety, because his original, expertly devised and good-humored debut thriller is an enthralling hour and a half of literally non-stop start-to-finish suspense, well-stocked with impressions of Gaumont-era Hitchcock and early Argento. It pulls out the rug over and over again and never slows down, and indeed keeps you panic-stricken to the last shot.

Euro-based TV director Waller makes an impressive feature-film debut with his blackly comic, Moscow-lensed horror outing, a clever exercise somewhat reminiscent of early De Palma efforts like _Sisters_. Waller amply demonstrates his expertise in executing surgically precise, irony-edged shock set pieces that manage to keep the viewer simultaneously alert and amused. He yields the max from his exceedingly bleak locations, from the dilapidated film studio to the frigid Moscow streets

Quite a good thriller even if it's a bit goofy. I really like the idea of the main lead being mute and in a foreign country. Definitely worth a watch.

starts off alright but just keeps going downhill

A pretty obscure thriller from the 90's from a pretty obscure director who never really got off the ground. "Mute Witness" begins with a fun twist and sets the stage for a hell of a fun ride. There are a couple of these off-the-beaten-path thrillers that were made in the 90's and they're well worth going out of your way to find.

Lots of plot twists as the mute witness to a murder tries to survive.

* Casting, Acting : 8 * Script : 7 * Directing, Aura : 8 * Ease of Viewing : 9 * Naked Eye : 9

ok

The last 30 minutes was like watching a long deleted scene from a Naked Gun movie

Schlocky, with a mega-schlocky finale, but still kinda fun. Marina Zudina is gorgeous (and mute... the perfect woman, really).

Not sure what happened at the 2/3 mark when this went from being a VERY intense thriller/drama to a lighthearted slapstick romp at the end. Still very entertaining for what it was.