Silent Hill

The line of video games being adapted into movies is not a proud one, and one that most Hollywood executives would probably like to forget. Yet, they keep on trying to make them, even though they often have very little to do with the games except for a couple references for the fans (1993's Super Mario Bros.) or they just shouldn't have been put to film in the first place (Anything that includes a credit that reads "Directed by Uwe Boll".) With Silent Hill, we not only have the first movie based on a video game that's worth caring about, but we also have the first horror film released this year that actually made me tense while I was watching it. I found myself sucked into this nightmarish world that director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) has lovingly crafted, and for the two hours or so that the film runs, you are under its spell. The film is far from perfect, thanks to some underdeveloped plotting and some dodgy acting here and there. And some diehard fans will probably moan and groan over some major changes Gans and company have made to the game's storyline. Let the fanboys have their fit, I say. Silent Hill is not a perfect adaptation, but it's a heck of a lot better than any movie based on a video game has a right to be.

When concerned parents, Rose (Radha Mitchell) and Christopher (Sean Bean) Da Silva, start discovering that their adopted daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) is acting strangely, they are not sure what to do. Their young daughter is prone to walking out of the house in the middle of the night in a sleepwalking state, and when they finally catch up with her, she is rolling on the ground seemingly in agony and screaming incoherently about a place called Silent Hill. Not wanting to see her child like this, Rose goes against her husband's wishes, and drives Sharon to the seemingly-deserted town that no one in the surrounding area seems to want to talk about after a great tragedy concerning a fire occurred 30 years ago. Shortly after breaking through the weak barriers that block the main entrance into town, Rose speeds her car through the winding mountain road to her destination, only to be met by a mysterious dark figure crossing the street directly in the path of the car. Swerving to avoid the figure, Rose ends up driving the car off the road, and is unconscious for the rest of the night.

When she finally comes to, she finds herself in the lifeless town of Silent Hill, but there is something immediately wrong. Not only is there no sign of Sharon, her passenger car door left hanging open mysteriously, but a heavy and almost unearthly fog blankets the entire town, and ash-like snow is falling from the sky. The deeper she goes into the town, she discovers even more horrifying sights, such as demons that shouldn't even exist in this world walking the streets, and a vast darkness that seemingly covers over the town at random accompanied by a blaring air raid-like siren as the only warning of its arrival. Rose is able to come across a couple other survivors who are also trapped in this living nightmare including a tough cop named Cybil Bennet (Laurie Holden), a strange old woman who speaks only in riddles named Dahlia (Deborah Kara Unger), and the struggling remains of a bizarre religious cult that make the town their home led by a woman named Christabella (Alice Krige). As Rose slowly unravels the mystery behind this evil town and the sudden disappearance of her daughter, she will come to learn the truth of just what exactly happened so long ago.

The main advantage that Silent Hill has as opposed to some other past failed adaptations such as Doom or Street Fighter is that there is a rich history and a deep, complex story behind the games' storyline that is ideal for movie adaption. The characters in the Silent Hill series are also sometimes surprisingly complex, much more so than the usual "shoot everything that moves" type that so often are featured in games. Screenwriter Roger Avary stumbles a bit in bringing the world to life, due to some unwise choices. The movie does seem to cover a bit too much, and doesn't do enough to explain it to people who have not played the games. Also, he has altered the storyline in some important areas. The character of Dahlia (a major player in the original game that started the franchise) has been reduced to nothing more than a background supporting player for most of the film's running time. The film seems to hold a lot of ideas, more than one movie can allow, and although it never quite brings down the film, you also see a lot of wasted potential. Characters are not as interesting as they could or should be, and the storyline is almost intentionally vague, giving us only the bare minimum that we need to understand. All in all, the script is probably the weakest aspect of Silent Hill, from the dialogue to the somewhat confused plotting that is bound to leave those unfamiliar with the games scratching their heads at some parts.

What saves Silent Hill as a whole is the entire experience of watching the film. The movie is a visionary nightmarish wonder that's bound to delight most genre fans of horror and fantasy. Director Christophe Gans has not only created an unbelievably faithful recreation of the world created in the games, but he has also made it a wondrous thing to behold. There's so much attention to detail that fans can pick up on and make them smile. (Just like in the games, all the street names in the town are named after horror and sci-fi writers.) He also knows how to stage some very nasty horror sequences that will have some squirming, but gorehounds squealing with glee. Take note of the film's R-rating this time around. With numerous sequences of people being ripped apart and graphic depictions of young children being burned alive, this one is not for the squeamish. The film does a great job of not only recreating the world of the games, but making it work in a movie format. So many films based on games seem to fall into the trap of parading monsters and characters from the original franchise so that the fans at the audience can point up at the screen in recognition. Here, the demons seem to be much better worked into the plot, so it doesn't seem so awkward. The many memorable moments contained within this film, including a climax that stands as the best revenge scene since the infamous Prom sequence in Brian De Palma's Carrie, more than make up for any shortcomings the script may suffer from.

The real question then is how will this movie play to those who have no past experience with the video games? That is a trickier question to answer. As a fan, I picked up on all the subtle references, including the music score which seems to be ripped almost completely from the games themselves. In fact, I can count only one or two instances (including a very clever use of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire") where music from the games was not used. Some may think that the decision to score a movie with video game music does not sound appealing in the least, but anyone who has heard the scores by series' composer Akira Yamaoka knows that his music is like nothing else out there. Surprisingly, the score fits the movie to the letter, and does not seem out of place in the least. However, as I mentioned, the plot is a bit too vague in some areas for its own good. I have to choose my words carefully here in order to avoid spoilers, but I thought the source of the demonic child's powers could have been much better explained to those unfamiliar with the series. I think the movie has enough visual expertise and scares to interest fans of horror, and maybe make them want to look up info on the games in order to get the full story. Or some may just be frustrated, and brand the movie a failure. I've been trying to think of how I would react without any knowledge since the movie ended. I think I would have been entertained, but a bit in the dark.

I know this doesn't exactly read like the most glowing of reviews, but really as a fan, I am mostly happy with the final results. The movie is able to perfectly capture the look, style, and essence of the franchise and offers some genuine moments of tension and suspense. Yes, there are some lapses of logic, and a couple moments where the characters seem to act a bit dumber than they really are for the sake of the plot. (If you were involved in a high speed chase on a dangerous mountain road in the middle of the night, would you be fiddling with the radio dial or just turn it off right away?) Silent Hill is a hard movie to judge. It makes enough right moves for me to get behind it, but it still could have been more. I don't know how this will play out to the common filmgoer, but I am proud to say that even with its faults, the film was able to pull me in and enthrall me like no other horror film has in quite a while.

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