Silence, ça tue! (2008) User Reviews

it reminded me of Man Bites Dog, another docu from Belgium

[trashgang · 4/10 · 22 October 2012]

Comes as a freebee together with Vacuum Killer (2006) from the same director Chris Lamota. The story is very simple. Being fed up with the film business in his native country Chris wants to make a documentary without any financial support. Chris do come across frustrations and rivalries do come across his crew. When he is in possession of a fake/real gun things go berserk.

Made two year s later of Vacuum Killer it looks like it was made before Vacuum Killer. Almost no effects and when they come in they are as simple that even a child could do it. The script itself isn't original because made in Belgium it reminded me a lot of C'est Arrivé Près De Chez Vous (1992) (Man Bites Dog for the English readers). Only C'est delivered nasty and gory moments. It do have a lot of talking and situations but isn't scary at all. For me this failed completely because it looked like a rip-off of C'est..

But it's out there for the faux docu lovers and it comes together with Chris his other flick. So it's ideal to pick up a copy before it becomes OOP and disappear into obscurity as seen with many Belgian horrors.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

You might just catch it before the hype machine takes over !

[kenlarochex · 10/10 · 29 September 2009]

Silence Ca Tue AKA "Silence We Are Shooting!", is a film that shares its place in cinema alongside the likes of both Very Bad Things as well as Man Bites Dog. For its content and direction as much as the comedy and humor, which is of the absolute most pitch black variety.

I think most cult film fans and horror aficionados are going to be able to get behind. Even though at this point the faux-documentary format has really been taking off, Silence Ca Tue delivers enough originality that it certainly warrants a viewing. The mix of dark comedy and witty banter between the characters gives it another edge ahead of the rest. Certainly not a perfect film by all means, it has its issues in terms of logic and is a little short, but what a rush it is! Hopefully garnering a larger audience, as it deserves it, definitely keep your eye for this one because you might just catch it before the hype machine takes over.

The Psychotic Killer Mockumentary Genre Marches On

[NoDakTatum · 6/10 · 22 October 2023]

Comparisons between the Belgian film "Silence ca tue!" and "Man Bites Dog" are a given. Both involve the filming of brutal crimes as part of their own respective documentaries, with a psychotic as its main subject. I did not find much to like about "Man Bites Dog," and "Silence ca tue" is not without its own problems. Chris (Christophe Lamot), his sound guy Michel (Christophe Michelet), and cameraman Nico (Nicolas Anseroul) are shooting a "live" film, not a documentary. Chris is having trouble making a film of his own in the closed world of Belgian cinema, buys a gun, and takes his partners Morti (Christophe Mortier), Kevin (Kevin Van Nuffel), and Francois (Francois Huntzinger) to see a producer Chris met once. The producer doesn't remember Chris, has the gun pulled on him, and flees. He falls down the stairs and dies, and the group must decide what to do. What follows is a rising body count, as Chris and his friends start murdering other people, since they have already been responsible for one death, and all the mayhem is captured in its shaky-cam glory.

"Silence ca tue!" occupies the same bizarre world that "Man Bites Dog" and "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" occupy. Murderous psychotics are the subject, but the camera never blinks, and the technical support staff captures all the violence without raising a protest. The problem with this type of film, especially this one, is that despite some very funny dark humor, the viewer has absolutely no one to associate with or cheer for. Chris and his friends are despicable, and this is tolerable mostly because we are not stuck with these people for any longer than sixty-five minutes, sparing us any more time in this nightmare. The biggest positive here is Lamot's direction. Sure, the shaky-cam "Blair Witch"-type look has been done, but rarely as well as this. Most of the violence does occur off screen, I think this was banned in Belgium and France more for some fleeting shots of a hardcore porn mag, and naming some possibly (?) real film makers who get murdered, but the camera work is very natural and documentary-looking without sending me into the bathroom for a fist full of motion sickness pills. The dark comic moments work, too- asking the film's composer to follow them around and compose the soundtrack live, drawing straws to see who will dispose of the bodies, and everyone's nonchalant reactions to the killings. The cast is good across the board, the conversations sound improvised and true without drawing attention to themselves by spitting out unnecessary exposition. Some characters appear, are not named, and disappear, just like in real life. "Silence, Ca Tue!" will appeal more to the "Man Bites Dog" fan than anyone. If you liked that film, you're certain to like this one.