Silent Hill

I have been a fan of the first game since it came out. As with most video game adaptations, I expected this to be a piece of sh#@. Instead, I got an atmospheric, haunting thriller that slowly creeps into you and doesn't let go.

True, the game was scarier. Way scarier. And there was something appealing about the vagueness of the story - the fact that it was never fully explained. And some parts (especially in the third act) could have been edited down and made more intense. And I wasn't fully convinced by Radha Mitchell's acting. But seriously, folks, this goes above and beyond your standard fare horror flick.

Speaking visually, the film is breath-taking. Some of the best conceptual designs I've ever seen. The creature's design and effects are top notch. Pay attention to one very creepy scene that revolves around a flash-light. It is brilliant.

The score is perfect. Disturbing and melancholy at the same time, just like the themes the movie explores. It has depth and its meanings are relevant to our current existence.

One thing I wanted to see used more was the radio static that signifies when a monster is approaching. That was to me one of the scariest elements of the game, since you knew the monster is close, and yet you couldn't see it. Also, with such a tightly woven, dense atmosphere, some boo moments could have been super scary, although the movie doesn't use them. That is a plus and a minus. The result is more sophisticated, refined, working more on psychological horror rather than shock value. On the other hand, on a superficial level, the film is not as scary as it could have been.

To conclude, a very pleasant surprise. Hopefully this is not the last we've seen of Silent Hill.

First of all, Carol Spiers deserved an Oscar for her production design. I'm not joking at all. It was so creepy and unsettling. It's worth watching for that alone. Unfortunately the storytelling aspect of it was pretty meh. Not a great script with some pretty lazy dialogue. In spite of that, I really liked this movie... surprisingly.

Yea I live in a cave. Not only am I over a decade late to the Silent Hill party, but I had no idea that it is an adaptation of the famous 1999 PlayStation game Silent Hill. If this describes you as well then read on because it might help you enjoy this flick more.

Silent Hill the movie has a distinctly cold, brooding vibe similar to the classic supernatural mindbenders like The Others, The Sixth Sense, or even going way back to The Shining. That is, it immediately puts us in a surreal state of mind, cut off from reality (in this case an abandoned ghost town) where anything can & usually does happen.

Where it gets crazy and possibly disorienting to newbies is when it incorporates some of the videogame elements which are never really explained. The terrifying monster Pyramid Head just sort of appears without any context, and similarly the famous Nurses From Hell scene happens almost randomly. These are excellent scenes, but still a bit disorienting if you're trying to relate everything to the narrative that's unfolding.

The story itself is about a woman searching for a child in the creepy ghost town of Silent Hill, and it becomes a sort of dysfunctional Alice in Wonderland type tale with random gruesome episodes and good scares, but underneath it is a consistent plot which slowly reveals itself. One unique angle worth mentioning is that this movie is almost entirely a female cast. I thought that was a really interesting diversion from the standard horror flick where men dominate the story as both heroes and villians. Here our protagonist is a strong female lead--not quite Sarah Connor Terminator 2 strong, but definitely not a squeaking damsel in distress. The antagonist is a female as well, a very creepy matriarchal character whom you totally wouldn't want to meet at Sunday brunch.

Just be prepared that not everything ties neatly into the story (due to the videogame elements), and that's my only real criticism. However, if I watch it a 2nd time I'll be better prepared, as I hope you are after reading this! Silent Hill is a great flick with some terrifying moments, nice creative gore (ever see someone get their entire skin ripped off? tune in) and a satisfying story with a really interesting twist. Definitely worth checking out.

Although I have never played the actual game I am aware of its story and how this film decided to take another route. It borrows many elements & ideas from not just the first game but it's first couple sequels as well & blends in with the director's own ideas. The end result in my opinion I think works rather well both telling a solid story that doesn't hold your hand while also nailing the look and feel of its source material. I've seen many claim they couldn't understand much of the story but I personally think it explains everything pretty well. There are a couple exposition dumps & maybe at times some of the elements from the video games can feel disjointed but nothing feels out of place or forced in. Especially have to give the director and production crew props for the set design and visual effects that really brings to life the disturbing imagery of the games. There are many effective sequences especially one involving creepy nurses & there's no cheap jump scares to be found.

The only issue for me with the film are the boring and slow paced scenes with the husband character. It feels like they just added these scenes with him cuz the movie didn't have enough males but you could honestly cut all these out and it wouldn't effect the movie any. Other than that Silent Hill was definitely a milestone for video game adaptations especially from around that time. Even today you don't see many get as much effort put into them as this one did.

Horror? Try psychological triller and you might be closer to understanding why is it that I found Silent Hill such an amazing piece of work.

With that in mind, the reason why Silent Hill worked for me was because it had a story to tell. Granted some of us are already familiar with the storyline and are frustrated with the pace of the film. Others may gripe at how much of a disappointment the movie was because of the lack of certain monsters, the lack of development in the characters they liked best, the lack of answers to puzzling questions, the fact that the storyline was too convoluted and confusing et cetera et cetera.

Yet, the heart of the film lies mainly on one simple idea - Silent Hill is first and foremost, a physical manifestation of a child's mind that is shattered, tainted and shackled by an abuse so terrible that one is unable to articulate it into words. (Ever wondered why Silent Hill is called "Silent" Hill in the first place? If you think along the lines of language being an ineffective medium in the expression of "truth", *cha-ching*! You're right!)

In this light, I cannot understand why so many people had a problem with the pacing of the movie because in the first place, such apparent "meandering" is necessary to the entire film. And why not? The inability for any one character to get to the heart of the problem is prevalent during the entire narrative framework of the film *No one* character dared to talk about it and those who sought the truth are met with an air of secrecy. The "truth" therefore, is oppressed by a *complete breakdown of words* and all that is left is to "show" and let the people "experience" what had happened themselves. (Such is the path that Rose must take because she "chose" to seek out the truth surrounding her daughter's psychological problem and since language fails in Silent Hill can the "truth" cannot be communicated through "words" it must be "shown".)

The same rule applies to Christopher. He tried to uncover the "truth" but was thwarted by people who are reluctant to talk about the town. Everyone who had prior knowledge of the town was unable or unwilling to describe what happened because they 1) are suppressing their guilt 2) are afraid of opening up a can of worms that is best left forgotten. Even Rose and Cybil are faced with a group of people who were so adamant into seeing things in their point of view that they have "blinded" themselves to the atrocity of what has taken place in Silent Hill. (Notice how most of the monsters i.e. Nurses, Pyramid Head, Janitor, are in a state of blindness? Coincidence? I think not.)

And still at the heart of all THAT, a child's horrifying story is desperately waiting to be told. The meanderings are not meant to be a flaw in the plot, in my opinion, but an attempt to show how the outside world tried to suppress and confine the deepest desire of a little girl - the desire for "truth" to be known. Therefore the "truth" cannot be "told" because words will ultimately fail in Silent Hill. It must be "shown". That was why Rose had to go through all the various stages of her journey to seek out the "truth". That was why it was crucial the narrative had to be mapped out thus and it reached its summit in the dramatic finale where the fanatics were reluctant to accept the "spoken truth" but was forced to accept it nevertheless through a physical manifestation of "truth" - the manifestation of their past deeds.

Hence in my opinion, this film isn't about monsters, busty characters, bloodshed, storyline or whatever it is that one normally looks out for in a film of this genre. This film is about a little girl's story that is struggling to surface in a world dominated by a viciousness she could not comprehend but fall victim to nevertheless. Think about it. To be thoroughly abused in a world that you never fit in and cannot comprehend. And later to want to seek vengeance for the wrongs that had been done to you but are unable to articulate it into words because there is no one out there who understands or listens to you. The intense hatred due to the complete lack of control that one is forced into, the desire to achieve "satisfaction" at any cost and the obsession with "vengence" - now that's a scary thought for a little girl of 10 to have, wouldn't you say?

So was it good? Heck yeah. And I'm going for another round of this when my next paycheque comes in.