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If it is one Hollywood crossover that is getting rather tiresome, it has to be the video game adaptation to film. I’m still waiting for the day some Hollywood executive stands up and says “I want to make a movie based on Gain Ground” which was my favorite coin-op game of all time. It was sort of a high-tech ‘Gauntlet’, the latter of which is a sleeping giant, when it comes to the threat of video games to theatrical films. It’s just a matter of time. As far as PC games go, I’ve yet to actually play one that has been, or will be, turned into a film. I have not played ‘Silent Hill’ the PC videogame. What attracted me to the film was the talent behind it- director Christophe Gans, co-writer Roger Avery, and some of the actors. I think that the fans of the game will also come, but the measuring stick of a film like this is that if a non-gaming audience can get hooked into the film. ‘Silent Hill’ succeeds on this level…sort of.
‘Hill’ gets moving quickly in establishing the plot, that Rose (Radha Mitchell) is facing a nightmare: her daughter Sharon is having extreme sleeping disorders, and Sharon mentions a place called Silent Hill, which is not too far away. When her daughter’s sleepwalking gets too far out of hand, Rose wants answers. She takes Sharon to Silent Hill without discussing things with her husband, played by Sean Bean. Finding Silent Hill isn’t easy: it is considered to be haunted, (really?) it is deserted due to a mining accident which made the place nearly unihabitable. Many people died in that accident in the early 70′s, and a few whackos who abduct children go there and dump them in gaping wells, or so we hear. The place itself is deemed a heath risk; most roads have been repaved leading to the town. Once in Silent Hill, Rose, after eluding a suspcious cop, is in an accident. When she wakes up, Sharon is gone off in the deserted town which rains an endless snow like ash. During her search, she will surely run into the cop Cybil again, but in the interior and exterior town maze, she will also come face to face with zombie like things, man eating stink bugs, a monster who can rip off a person’s skin like one removes a coat after coming out of the cold, and a Jim Jones-y religious cult who seemingly has single handedly ressurrected the Salem Witch trials. That’s just for starters. In the meantime, her hubby follows her paper trail, and learns more about Silent Hill through local news items and Google, and the local cops try to help as much as possible, but then it’s found out that Rose’s adopted daughter is a splitting image of a dead girl from Silent Hill. Oh no!
There are quite a number of things to like about the film, but I’ll get to those in a minute. First, I want to tell you everything which I didn’t like about the movie. Let’s just get to the main problem: the film could have lost ten or fifteen minutes, because the film is just a few minutes over two hours. I don’t mind getting more bang for the buck, but everything was done and said under two hours. The last ten minutes is milked way too much, and then, after the film is done, the question of the subplot (which was okay) is was it needed at all? While Rose walks around the ash-laden Silent Hill, calling for her daughter, “Sharon” “Shar?” “Shar!” it goes into ‘Friday The 13th’ territory where the biggest stretches of dialog are calling out a person’s name. It does not help if the audio mix is so booming that when Rose says ‘Sharrrr!” it sounds like “Shit”. There is also the case where a person or persons, it is revealed, are important to the spirits out for revenge. Yet the bad spirits try to kill them too, which sort of defeats the purpose.
I think that Gans may have put too much in, overwhelming the viewer with ghoulish sight and sound; and the tired old hat of children in jeopardy gets tiresome quickly. In fact, considering what happened to the main ghost, her orgins are both heavy handed and extreme in visual content. Yes, there have been ghouls and gargoyles galore to this point, but I felt a bit uneasy watching the depiction of children. living and dead, being burned alive or about to be burned alive. It is a hard ladder to climb. It is also important to remember, other than the involvement of Gans and Avery, the producers of “Resident Evil” are also behind the scenes. Perhaps this explains Cybil, the cop played by the talented Laurie Holden. Last year in ‘Fantastic Four’ she was running out in the street in a bathrobe; now here she is: a motorcycle cop with hot, tight leather pants and walks less like a traffic cop and more like a runway model, swinging her hips. The only question I soon asked myself in the theatre wasn’t how good the FX were, but rather, between Radha and Laurie, which one I would want to make out with first. In of itself, that may not be a bad thing about the film, but when I think back to the last ‘Resident Evil’ and the actresses in tight mini-skirts while fighting off the hounds of hell, I wonder. Well, Debbie Kay Unger isn’t bad looking of an actress, and she’s decked out in this drab unkempt makeup; so maybe there’s no connection. No, Laurie’s hot black leather dominatrix cop pants just makes the film a joke. Meanwhile, Radha has this low cut blouse…at least the cleavage showing nurse ghouls don’t get your mind on sex. I also thought the Jim Jones-y cult led by Alice Krige to go a bit far and becoming more annoying by the minute. So let’s now shift to what’s good about “Silent Hill”.
The bloody disgusting creature effects are well done. Really well done. Creepy and repulsive, if you are a fan of the game, I’m sure you will get your fix. If you are not, it helps to be a fan of John Carpenter’s “The Thing” and “In The Mouth Of Madness” or perhaps Clive Barker’s “Hellraiser”. The gorefest with lethal barbed wire at the end is buckets of blood galore. Splatterpunk has returned with a vengeance. I loved the reverse ash effects, that was nice. I liked the rules that were pretty much stuck to. I did like the mystery and creepiness of the film. The ghoul nurses and this bad dude with a humongous sword are strong highlights of the film. I liked Radha’s Rose, and I did wind up liking Laurie’s Cybil, hot Matrix-y cop leather and all, even if at first her character can’t be taken seriously.
There is a twist in the film, which is spelled out midway through, I didn’t mind much, but the surprise wasn’t there as it was intended to be. I’m sort of split here. Few surprises, but lots of shock. Interesting world, but very little suspense. Since this is far better than any of Uwe Boll’s or Paul WS Anderson’s works, and it is a pretty decent creature feature with the funhouse of ghouls, what the film set out to do, it succeeded.
But several questions remained, plot holes never explained. Satisfaction only comes in the creature feature and production design. Laurie’s tight leather pants too..
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Silent Hill
Directed by: Christophe Gans
Starring Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean , Alice Krige and Laurie Holden.
Darren Seeley (184 posts)Fave directors include David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Michael Mann, Anique Faqua, Walter Hill, John Carpenter, John Woo and James Cameron. An aspiring screenwriter, I wrote several spec scripts (platform: Final Draft) that I occasionally submit to contests, Inktip, and workshop through peer review sites like Triggerstreet and Zoetrope. I have attended The Austin Film Festival and Heart Of Screenwriters Conference in 2001 and 2002. CoP marks my third go around as an internet film reviewer of sorts. My previous film hub haunts were 'Dark Universe' and, most notably, 'The Projector Booth'. Location: MI,USA.
23 Comments
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ok i dont get what happened… like why is Christopher at Silent Hill and its all color and normal looking and stuff…but when you see Rose’s side its all ash and stuff? like did she die or something? and if she died then whats the whole thing about…their dead…are they in some kind of limbo? i mean i didnt play the video games so i guess thats why im so lost…but can someone just…get back to me? haha thanks…
-Bex
Comment by Rebecca — Mon May 1, 2006 @ 2:18I didn’t play the game, but it was my understanding in the film that Rose and Cybil during thier ‘chase’ may have crossed over into an alternate realm/reality. I cannot say they ‘died’, because that would make no sense (nor is it a spolier) given that, let’s say the cops and Christopher never found the bodies. Fine. Why can’t they find the car or the bike?
In a spirit realm, are guns supposed to work? Flashlights? Lighters?
So, despite the silly cheat ending, it was my understanding that the characters were stuck in an alternate ‘reality’, sort of like the Mirror/Mirror Universe in “Star Trek”.
Comment by Darren Seeley — Mon May 1, 2006 @ 3:57woah!!! the game was really scary but i dont think the movie was that scary…
Comment by pozzy — Mon May 1, 2006 @ 10:07im thinking that the mesh gate that led into silent hill was in fact the ‘doorway’ into psyci of sharons alter ego, the bad part. that was trapped, so they crossed over…. but to where? now they were ‘there’ and solved the puzzle.. they never actually return… only thinking they have. bad shaz also returns with them…. can anyone else sense a sequal???
Comment by markiestarby — Sun May 14, 2006 @ 3:51*****Warning, my comment contains spoilers for the Silent Hill series.*****
A sequel to that piece of crap would actually kill what’s left of my respect for cinema in general.
PLEASE! the games were, as far as I am concerned, the BEST ever. Forget Half-Life, forget Ico, forget anything that has to do with Resident Evil or any game for that matter… play Silent Hill.
The serie is the very best for various reasons:
- while you play those games, it’s genuine fear that tears from your skin pores, not sweat
- The storylines were wickedly satisfying
- the gameplay is marvelous, well balanced and FUN
Now the movie… it sucked ass because the only things it had in common with the games are the name and the graphics.
In the games, the town is not run by a religous crazed cult derived from catholics but by devil-worshipers, as we learn in the 3rd game. They abducted children and trained them to become more or less food for their divine master, satan. They never actually mention satan but one can easily guess…
The idea in the game is always to travel to silent hill to discover the past of a character. In the second, for example, you learn that james killed his wife out of despair. she, of course, comes back to avenge herself.
I agree, the little girl went there for a similar reason but the fact is… no one cares about her. yes she’s a good actor, but hey, she’s a little girl that ressembles another little girl that died by the hands of the freaky bastards.
By the way, anyone recognized the scene from Monty Python’s quest for the holy grail in Silent Hill, when the villagersd want to burn the hot blonde? LOL that was just stoopid.
So, the “game to movie” genre has to end fast before they debase games like Halo or Castlevania… ooops… too late…
Comment by argonnas — Fri July 14, 2006 @ 7:04I think you were too nice to this movie Darren. Sure, some of the special effects were neat but they don’t substitute good old fashioned suspense.
And I dare say, SOME of the effects were neat. A lot of times, I knew they were standing in front of a green screen. John Carpenter’s “The Thing” blows this movie out of the water! This movie isn’t even in the same league.
Comment by Jose — Sun August 27, 2006 @ 6:11Well, Jose, of course, when you compare “Hill” to John Carpenter’s “Thing”. But upon reflection, I think “Hill” owes a slight bit to another Carpenter film, “In The Mouth Of Madness”, which I watched again recently.
Comment by Darren Seeley — Mon August 28, 2006 @ 5:12Hi everybody!
Silent Hill has never been about action or running around shooting things; doing that would effectively destroy what made Silent Hill so darn creepy and great. In many ways, RE4 proved that you can’t have it both ways; the game simply didn’t have the atmosphere of the previous games and the gameplay got incredibly repetitive. In my humble opinion, I think the major reason for RE4′s drastic changes was because Capcom was in a financial slump at the time due to a string of high-profile flops and needed something that would appeal to Joe Average more than their fanbase. Not to mention Mikami’s less-than-intelligent prospect of releasing the remake of Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero only on the GameCube also contributed to the misguided notion that people were getting tired of the series when, the low sales of those two games can be attributed to being on a third-place machine.
I know that Silent Hill 0rigins is using an over-the-shoulder perspective, but I’m banking on it purely as a design choice considering the game is being released on a handheld. I still doubt that Konami would be silly enough to blantantly rip-off RE4 when each and every Silent Hill game has sold quite well on its own. I doubt money would be an issue since they also create the Metal Gear games, which is practically a liscense to print money.
Comment by digital-camera — Fri September 22, 2006 @ 15:26Hey Everybody! * WARNING! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE, DON’T READ THIS! IT HAS SPOILERS!!!*
I watched the movie Silent Hill and it is now my favorite movie of all! I absoulutely love that movie, and I loved the awesome ending! It left me soooo confused, yet it almost made me cry because I realized that Rose and “Sharon” AKA Alessa was never gonna see Christopher again because they were stuck in that stupid Silent Hill world! But, what scared me was the bathroom scene in the school! With that weirdo guy with the barbed wire wrapped around his eyes! Now THAT scared me! Anyways, if you have seen the movie, and if you think that it is just GREAT leave a little comment thing under this one! I’m gonna come back here and check it!
I was just reading all the comments and stuff and some people had some questions. Ofcourse people answered them, but I know most of the stuff here! ( No offense to all of those people who answered their questions because they probably got all the answers right! So no offense!)
I have played every single one of the Silent Hill games! I know all there is to know about Silent Hill. Heck, I even downloaded the music off the movie onto my MP3 because I thought it was sooo cool! I LOVE SILENT HILL! IT EVEN FREAKS MYSELF OUT! ANYWAYS….
I know some people had questions about how Chris was all in color, and Rose was all in ash and dullness? It’s because she chose Sharon to be her daughter, and once she and Sharon entered the world of “Silent Hill”, there was no turning back. They’ll be stuck in that little demention forever! In my own opinion, I’d never take my kid to a place like that anyways ( for obvious reasons! LOL ) And… I know this has nothing to do with what were talking about here, but those people who have “claimed” to see the movie, say that she used an axe to kill the demon things. That’s not true! There is not ONE PART in that movie where Rose uses an axe! I just wanted to clear that up! Anyone that has questions, just comment under this one and I’LL answer them! Anyone that agrees with me or Disagree’s, just give me a shout out under here! & if any of you people who think that they are sooo smart, and wanna prove me wrong ( which you won’t ) comment under here… Bye!
Comment by Lindsey — Fri September 29, 2006 @ 23:19Lindsey
Lin, if you read the comments, then you know that not one of them suggested Sharon used an axe to kill a demon. I reread my review; I didn’t even say that. So in this respect, you have already been proven wrong. Furthermore, let’s say some person who seen the film swore she did use an axe – that does not mean that person didn’t see the film, it only means that they were mistaken.
And yes, I did edit your two comments into one.
Comment by Darren Seeley — Sat September 30, 2006 @ 0:10Ha, well…yes! I know that no one said it, but I hate it when they said that they’ve seen the movie, and she uses and axe, and they swear up and down that they know everything about it, and they end up being wrong. I never said that anyone that has left comments have ever said that. I’m talking about people on my bus! Anyways.. yes! Anyone, comment me back soon!
Comment by Lindsey- again! — Sun October 1, 2006 @ 20:49Lindsey
I just watched this stupid movie again! ( I use the term stupid as in cool! ) OMG I think I’m addicted! LOL
Comment by Lindsey- again! — Wed October 4, 2006 @ 17:37Lindsey
Hello everyone! More people need to come on here and leave comments for me to respond to. Come one people! LOL
Comment by Lindsey- again! — Sat October 7, 2006 @ 3:21Lindsey
Apparently you want to hear yourself alot.
I thought this movie was great. I played every game and by substance they are better than the RE-games. Much more depth.
This movie is one of the best (I think the best) game-to-movie adaptation ever. Not so hard, because there aren’t much of them with quality. Resident Evil 1 was good enough and 2 was enjoyable. Even the Mortal Kombats were enjoyable. Nice in style with the games.
Silent Hill had great atmosphere, set design and creature execution; good acting; probably the most important: the changes made for the film were good and respectful to the games. I didn’t mind at all the changes they made. Nice explanation for the Sirene (although in the game it comes after the Otherworld).
I hope the sequel will discard this movie and uses the story of James Sunderland. That one has much depth about the psyche of the main character, but has nothing to do with the myth of Silent Hill, like the other 3 parts.
Lindsey, what’s your take on this?
Comment by Putsimodo — Tue October 10, 2006 @ 12:52Hey guy’s
Comment by Juan — Fri October 13, 2006 @ 2:53Sorry to all of you that say this movie is good and addicting. IT REALLY BLOWS!!!! The directors and producers of turning games into movies should really stick to the game story line. That’s how they’ll make money and that’s how they won’t ruin the fun in the games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill. This movie was really confusing it had no point. Rose and that little girl might of well just died. This movie is so stupid it’s making me mad!!!!
I’ll kill you
Comment by Lindsey- again! — Sat October 14, 2006 @ 3:46i loved the game…as well as the movie…but not sure how they both tied in together i mean was this part 1 …2 or 3…now wait fo yall go callin me dumb just explain to me how…and i must say ….i felt like i was watchin some one play the game when i was watchin the movie…so job well done and my boyfriend who dont even play games (well maddan but that dont count) loved it
Comment by smoke — Sat October 14, 2006 @ 23:16Lindsey you wanted to explain this movie to someone so bad and I need someone to explain it to me so if u can email me lambo240@hotmail.com
Comment by Steven — Mon October 23, 2006 @ 10:46Hello everyone, i’m gonna keep it short and sweet.
Comment by frank — Tue January 2, 2007 @ 16:42They were dead from the minute they crashed.
Well, I don’t think they died when they crashed. But that’s just my point of view, you may be right.
Comment by Lindsey — Thu May 3, 2007 @ 3:16Addressing Ms Lindsey [last name omitted, substituted with "ye'fuck pole smoking cock inhaler]
Dear Ms Lindsey Ye’Fuck Pole Smoking Cock Inhaler,
It has recently come to our attention that you are a self righteous bitch. This is shown by your repeating, unceasing, and continuous disregard for the opinions of anyone/anything that is not yourself. As such, we have reason to believe that you invalidate the opinions of others because they argue a point that is equally valid as your own, because you cannot maintain the intellectual capacity required to continue an intelligent discourse, and as a result, resort to childish and profane attempts at rebuttal including, but not limited to, you post as of October 14, 2006 @ 3:46pm
“I’ll kill you” – Lindsey Ye’fuck Pole Smoking Cock Inhaler
Here at Nettiquetesolutions, we are firm believers in the free expression of equal and fair opinions within the artifice of the internet. You, however, do not seem to share this view, and we believe we have found the reason why. In a brief investigation of your personage, we have a discovered that you are in fact a young woman of promiscuous intent, who’s entire diet seems to consist of the male sexual organs of the various partners you, your mother, and your pet dog seem to enjoy sharing simultaneously while emerged in a large vat of olive oil.
Furthermore, we have confirmed that you have repeatedly posted replies to your own posts. This, from an internet based standpoint, constitutes an act comparable to talking to yourself. In addition to obviously calling your own mental stability into question, I would like to further add that you are, in accordance to paragraph 5, subsection 86a of our acceptable usage of internet forums policy
“a waste of life and space, who consumes resources that could be better spent anywhere else on the face of the planet, to whom the act of threading a section of razor wire through your mouth and out your anus, then flossing yourself to death would be a glorification of your undeserving, unloved, wasteful, and desolate life”
As such, the Nettiquetesoltions teams recommendation towards the dealings of you and your somewhat less than satisfactory approach to basic communications over the internet is that you, at the first reasonable opportunity to do so, promptly fornicate yourself with a sharp, barbed, rusty pole until you rupture your stomach, then promptly die of a mixture of internal haemorraging and genital tetanus.
Yours with the deepest condolences at your continued existence
Comment by Mr Johnathon H.Q. Smith — Tue March 11, 2008 @ 4:30Mr Johnathon H.Q. Smith,
CEO, Nettiquetesolustions ltd
only an idiot wouldnt know that they were dead at the moment they crashed!!!! thats why they were in the alternate world bla bla bla…it was so obvious! the moment they crashed i knew they were dead! the story was not that twisting! lol, play the game^^ its scary!! hehehehe=p
Comment by pozzy — Sat March 15, 2008 @ 12:09only an idiot wouldnt know that they were dead at the moment they crashed!!!! thats why they were in the alternate world bla bla bla…it was so obvious! the moment they crashed i knew they were dead! the story was not that twisting! lol, play the game^^ its scary!! hehehehe=p
…………………………………………
Comment by Yea — Tue March 25, 2008 @ 4:57Fuck you