SILENT HILL

[indianasmith]

I watched this movie when it first came out on video and really liked it.  A few months later I saw a copy in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart and grabbed it; last night I watched it again.  First of all, let me say that I have never played the video game this movie is based on; in fact, when I first saw it, I didn't even know it was based on a game.  So my evaluation of it is purely as a horror/fantasy film, not as an adaptation of a game.


Man, I loved this movie!  It is one of the most surrealistically creepy films I have ever seen.  The scene where she first encounters the Ash Children is spooky enough; the sequence in the abandoned school is incredibly suspenseful.  Alice Krige is incredible as Christabel, the leader of the witch-burning cult.  This is one of the spookiest films I have ever watched, period. You really need to see it if you have not.

Quick synopsis:  A couple's young daughter, named Sharon, has been sleepwalking for several months.  More and more often her sleepwalking places her in dangerous localities; at the beginning of the movie her mom literally pulls her off the brink of a cliff.  When they wake her, she screams the phrase "Silent Hill!!" over and over.  Mom does some research and finds that Silent Hill is an abandoned town in West Virginia - deserted because of a coal mine fire burning out of control beneath it some 30 years before.  This is a shock because her child came from an orphanage in West Virginia.  So she decides to take her daughter there and see if she can get to the root of what is going on.

The town is empty and abandoned, perpetual twilight with falling ash everywhere.  But as she begins to explore, the mother realizes that the town is not totally deserted.  And when the siren sounds and darkness falls, horror walks its streets clad in ashes . .  .

[AndyC]

I had no idea this was a video game adaptation either, but thinking back on the plot and the visuals, that makes sense.

I rented it a couple of weeks ago, while my wife and daughter were out of town for a few days. I set out to grab whatever decent-looking horror movies I could get my hands on, since I don't always have a chance to watch a lot of horror.

I liked it. I generally enjoy movies set in abandoned places (Session 9, for example), so the setting was great. I like horror movies built around a dirty little secret, so that was good. And the imagery itself was reminiscent of Lovecraft, Hellraiser and Doom all rolled into one. And Laurie Holden was pretty easy on the eyes.

Probably not a movie I would rush to see a second time, but definitely worth renting.

[Andrew]

"Silent Hill" had some very good atmosphere.  The "ash snowfall" was a nice touch; it was both peaceful and ominous.  Likewise, the abandoned town and its denizens was nicely laid out in a way that worked with the story.  Then there were the times when the bell would ring and everything would turn into a Hellish nightmare.  Whatever the big guy with the sword was, he struck me as something that had to represent a higher, evil power.

My biggest complaint was that the movie felt like a video game too often, like AndyC mentioned.  When the main character and the female police officer encountered those headless, goop-shooting things at the edge of town, I immediately figured it out.  "Oh, this is one of those game limits that the designers put in place to discourage people from exceeding the world's design.  Time to go back to the town and look around."  The scene with the nurses was the same way.

The story was also a bit disjointed, even after the big mystery was revealed.

Speaking from an entertainment level standpoint, this is one of the best game-to-movie adaptations I have ever seen (I've never played the game).

[Sister Grace]

I liked this movie, it was good. Since I'm originally from West Virginia, I usually enjoy movies that revolve around it(excluding mothman prophecies). Let me tell you, it's a whole 'nother world up there and i'm convinced that's why so many movies take place there. Wrong Turn is based loosely (and i do mean very loosely). My point is, WV has a history being creepy; hell, we're even the home of Henry Lee Lucas....

[Mr. DS]

Spoiler Warning

Funny this gets brought up because I was just thinking of this film the other day.  Plot wise the film is a disaster, plain and simple.  However in the realm of disturbing imagery, the film excels into a broad new horizon.  Every monster is as screwed up looking as the last and the film really has some suspenseful moments.  The bathroom monster and nurse scene are probably still one of the creepiest things I've ever watched.  Then of course who could forget the classic skin ripping scene...yikes. 

[VogNhymn]

I thought it was rather lame myself. Too much cgi. I'd rather just play the games.

[Torgo]

Gorgeous & haunting visuals, so-so performances, terrible script (which is surprising since it came from the pen of Roger Avary.)

I was a fan of the director's previous film The Brotherhood of the Wolf but  this one didn't do much for me other than it being great to look at. 

[dean]

Didn't realise the director of Brotherhood did this one.

Anyway I quite enjoyed it, though it didn't completely excel, and like mentioned earlier, the plot isn't 100% [Sean Bean subplot anyone?]

But that being said, it was a more faithful adaptation than Resident Evil was, and it was good to see some of the freaky visuals that made the game so creepy to me up on the big screen.

It still didn't go freaky enough for my tastes, but still, the bell changing the atmosphere is a great tool, and some of the 'fight' scenes were terrific, especially the nurses.

I'm still waiting for somebody to take this concept and really take it to the wall, but it was still entertaining enough for me to consider it a good rather than bad movie.

[AnubisVonMojo]

I thought it was one of the better video game adaptations, but I could've used more of Pyramid Head. Hell, give that guy his own movie where he just hacks through the psychotic religious fanatics for an hour and a half and I'd probably watch it twice! 

[Sister Grace]

I thought it was one of the better video game adaptations, but I could've used more of Pyramid Head. Hell, give that guy his own movie where he just hacks through the psychotic religious fanatics for an hour and a half and I'd probably watch it twice! 

HEAR! HEAR! Same goes for me. Nothing like a good skinnin' to get the juices flowing over popcorn!

[AnubisVonMojo]

I thought it was one of the better video game adaptations, but I could've used more of Pyramid Head. Hell, give that guy his own movie where he just hacks through the psychotic religious fanatics for an hour and a half and I'd probably watch it twice! 

HEAR! HEAR! Same goes for me. Nothing like a good skinnin' to get the juices flowing over popcorn!

Uhm, exactly what kind of juices are you flowing over your popcorn Sis?

[Sister Grace]

I thought it was one of the better video game adaptations, but I could've used more of Pyramid Head. Hell, give that guy his own movie where he just hacks through the psychotic religious fanatics for an hour and a half and I'd probably watch it twice! 

HEAR! HEAR! Same goes for me. Nothing like a good skinnin' to get the juices flowing over popcorn!

Uhm, exactly what kind of juices are you flowing over your popcorn Sis?