Review: Silent Hill

Alright, I'll give you credit for that last line, which is dead on, but comeon'! The movie doesn't just have a few editing and scripting problems, it is morbidly obese with them. Anytime the film threatened to get scary, Gans' cuts to Sean Bean wandering around perfectly safe reality. The narration towards the end slams the movie to a halt faster than the film's actual end credits do.

The production design was phenomenal, but that's not enough to save the movie. Once again, as soon as a very cool creature was introduced, bam!, cut away to something completely unrelated and never return to it. Gans' took the isolation and loneliness right out of the game, which is something he specifically said he wasn't going to do, making him a flat out liar.

All they had to do was show Red Pyramid every few minutes and the movie would have been golden. But no, he gets less than 4 minutes of screen time. His two scenes are easily the best in the film, and he could have carried the rest of it by himself.

Gans' and Avary made the wrong turn at nearly every interesection.

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The movie does have some really exceptionally disturbing visuals, which I appreciate, but that's it. No plot arc, no characterisation, no logic and the worst dialogue this side of George Lucas. And don't even get me started on the cop in dominatrix wear! (Strangely enough, I found myself looking at this movie and wondering why anyone was wearing what they were wearing. Combat boots, a twin set and a gauze skirt on a grown woman. Nah. Not logical.)

The lack of logical behavior on the part of the characters was the most distressing part of this. Characters do things that make no sense, even given the usual required suspension of belief on the part of the viewer. This isn't your "Friday the 13th" stupid bimbo behavior, either. (You know, go in the dark house alone....etc) This is flat out, "Why would any human do that?" kind of random behavior. I can't have any empathy for a character that doesn't resemble any known human that ever lived. It's too much to ask.

If this had been an art house film where the whole point was just to evoke a mood, to disturb and disorient, this would have worked. Jettison the plot and just run with the images. As is, it's just failed horror movie.

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Personally, I think if you're going to a horror movie to get freaked out, go to get freaked out by the images and atmosphere.

A lot of critics are flinging their own excrement at this movie because they didn't "get" it, or despised the dialogue. News flash: horror movies don't have to make sense, and they sure as hell aren't trying to impress you with Shakespearean linguistic skills.

I liked Silent Hill for the same reasons I like the games it's based on: a dark, foreboding atmosphere and creatures that defy logic and reason. When creatures like the ones in Silent Hill appear on screen, they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, which is poking at your nerves and messing with your expectations. If you were expecting cheesy CGI mutants with plasticine facial expressions and canned sound effects, Silent Hill takes you off-guard by offering you contortionist actors wrapped in a thin veil of (dirty) latex. And at one point, you're introduced to acid-spewing hulk-beasts.

So, if you're into that sort of thing, Silent Hill will unnerve you, and maybe even give you a nightmare or two. It will not, however, wow you with a complex plot and intellgent conversation.

Leave those things to whatever "films" are shown at Cannes.

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A little bit of spoilering in this so please don't read if you haven't seen the movie.

As a fan of the Silent Hill series, I found this review right on. The movie seemed to be generated pretty much for the fans of the game series, and having played all the games and sitting next to someone at opening last night I could see the difference in the ways we looked at the movie.

The world of Silent Hill has never really been scary-scary (as in "BOO!" scary) but more just an atmosphere of hopelessness, depression and dementia. The story line for the movie is truly original, but scenes are almost copied over from the game.

I found myself in the theater wanting to nudge my friends and go "Ooh I know what happenes here, you're going to love it!"

Pyramid Head, as he's known from the game genre, could have taken the entire movie if he was put in more scenes. But if he was, it would have lost alot of credibility with the game fans. Christopher Ganz seemed to not want to create a new age Jason or Freddy Kruger, instead he used the Pyramid Head as he is portrayed in the game mythology: the executioner.

The dialouge scene for me was a bit of an eye opener. I found myself feeling bad for some of the horrible creatures (i/e the contorsed man wrapped in barbed wire in the school bathroom), but after hearing his true role in the world of Silent Hill, I wanted to wrap him up in barbed wire myself.

For the fans of the games, this movie is great. The sound, the look, the feel of the games is in nearly every scene, shy of the awkward normal scenes Sean Bean is in. But then again those seemingly meaningless scenes are somewhat contrasted at the ending.

The last five minutes of the movie had me in the same way the games had me. My friend sitting next to me was thinking, "Oh but she didn't make it home it must be a sequel coming up." Any fan of the game would realize the bleak outcome of the movie.

She's never going home, nor can she, "Silent Hill" swallowed her, her daughter, and Cybil right from the car crash.

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I actually enjoyed the highly "illogical" behavior of the protag because it reinforced the nightmare sense of inevitability. It's like a Lynch movie in which you have to follow clues subconsciously rather than rationally.

Of course it doesn't make sense to retrieve a foreign body from a corpse's mouth and say "I know this is where my daughter is" but in that environment you have no choice not to.

In my reading of the movie *SPOILER* both Radha Mitchell and the cop are dead when they wake up from their initial crashes, which explains why the ash is falling from that point on and why they never escape their dimension at the end. But I don't know if that is off the wall or the obvious interpretation everbody else has as well.

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"News flash: horror movies don't have to make sense, and they sure as hell aren't trying to impress you with Shakespearean linguistic skills."

News flash: good movies have to make sense, regardless of what genre they are. I'm tired of bad movies using the "but we're making a horror movie, it doesn't have to be good" excuse.

What critics are complaining because they didn't "get" it? How could anyone not "get it" when the movie grinds to a halt to explain itself....

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Seeing as how i have played and beaten all 4 games numerous times, i was quite excited for them to create a movie for such an amazing game. Visually it was very well done, and i agree with the review in the sense that it did in fact squeeze too much into 2 hours...then again, most people aside from fans like me wouldn;t want to sit for three hours for a movie thats confusing and demented to the general audience.He did have to put in a lot of "unnecessary" material though because it would have been a bit confusing to those unfamiliar with the first game. In any case when it comes to Pyramid head, there could've been more. Not screen-time, because he was hardly in the game, but to at least have him represent something like he did before. He was simply a badass with a giant butter knife as opposed to representing something deeper like he did to James Sunderland in S.H.2

Still, the detail that was payed attention to from the game was very good and definitely pulled off the 'feel' to the game with stunning visuals and extreme detail alongside twisted, disgusting...things. It wasn;t so much gore as it was just nasty, which was quite pleasing.

nonetheless, the movie went beyond what other adaptations have and accually tried to be somwhat like the game it was modeled after.

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As a big fan of the Silent Hill video game series, I was somewhat disappointed by this film. I accepted it as a decent film, but it could have been so much better had they kept the action scenes more frequent. The best part of that whole movie was when you first witness pyramid head dragging his knife around. It was so scary, but not in an obvious way. They could have had the entire film revolve around him and it would end up being great.
I think that the movie was going great until they met the wierd religious girl (you know, the one who pyramid head rips apart). After that, it lost the creepy atmosphere of isolation in hellish silent hill.
Overall, the movie was ok, but it could have been way better. I will probably buy it just for those couple amazing scenes.
***

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Not being a huge fan of horror movies and knowing nothing of silent hill (aside that it's a game), this movie took all of my fears and my mind, dragged them behind the barn and did things best left unmentioned.

this terrorfied me beyond belief. but in a good way. I like how it wasn't really "slasher, rip your guts out and dance with 'em around my neck" sorta flick, but immensely dark and scarey.

I really want to play these games and compare them to the movie.

keep in mind that I've not played any games nor a fan of horror. so in that respect I liked this movie because it touched on all of my fears and gave me a good fright.

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I was very disappointed in the movie. I didn't go in expecting a lot anyway, but I must say it was even less well put together than I had hoped for. I understand that they have to have creative license and make it so a wide range of people can understand the storyline, but some things were ridiculous. For example, such as the Christabella character- she was a strange mix between Dahlia and Claudia, and the Dahlia in the movie was NOTHING like the one in the game. I won't go into any other examples because it will take centuries.

The storyline was extremely lacking (if you're going from an "I've played these games! standpoint), although I think they did a valiant job trying to incorporate some of the more important things in the different games, including Pyramid Head, etc. The atmosphere was excellent and I'm glad they used the music from the games. I was impressed with the way the nurses looked, that was dead on, as was Pyramid Head.

As just a movie, looking at it outside of a Silent Hill lover viewpoint, it was 'alright', it was entertaining. If someone is hoping the games are like the movie, they'll be disappointed. But never fear! The games are *much* better than the movie.

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The movie is actually quite different from the game, creatures and environment aside. To begin with, the protagonist of the story was supposed to be a man. The emphasis of the first game was a father/daughter bonding not a mother/daughter bonding. Dahlia wasn't actually an innocent cult figure. She's responsible for burning her own daughter so she can bring the God of Darkness, Samael. This is where the movie adaptation falls apart, IMO. It actually lessens the impact of the storytelling of the game, where a mother was shown to be cruel hearted while a father (adoptive to boot) was shown to gamble it all to save his daughter.

The film could have been so much more. It could be twisted in a non-visual way but instead what we got is a violent burning of a character who's actually not dead in the game. There are also way too many characters in this movie. The game works so well because of the sense of isolation that the character experience within Silent Hill. The game also never spoonfeed you with the knowledge that there is a real Silent Hill out there. What the game shows simply the foggy world and the nightmare world. It is this sense of suffocation, unable to move elsewhere but between these two world that makes the game so frightening.

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I don't want to write too much, but simply add my voice to all the others here that are quite disappointed with this movie.

Silent Hill game used claustrophobic visuals of dark fog shrouded streets, the sense of isolation in a deserted town and creepy sounds all of which are missed by the movie which is over staged.

The script is terrible so you cant blame the actors, and I agree the editing is annoying and kills the effect of the shock visual put forward as scare material. It really comes off as a boring Hollywood plastic flick, as well as inaccurate to the story line of the game.

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I'll say this for the movie; the first 45 minutes and many scenes after it pulled me straight into the movie in the way that the game does so well. But unfortunatly a partaly enjoyable experience was not remotely what I needed out of the movie.

First off i really have to disargee with the majority that carrying the movie on the shoulders of Triangle Head would have been a sound empowering of the film. Triangle Heads role in the game series was small and fit that way. This film seemed too preoccupied with revamping his role from that of a small element of the towms general creepiness into the towns head enforcer and powerhouse. To have him so strong an element as he was definatly took alot of the atmospheric suspense that the film needed to hoard like it was priceless gems.

Especially with the cut scenes.

That particular anoyance hit me two-fold. First off I halfheartedly argee that they took alot out of the depration of the material itself. They managed to play it all in tune with the film but were unnessicery for anything but a set up for a sequel (yes, I feel if funding provides there will be a sequel). Secondly it was too often the place that the movie went to overexplain itself. It got to feeling that every time it cut to the husband all you could do was sit there and wait for the movie to turn the ignition again because it got overflooded and decided to shut off for a while.

Lastly I'll be the first one here to openly protest the utter gore that the movie decided would be its best possible climax. To see a mutalated corpse or two for the purpose of being true to the material was comendable, but to use them as a softener to end the film on the note that too many horror films bog themselves these days was intensely irritating.

All in all I didn't find the movie a complete loss and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. But word toward the wise for anyone who isn't at least passingly familiar with the game series; if you insist on seeing this movie without the nesicary in game back story then do your best to get into it. Thats the only get what the film intends you to get out of it.

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Remember, this is coming from someone who's played the games, and went into this movie with impossibly high expectations.

Compared to the games, the movie falls terribly short as far as "plot" is concerned. The acting seemed decent, but it's a shame there wasn't a good script to go along with it.

Each of the games has been successful in giving me one hell of a mindf*ck upon completion, and I was in a state of constant anticipation for that to happen in the movie.

All in all, the best movie, this was not. But it certainly is the best game-to-movie adaption I've ever seen.

Recommendation: See it in a theatre or rent it. Me? I'm buying it when it comes out, if only as a supplement to the games.

Erm... it didn't.

Visually, the presentation was absolutely astounding. It's not a stretch to say that Silent Hill was one of the best-looking movies I've EVER seen. It really captured the appearance of the game's environments quite nicely, and that's coming from a seasoned Silent Hill fan. I can't even imagine what it must feel like for non-fans to experience Silent Hill's distinct look for the first time. That's why I think this movie will appeal to newcomers more than it will for those who've experienced the game.

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I thought that the movie was pretty good but some of the parts were kinda stupid. In the begining of the movie when the little girl is screaming out "Silent Hill" i thought that was gay, but it was kick ass when pyrimid head came out and ripped the girls skin off. It was awesome how they got the detail of him, and also the big knife.

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the movie was great,but the red pyramid should of come out more often,that would been perfect

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What the HELL happened in the ending. That was the most disappointing. I played the silent hill games and last I checked the main character with her new born daughter made it out alive and back to the real world. So I guess this means no sequel. It was a great visual movie, but the ending totally sucked. And the daughter looks like she's been acting weird. Does it mean she incorporated Alessa into her??? Ending sucked. good luck for the people who even think of making a sequel. They never made it out of silent hill...well...the realm anyways

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I am an avid Silent Hill fan. i disliked the most recent game for the exact reasons it was different from the other 3..the room. I enjoyed the game itself but i dont like being disconnected from the Silent Hill creepy dark atmospheric sense of despair to go into my calm clean living room ( as long as you take the time to purify it). give me a mysetrious red save square anyday.

This leads me to the movie however. I enjoyed it and feel they perfectly recreated the dirty, rusty, nightmareish world of Silent Hill, they just disconnect too much. In the games they never show you that there is a 'reality' Silent Hill. The games were always foggy immediately which always led me to believe that WAS the town, not some alternate dimension. When i first saw the movie i figured that helped me understand the weirdness that happened in the games a little more, but the more i thought about the things ive experienced in the games it only confused me more as maybe just a filler to the plot.

The husband couldve definitely been cut out of the movie altogether because every scene he's in just seems to interrupt what you really want to see.

As well as the villagers and theyre cult leader.Cut them all out. Maybe moviemakers just feel that you cannot build a movie around a handful of characters. YOU SHOULD HAVE IN A SILENT HILL GAME! Part of the scariness was never knowing where anyone else was and all you would come across is creature after creature in between some grizzly corpses or morbid puzzles.

A good movie altogether, but a disappointing amount of time was used up just for the husband trying to find her. Heres what i think wouldve made a good silent hill movie: A SINLGE mother adopts a child in the opening sequence....the credits roll..open to a girl about 5-8 now (figuring thats the baby) and show her with her mother having a day somewhere. then show the girl having silent hill nightmares and the mom having flashbacks of frequent doctor advice that her daughter is insane then doing something about it by going to silent hill....BAM theres your story.....everything else happening afterward couldve been lossely based on the mishaps and environments harry/james go through in their games.

It was awesome to see Red Pyramid and a few twisted creatures on screen but i think they shouldve had more movietime. One acid spewing creaute in the whole movie doesnt satisfy me, ONE encounter with the little child creatures isnt enough, all of the nurses huddled around each other and inexplicably only moving when theres light ( theyre more aware in the games) didnt make much sense to me, and too much damn villager speeches and husband moments.

Silent Hill supplied the fog and the darkness well, just not enough. If youre gonna doit do it right. Dont kill a character that never dies in a game, dont change the personality of other key characters (dhalia was NOT innocent by far...she killed her daughter in order to raise satan).

As a fan of the games i will buy this movie but i better be treated to some deleted scenes or an unrated version. Seems like there couldve been such room for greatness with this game, and there still is.

P.S. kudos to the people who decided to take scenes and camera gestures from the games thatwas brilliant. Play part one and 2 before you see the movie if you want to actually like it

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OKAY NOW!
The best scenes in this movie are easily Pyramid Heads two and only scenes and the first time the creatures began to show themselves.

this movie was alright, but it had such potential to be something great when you consider the games it just fell short by so much.

first off like many have said the actions of the mother made no sense at all. and the father was freaking useless! showing him added nothing to the film or storyline it just took away from it all. suddenly the focus is off the mother and daughter and on the father and his pointless search for them, and ontop of that we are suddenly supposed to shift and feel for him when they decide to show his 'desperate'and 'emotional' situation.. i seriously just cant feel for him at all more so when they just cut to him whenever the movie had something eventful happen.

also.. wtf.. that cop the husband was with had burns on his hands from taking the shackles off the girl, but when the husband goes looking in the orphanage he states the woman should be 40...if the cop was an adult when she was still young and she should be 40 for some ungodly reason why is he young?
or did i miss something.. =/

visually it was amazing.
everything else just didnt live up.

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this will be quick. I have never played any of the games, but that really didnt make much of a differnce to me. the movie was sweet graphic wise, but the neding was gay. they had a sweet movie with the monsters and pyramid head in a suspenful kind of way, until that little kid comes out of the ground (Idont know, but i think its hell) and just rips apart everyone( which is a slasher ). also, i thought that the police woman was eliz., my friend and i were laughing throuout the entire movie because of that and that little pointy thing they did when they saw a witch was pretty funny. anyways, the only thing i didnt get was if that little girl (alessa) was the devil?

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