Silent is a far more ambitious film, one he describes as a “Gothic comedy.” Done in the vein of a silent movie from the earliest days of cinema, this happy little silent medium suddenly finds itself in total calamity when one female amongst them suddenly develops a voice. The film’s talky heroine quickly comes to find her blessing is quite the curse, soon finding herself in all manner of peril because of it, a number of which are supernatural in nature. You’ll notice Nosferatu and Dr. Caligari types in the trailer.
In regard to the film’s more horrific elements, “Don’t be deceived by the trailer. There are many, many layers to this cake. Yes, there are hints to Caligari and Nosferatu. But, honestly I grew up watching all the classics – Dracula, Wolf Man – and even Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. I loved them. I wanted to make a ‘classic film’ with a modern twist to it and honor these great films.”
Pleckaitis spent the past few years researching the history of silent film in preparation for penning and directing Silent and states, “Northern Jersey was intentionally chosen for the location of this film.” He points to the fact that “the film industry had its birth here. Silent theaters still feature silent films with pipe organ accompaniment. The Perils of Pauline was filmed here. Thomas Edison built the first indoor film studio here. The period was filled with magic! And then, almost as quickly as it was born, it faded and moved west to Hollywood. But the lessons of silent film are what shaped acting, directing, even storytelling. In fact several key scenes were filmed at the original locations used in some of the most famous silent films ever shot.”
Produced by Revscope Pictures, Inc., formed by Michael Pleckaitis and his wife Andrea, along with Carl Frederick, a 15-year veteran of MTV and CBS who also helped put the finishing touches on the screenplay, Silent is currently in the final stages of production in Northern New Jersey. No doubt there will be much more to come on this one in the near future. In the meantime, I highly recommend giving the trailer a look as well as the stills Pleckaitis has been kind enough to send along scattered throughout and below.