Mute Witness (1995)

Writer-director Anthony Waller's remarkable Hitchcockian debut gets a 4K UHD release from Arrow Films.

Billy (Marina Zudina) is a mute makeup artist working on a zero budget slasher movie being filmed by Americans in Moscow. One night she's accidentally locked in the studio and witnesses a snuff film being made. The police don't believe her, but the killers do, and as she spends the rest of the night avoiding them it soon turns out that the murder she witnessed is part of a much larger conspiracy.

Stylish, well-plotted and quite the achievement for something filmed on such a low budget and under less than ideal conditions (Waller's commentary on this disc is filled with anecdotes and well worth a listen), MUTE WITNESS manages some stylish set pieces in amongst the twisty-turny plot. Zudina is fine in the lead (she spoke no English at the time but it doesn't matter) and there's a surprise turn from Alec Guinness, who had filmed his scene ten years earlier, and for free. The film also features an early role for Fay Ripley who would later become well known to UK TV audiences for appearing in 52 episodes of Cold Feet.

As well as the Waller commentary, Arrow's disc gives us another with Wilbert Hirsch and production designer Matthias Kammermeier, moderated by the late Lee Gambin. Alexandra Heller-Nichols provides an 11 minute visual essay on movies that feature snuff films while Chris Alexander gives us 23 minutes on 'films within films' in a piece which has finally convinced me to catch up with Ulli Lommel's BOOGEYMAN 2. There's a trailer, a teaser, an image gallery, seven minutes of location scouting and all three minutes of the Alec Guinness footage.

Finally, Arrow's limited edition set comes with a reversible sleeve, foldout poster and a booklet with new writing on the film.

Anthony Waller's MUTE WITNESS is out on Limited Edition 4K UHD from Arrow Films on Monday 24th June 2024