Just when you thought it was safe to go to a thriller, along comes "Hear No Evil," proving that the sleazy slasher motif is not quite exhausted.
Patterned somewhat after "Wait Until Dark," this is sort of "Wait Until Silence," using deafness instead of blindness as a weakness exploited by a masked killer.
The story has Marlee Matlin as an innocent who gains possession of a rare and priceless coin — but doesn't know it. The guy who planted it on her is apparently killed in a car crash, but a corrupt cop (Martin Sheen) who wants the coin is convinced she has it. So, he harasses her, drives her to distraction and threatens her, as Matlin's new, hapless boyfriend (D.B. Sweeney) tries to help.
But Sheen is so nasty and obvious he can't possibly be the killer. In films like this, the trick to figuring out the killer is simply to think of the least obvious person.
There is an effective gimmick here, as director Robert Greenwald ("Sweet Hearts Dance") cranks up the sound to show us what others hear that Matlin cannot, or completely shuts the sound off to put the audience more in Matlin's position. But it's hardly enough to bolster the hopelessly hackneyed screenplay.
Considering how weak-willed her character is, it's a surprise to see Matlin in this role. The Oscar-winning best actress, for her film debut in "Children of a Lesser God," has always championed the hearing-impaired as people who should not be designated as "handicapped." But that's precisely what this film does.
It's especially demeaning to show Matlin's character, a fitness trainer, as unable to do anything other than crumble and scream whenever she's approached by a threatening male.
That's really too bad, since Matlin is a most appealing actress who certainly brings more to this film than it deserves.
"Hear No Evil" is rated R for considerable violence, as well as profanity, sex and gratuitous nudity (the proverbial bathing scene).