Program Note
At a low-budget horror film set in Moscow, Russia, a mute(but not deaf) special effects/makeup artist Billy is stranded in the studio after hours and witnesses a snuff porn film production, in which the actress is brutally murdered. She becomes the target of the Russian mafia bankrolling its production. Billy uses her skills and all the help she can get from the producer sister and her director boyfriend, trying to reveal the truth behind the killing and the ones responsible for it.
A feature directorial debut by Anthony Waller (of An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) fame), Mute Witness is a clever suspense-thriller in the Hitchcock tradition with heavy use of shadows and character-driven plotlines led by Marina Zudina as mute Billy, with a cameo by Sir Alec Guinness in one of his last acting role-playing the evil ‘The Reaper.’ This is a must-watch for anyone appreciating well-made classic films. (Jongsuk Thomas NAM)