Silent Hill: A Letter to James

This project was so cool. From the moment I heard about this team developing it I knew I had to contribute to it. I'm a big Silent Hill fan and I really enjoyed this. You will appreciate how much work and effort was put into this. There were no shortcuts taken and the detail to the Silent Hill series was a great takeaway. Hopefully this project gains enough attention so that this team can create more and bigger related projects. The fact that the production team let us contribute and be involved makes it even more special. All that goes to say that this was definitely worth the wait. Go see the film when it comes out!

This was so beautifully filmed, even as a short film. I NEED MORE!!! STAT!!! THAT'S AN ORDER!!!

I need a script on my table by morning!

I love the ambience, the music, the characters! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO US JUSTICE!!! Too long have we been made to watch watered down versions of our favorite game series and it FALL FLAT!!!

I want to see this as a film project. ALL GAMES. BORN FROM A WISH?! OMFG!!!!

I'm literally raving about how good this is. I really think you are the one to bring this out of the s*hole it's been in for too long!

Create a patreon or a gofundme and TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!!!

I'm a big fan of silent hill, I like all the little projects on YouTube about this game (the second one, I mean). I must admit that I liked visually this "little movie", whatever you want to call it. I was pleased to see a bit more intimacy between Mary and James, which is something we are not shown in the game and which I always liked to imagine. The scene where they are dancing and talking is really beautiful. Eddie's actor was very good, his performance was very true to the game. And since it's a fan project, I thought it was a good movie, fans are always supposed to make content for the community, and I love this kind of thing, when we all contribute together to have something new to watch.

I know it can't be better than a movie financed with millions of dollars but it was definitely spectacular, I would have liked it to be longer but it's understandable that it had to be short. The actor of James is very handsome, good acting, keep it up and he will be a great actor.

As a silent hill fan, I have been waiting for this movie for a few months, I follow them on instagram and I liked it a lot. A pleasure to have seen it.

I will be writing a more in-depth review ASAP on my personal blog but I wanted to give this project the flowers it deserves as I have been following since its announcement.

Overall: 7/10 A nice love letter for Silent Hill. The atmosphere created through the environment, cinematography, and soundtrack truly carry this short film. Though I see people praising this as "better than the official movies," I think that if the same story were put out by Chris Gans, it would be ripped apart for leaving out Laura and Angela and making the changes that it did. HOWEVER, for what it is - a short, fan film on a limited budget, I think it is a great project with a lot of budding actors that have plenty of potential.

Cinematography: 10/10 Gorgeous. Great angles, stellar lighting, cool FX and thoughtful framing of the scenes.

Costuming: 9.5/10 The half a point loss is due to Pyramid Head's helmet not being the right shape. The great sword could be more metallic looking and I do wish Maria's hair wasn't as long but these are minor, personal preferences.

Music: 10/10 Absolutely love it. Pretty sure JustHappyBurger also does music for TheGamingMuse and I love whatever JHB throws out.

Audio and Sound Design: 7/10

Story Adaptation: 6/10 The bones of the story are there and I LOVE the added scenes of James and Mary being happy. For what can be pressed into 10 minutes though, I think it is okay.

Acting: 7/10 Some of the acting definitely feels much more solid while other scenes probably needed a couple more takes. Similarly, some of it was jilted which, to be fair, does fit in with the vibe of the original SH2.

When I first heard about the project and saw the first few production stills, I knew I needed to back it and now having seen the movie after getting early access, I wasn't disappointed.

From the very first seconds, you can see, hear and feel the immense love that has gone into this movie. It is written all over the presentation, atmosphere, the acting, the special effects and music. It is, for all intents and purposes, truly a love letter to Silent Hill 2 and the franchise as a whole. To think that such a high level of quality is possible for a roughly 20 minute fan film makes me wonder just what the people behind it could create if given a higher budget and assignment to make an official, full length movie.

To every Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 fan, I absolutely recommend watching this when it's out for everyone, but also for everyone else who loves suspense and horror or just needs that extra little push to finally get into the franchise.