The classic Universal logo -- the one with the aeroplane circumnavigating the globe -- opens the studio's newest horror film, Dead Silence. It's a clever way to tell the audience "Look, you're not about to get your typical quick-cut hack & slash fest here. Despite the fact that Dead Silence is the second feature film from the man who directed Saw, we think you should try and settle into an 'old-school chiller' vibe with this one." And it's true: For much of Dead Silence's brief but deliberately-paced running time, the flick feels a lot like something that would have hit the screens back in 1952. (Or maybe whittled down into an episode of The Twlight Zone.) Whether or not the younger Saw maniacs will actually appreciate this diversion from formula remains to be seen, but as a guy who's just young enough to dig Saw, but certainly old enough to remember my black and white "creature double feature" TV marathons, I found just enough to enjoy in this one.

Ryan Kwanten plays Jamie Ashen, a young husband who loses his wife during a fairly chilling prologue. Basically, a creepy old ventriloquist's dummy is left on the Ashens' doorstep, Jamie heads out to get some Chinese food, and returns to find his pretty young wife ... in a really unpleasant state. This tragic event, combined with some insensitive accusations from police detective Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg), inspires poor Jamie to hit the road and revisit his withered old hometown of Raven's Fair. It's there he comes across his estranged old dad (Bob Gunton), a hot new stepmother (Amber Valletta), a terrified mortician (Michael Fairman) and his strangely off-kilter wife (Joan Heney).

Attention, horror fanatics -- James Wan and Leigh Whannell have something to say. Actually, it's the opposite -- they want to hear what you have to say to them. The scare-meisters behind 2004's Saw and the upcoming Dead Silence have agreed to take time out of dreaming up new methods of murder and mayhem to answer any questions you might have for them. Have a question about the Saw series that's been knawing at your brain for years? Want to know something about Dead Silence you don't know already? Want to get details about Wan's upcoming film Death Sentence? Want to know what breakfast cereal James and Leigh prefer? This is a no-holds-barred question and answer session, so ask away. Submit your questions to this post, via the comment box. Include your first name, where you're from, and put your actual question in quote-marks. If your question is one of the ones that James or Leigh answer, it will appear in one of the 'answer' posts we put up, starting next week. The deadline for submitting questions is March 13, so there's not much time -- start thinking!

Anyone who's seen Saw 3 knows that it'll be pretty tough to come up with a viable screenplay for Saw 4. Not saying it's impossible, but let's just say the incoming Sawmakers will have to pull a few fancy tricks ... and fast, since Saw 4 has already been scheduled for an October release date.

It's been widely reported that James Wan, Leigh Whannell and Darren Lynn Bousman participated in Saw 3 only out of respect for their deceased producer/friend Gregg Hoffman -- and while I'm sure the trio didn't exactly complain about their Part 3 paychecks, the guys probably have other things they want to do with their careers besides Saw 17, right? Right. Which is why Lionsgate is presently fielding ideas from a wide array of screenwriters, two of whom (according to Bloody-Disgusting.com) just released their very first horror flick.

Yeah, the two Project Greenlight knuckleheads who wrote Feast are (allegedly) among the running for the Saw 4 gig. Also known as Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, the pair have a variety of projects on numerous back-burners, but a Saw sequel has to seem sort of like a lottery ticket to guys like this.

Also, Feast is a whole lot of wet, splattery, gore-soaked fun. So there's that.

If there's one thing the media really loves to do, it's lump a bunch of barely-connected people into an ill-fitting group -- and then give that group a clever name. Whether it's The Rat Pack, The Brat Pack or The Splat Pack, I just get irked whenever a new "pack" makes it into the cultural lexicon. Oh, you're not familiar with that last one? Yeah, it's a moniker that's been given to a bunch of "new" horror filmmakers, one that seems to imply that these guys get together every weekend to smoke weed and watch Halloween 2 together.

According to a recent article in Time Magazine, one that seems to approach horror flicks the same way a prissy schoolmarm would approach some inappropriate comic books, the members of "The Splat Pack" are Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel), Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), Alex Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes), Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects), and James Wan, Leigh Whannell and Darren Lynn Bousman of the Saw trilogy. (Apparently Wolf Creek director Greg McLean was part of the original pack, although he goes unmentioned in the Time article, probably because he hasn't made much money yet.)

But what do these guys have in common, really, other than the fact that they all make horror flicks? I see Americans, Brits, Aussies and a Frenchman in the mix, and while some of the guys are fresh-faced and 20-something, guys like Roth have been toiling away in backstage anonymity for years. Plus, c'mon, Rob Zombie is 42 years old, so how exactly does he tie in with these kids? And why is it that Neil Marshall never seems to be quoted in these articles? Is he just included because his horror movies are ... GOOD? Apparently the Splat Pack label was created by Alan Jones of Total Film, and I'm sure the guy's an absolute expert on horror flicks -- but labels create limits, exclusions and oversights. And, ultimately, articles like this one, I suppose. (Either way, I bet Jones bangs out a book called The Splat Pack by the end of 2008.)

The UK's Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance) is young and horror-heavy, so why isn't he a member of The Pack? Shouldn't (Dawn of the Dead screenwriter, Slither director) James Gunn be one of the den mothers? Lucky McKee has made only two feature films (May and The Woods), but they're both downright excellent pieces of horror. Why's he not a member? Uwe Boll's done a bunch of horror flicks that could be accurately described as " laden with torture," so why not throw him an invitation? You want a guy who loves the word splat? Try Jake West, the guy who directed Evil Aliens. Plus I read another article a while back in which Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) was considered a member of The SP! Now, if that guy can be considered some sort of "future of horror," I'll eat my hat.

The common themes among the Splat Packers are ... what? They all like horror movies, they don't shy away from intense chills, harsh themes or copious gore, and they're all carbon-based life forms, I guess. But really: Does anyone out there think the work of Eli Roth is even remotely similar to that of Neil Marshall? Does a Rob Zombie flick remind you of what was seen in, say, High Tension? I mean, if you're going to define a term, then define it. And as a big fan of just about all these movies, I just gotta scratch my head when I hear these guys lumped together in one basket.

And what happens when guys like Ryan Schifrin (Abominable), Adam Green (Hatchet), J.T. Petty (S&Man) Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon), Jon Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) and Adam Mason (Broken) start to make their way up the ranks? Will we have the arrival of Splat Pack 2: The New Generation? Back in the late '70s/early '80s, did we need a goofy little heading to remember names like Carpenter, Hooper, Craven, Dante, Landis and Cunningham?

Ultimately, I have no real point. I'd just seen the phrase "Splat Pack" one too many times and felt the need to vent. Opposing viewpoints are welcome, as long as they agree with my own opinions.

What with all the Saw sequels that seem to pop up every Halloween, we might have forgotten to ask, hey, what's the original Sawmaker up to these days? Well, the guy's been working on his follow-up fright flick for quite some time now -- only nobody seems to know what to call the thing!

Directed by James Wan and written by Wan and Leigh Whannell, the flick was originally meant to be called Shhhh, but then everyone realized how silly that was, and it was agreed that Silence would be the new title. And then it got changed to Dead Silence. And now, for whatever reason, that's no good either.

As mentioned at Dread Central, the trailer for Mr. Wan's sophomore effort is supposed to be showing in front of Saw 3, so it's in everyone's best interest to settle on a name already. How about The Unnamable or The Un-Entitled?

Here's what we know already: Darren Lynn Bousman, the young filmmaker who cut his teeth on Saw 2, will be returning to direct Saw 3, which will arrive in theaters this October. Already signed to return are writer/producers James Wan & Leigh Whannell, and actors Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, and Donnie Wahlberg.

And today JoBlo treats us to a few more Saw-bits, none of which are all that dazzling, but they're intreresting enough if you're a big geeky fan of the Saw series -- like I so definitely am. Looks like Saw 3 is scheduled to begin production in Toronto on May 1st, and the casting directors are presently on the hunt for "Lynn, a married mother in her late 30s who is kidnapped by Jigsaw" and "Jeff, a dad who has never recovered fully after his son died. It was an accident but he's never been able to forgive himself."

Seems the producers are looking for "name actors" for these roles -- but ones who (obviously) don't already have a gig lined up for May. More details as they become available.