Mute Witness (1994)

Director:

Anthony Waller

Writer:

Anthony Waller (written by)

Release Date:

15 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

She Can't Speak. She Can't Scream. She Can't Beg For Mercy.

Plot:

Billy Hughes, a mute makeup artist working on a slasher film being shot in Moscow, is locked in the studio after hours...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Mute | Film Making | Violence | Cult Favorite

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Marina Zudina	...	Billy Hughes (as Marina Sudina)
Fay Ripley	...	Karen Hughes
Evan Richards	...	Andy Clarke
Oleg Yankovskiy	...	Larsen (as Oleg Jankowskij)
Igor Volkov	...	Arkadi
Sergei Karlenkov	...	Lyosha
Alec Guinness	...	The Reaper (as Mystery Guest Star)
Nikolai Pastukhov	...	Janitor
Stephen Bouser	...	Lovett
Valeri Barakhtin	...	Mitja (as Valeri Barahtin)
Olga Tolstetskaya	...	Actress
Denis Karasyov	...	Fake policeman
Igor Ilyin	...	Fake policeman
Oleg Abramov	...	Double
Vladimir Salnikov	...	Lab assistant

Also Known As:

Stumme Zeugin (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and a strong scene combining sex and violence.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Germany | UK | USA | Russia

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:18 (original rating) | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 | Peru:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Avrora Media

Trivia:

Anthony Waller met Alec Guinness quite by chance in Hamburg in 1985 where he asked him if he was interested in doing a one-scene cameo. To his surprise, Guinness said he'd be delighted and that he would do it for free. The problem was that Guinness was fully booked for the next 18 months so Waller suggested they shoot the scene the following morning in an underground car park. Guinness readily agreed and - true to his word - took no payment.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Karen is holding the gun inside Billy's apartment, it suddenly disappears from her hand. A few moments later, it appears in Andy's hand.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Scream 2 (1997)

It FEELS like Hitchcock, but it certainly isn't as good as the real stuff

At first this movie really had my full attention. I'm not saying this was an original movie, like I had never seen before, but it sure had something to offer that really appealed to me. It's a pity that it all went wrong in the second half of the movie.

Billy Hughes is a mute make-up artist who works on an American slasher movie that's being shot in Moscow. One fine evening she witnesses the making of a snuff movie in the studio where her crew works. Now she has to try to escape from the murderers (Russian people who work in her film crew), to stay alive and to convince the authorities that the murder that she witnessed is real.

I like to watch good thrillers and I'm a fan of European movies, because most of the time they pay more attention to the character development and the story. Even though this movie sometimes reminds me of a Hitchcock movie and even though it has a European cast and director, it can't convince me all that much. It has some good potential, but somehow they have messed it up and made it look like a mediocre Hollywood movie. The story is quite original, the locations are nice, but it is the acting that doesn't always do the trick. I'm not saying the actors are bad, but they aren't great either. I guess there are people who really love this movie, but I'm certainly not one of them. I give it a 5/10.