The Dummy Detective

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Chloe G @RT39189625 Jul 26, 2026 Ventriloquism is such a lost art. The Dummy Detective follows a murder case via a ventriloquist and his dummy, throwing you into full noir. Chloe Lake exudes Marilyn Monroe and Jessica Rabbit with her eye flutters on every vowel she exhales. After Chloe’s mother is mysteriously murdered, she takes refuge with her mother’s kitty at a charming inn. The cozy atmosphere, full house, and game of Clue make it oddly comforting—minus the murdering. Every actor nailed their characters’ personas and tonal shifts. Deborah Twiss as Chloe especially shines with perfect femme-fatale energy. The film pops with breathtaking framing and lighting: mirrors, neo-noir style, and a brilliant moment where Chloe steps into sunlight through blinds, haloed while speaking with Detective Trillo. A creative modern take on a 1940s detective drama, The Dummy Detective blends clever writing, humor, and a ventriloquist detective using dummies to disarm suspects. A true cinema cleanser. See more David A @WPCRPodcast Jul 26, 2026 This is a great crime movie. The characters are well written, the actors do a great job, the score is atmospheric and really helps each scene play out. Having a ventriloquist and his dummy be the detectives is a stroke of genius. The psychological aspects of Trillo...the main character are so important to the story...giving us an insight to how his mind is working. Comedic aspects too making it play out a bit like movies such as Clue. There are great looking visuals also thanks to clever lighting and use of colour. If you like film noir, a cool detective and some humour... The Dummy Detective is for you. Jonathan Geffner... the creator...has brought us something amazing and well worth a watch. See more Yosh M @RT36214806 Jul 26, 2026 This is clean , fun , and exactly what we need in comedy The Dummy Detective is for all ages and a complete joy to watch . The characters are hilarious !!! We need more movies like this ! See more Frank M @RT31474237 Jul 10, 2026 A witty, inventive comedy that seemingly without effort manages to sell its wacky premise. In the same vein as 1985's Clue and 2019's Knives Out, The Dummy Detective takes all of the tropes of film noir and murder mysteries and turn them completely on their cliched heads. The setting is an odd, eerie inn run by a one 'Harriet Hubbard,' played by Sean Young. Of course - murder! Onto the scene comes 'Detective Van Trillo,' played by real-life ventriloquist Jonathan Geffner, who wrote the screenplay and makes his feature film debut. The detective has his wooden mannequin as his sidekick, and things only get weirder from there. The fine cast has undeniable chemistry and a shared spirit of enjoyment in the story they all take part in telling. For as fun and as charming as this creative story is, a film with such an offbeat premise is probably a hard sell. It must have felt like a risk to invest in this production. But it was one risk certainly worth taking. See more skorpio S @RT74768751 Jul 2, 2026 The dummy detective does not disappoint. You have drama, mystery,great acting from wooden dummies and very impressive ventriloquism! The actors and actresses are believable and I really love the story telling! The character arcs of the dummies are each unique and the plot is good! Definitely one of a kind movie! Will definitely rewatch! See more Joe G @RT18910915 Jun 2, 2026 OMG I LOVED this movie. Writer, star and veteran ventriloquist Jonathan Geffner clearly put his heart, soul and guts into this script, which is a take off on classic film noir and classic mysteries. Think Who Framed Roger Rabbit. And (yes!) at the end there's a great twist ending which explains it all after the story cast suspicions on different characters via Agatha Christie-like misdirection. This film is fun but decidedly not silly: although it has laughs there's an underlying theme of loneliness. The Dummy Detective is about detective Van Trillo who goes almost everywhere with his wooden dummy Sam Suade who is both verrrry observant and provides lots of laughs. Sean Young (who was in Blade Runner) and Deborah Twiss (Co-Producer and female lead) round out a great cast. I'm also a ventriloquist and enjoyed the ventriloquism related jokes and watching Geffner work his "magic." Bravo to Director Rob Margolis and to Clifford J. Tasner's score which bolsters the story. See more Read all reviews

The Dummy Detective

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