Movie review
Viewed on: Blu-Ray
Released: 2006
I felt it was time to rewatch what I regard as probably the best adaption from videogame to live action movie, all things considered. While it's heavily influenced by the game franchise, it takes liberties to make it a movie I feel can be watched without any prior knowledge to the franchise.
Then again, I could be biased.
I'm realising there's basically zero Silent Hill posts here on my blog too, I used to be a huge fan of the franchise back in the day. Over the years that has faded and last one I played properly was Homecoming back on the Xbox 360. I think it's slowly maybe trickling back. I'll kick off the nostalgia by watching the movies!
Let's take a look!
Playing main leads, as husband and wife, are Radha Mitchell as Rose and, surprisingly, Sean Bean as Christopher. As parents of an adoptive girl, named Sharon, who has reoccurring nightmares about a town called Silent Hill. Rose decides to take her daughter to the abandoned town.
Evacuated 30 years ago, Silent Hill was abandoned when a fire in the coal mines beneath the town broke out. The fires are still burning under the city and the city remains empty. It's a typical Silent Hill setting; this town isn't all what it seems to be as Rose and Sharon enters.
Along the way Rose meets the local cop Cybill Bennet, played convincingly by Laurie Holden as she nails the character from the first Silent Hill game. While Deborah K. Under plays another familiar character; Dahlia Gillespie. I found her whole outfit and appearance a little cheesy and overdone, same goes for the high priestess Christabella of the Brethren cult. Both characters lean close to an over dramatic, b-movie tier. On the other hand, Kim Coates plays an interesting police investigator which tries to aid Christopher in his search for Rose. Not a bad cast overall!
What's obvious is the considerable influence the first game has had on the production; it captures the atmosphere of the Silent Hill town as well as famous scenes, locations and enemies. The haunting alarm that kicks in when the world transitions to dark, is just as effective in the movie as the game.
At the same time, it takes its own path on the main plot to make it more comprehensible for newcomers to the lore. One could argue that the plot will collide with the franchise lore, then again, I feel almost each Silent Hill game is a restart of the experience of the town.
There are clear Silent Hill 2 inspirations too, with the most apparent being Pyramid head as a main enemy, yet it lacks as to why he's there, and some of the other enemy designs. Even a tiny nod with the protagonists crossing between two buildings on a wooden plank!
In a strange twist there's inspiration taken from this movie over to the Silent Hill Homecoming that followed too! Like the gasmask guards with metal pipes, who are from the Brethren cult. Also, the way the world changes from foggy to rusty in realtime with paint ripping off the walls went straight into Homecoming!
Just like the games, the movie doesn't hold back on being graphically violent and scary either. Some of the death scenes are brutal and extremely graphic. Further depicting what a ruthless and grotesque world Silent Hill is. Hopefully viewers not familiar with the franchise find it disturbing and weird, as it should be!
Cleverly, the music from the games is used throughout; the brilliant soundtracks by Akira Yamaoka. They fit perfectly for a movie while at the same time play on the heartstrings of nostalgia for Silent Hill fans. It blends eerie and melancholic, with pianos and guitars brilliantly.
Locations serve a big role to make up a believable Silent Hill and the movie has chosen them wisely. Tapping in on the desolate, mystic and eerie feel of an abandoned town covered in fog with shops and buildings that are recognisable. Sean Bean's story cleverly explains the backdrop of the city, putting into pictures what you used to just read about in notes during the gameplay.
Quite some time has passed since I last saw this, and I see some ageing and downsides in hindsight. While the overall story is fine, it isn't without some cheesy dialogue and scenes. Often related to obvious inserts of reminding people this is about "Silent Hill". Take for isntance the opening scene with Sharon screaming Silent Hill at the top of her voice in a nightmare, it feels on the nose and cringey. Same goes for some of the over dramatic and dressed characters. They lean a little too far towards the generic.
While I complement the environmental use of CGI, like the transition from fog to rust is done with great effect, the overall look of the CGI is dated. It's especially obvious on the various enemies from the games, they look aged with their CGI and lack the finer detail to feel believable to blend in with live action backgrounds. Places where they use people dressed in costumes hold up better, like the room full of nurses for instance.
At the end of the day, I'm still happy with how this movie ended up. It manages to capture the essence of the first game well. It's by no means a masterpiece, you need to watch it with an expectation of a average horror flick, but overall it works well.
As time goes by the first game has become forgotten in the shadow of it's sequel, even so for the franchise in general. With a remake of the first game on the horizon this isn't a bad idea to check out on your watch list to capture the same aesthetic and atmosphere!
The eerie and lonely town of Silent Hill is well executed and the story is interesting to follow, bar some overdone, one dimensional, characters. For game purists it's obvious the script has altered stuff to make it work for the running time of the movie, making it something of its own thing. Chose that as a positive or negative as you please.
If we compare it to Resident Evil Raccoon City, review here, an understated movie in the same vein which nails the environments and atmosphere of the games, it tried to cover a little too many characters and story. Thus, confusing people without relation to the games. Silent Hill, on the other hand, balances this well and ends up as serviceable and enjoyable horror movie on its own just as a movie.
