Dan Gremley and Brad Podowski pay homage to film noir with their neo-noir feature, Silent as the Grave…I mean, the title alone…
Michael Kunicki stars as Chris Nowak, an aspiring documentarian who just debuted his first feature film to a less-than-packed theater. The dejected Chris turns to his pregnant wife, Naomi (Isabella Alonso), for comfort and encouragement.
Not knowing his next step, the couple goes to Chris’ family’s home for Christmas dinner. When Silent Night comes on the radio, Chris’ aunt storms off because the song reminds her of Uncle Edgar, who was murdered years ago. What’s upsetting is that the killer was never found, and one day, the investigation just ended.
Needing to find closure for the Nowak family, Chris’ mother, Barbara (Charlisa Anderson), bankrolls his next documentary, provided it’s about the death of his uncle Edgar. Chris agrees, and as soon as you can say action, Chris is visited by a gang of goons telling him to stop poking around places he doesn’t belong…particularly his uncle’s gravesite, where a mysterious stranger has been leaving flowers for years.
After getting a severe beating, Naomi warns Chris that the baby is coming soon and the last thing she wants is to raise their child alone. But Chris ignores her and becomes obsessed with finding the killer.

“…[Silent Night] reminds her of Uncle Edgar, who was murdered years ago.”
Silent as the Grave is that little noir that could. Writer Brad Podowski takes the story of a documentarian who just completed a documentary on film noir and carried you gently into the genre.
The story cleverly turns the drunk noir private investigator into a wholesome neo-noir family-man filmmaker. As Chris, Michael Kunicki carries the bulk of the film’s emotional center with a strong cast of emerging actors backing him up. Chris is just an average Joe suckered into treading into the dark past of his family and town and slowly becomes consumed with finding answers. Even if it means getting the s**t beat out of him.
It’s incredible to me how good the film looks on such a meager budget, and a lot of its success has to do with the cinematography. Resources were spent on getting top-quality cameras, and DP Kuba Zelazek absolutely nails the right tone visually, often shifting from reality to a dreamlike state to the mirky past.
I’m absolutely impressed how the noir aspect of this low-budget thriller just sneaks up on you, including the Chinatown-esque bakery scandal consuming this small town. Before you know it, the dark past of the Nowak family unravels before our eyes.
There’s a great deal of fun in the cast of characters Chris winds up interviewing. Who can he trust? What does he hide? Can he handle uncovering the truth? Can he keep his marriage intact…or at least his sanity.
For screening information, visit the Silent as the Grave official website.