: Director James Wan's 2007 horror film Dead Silence centers around a vengeful ventriloquist. In the movie, all ambient noise completely drops off right before the ghost attacks, weaponizing the literal meaning of the phrase to create terror.
The phrase is so evocative that it has been heavily utilized across various media to evoke dread and suspense: dead silence
: S.A. Barnes's 2022 sci-fi horror novel Dead Silence uses the phrase to describe the terrifying, claustrophobic quiet of a ghost ship floating in deep space. : Director James Wan's 2007 horror film Dead