Yes! No wait, No!

Rating: 6/10 (24 April 2006)

Synopsis:
A mother who is worried about her daughter and her recent bizarre behavior which includes the mention of a town by the name of Silent Hill, desires to take her there in the hopes that once she gets there they will be able to help her. Her husband is less inclined to go and openly states that he believes it will not hold the answer to their daughter's problems. Against his wishes, she goes anyway and once they arrive, the young girl goes missing.
Silent Hill is based off of one of the most scary game series of all time (My sister and friends like watching me play the second and first ones which held, in my opinion, the most cinematic quality to grace a video game. Especially the second one). And as such, it seemed only natural to create a movie adaptation of the game to really expose it to the world. However, there are a few points which need bringing up.
Pros:
If you are a player of the game and have enjoyed it, you will doubtlessly be entranced by the way in which the game stays faithful to the atmosphere. The streets which are clouded by a dense fog whilst ash rains down from the sky like a cruel mockery of snow is artfully brilliant and does well to replace the actual snow in the Playstation video game. Everything feels deserted and empty, making one feel very alone. You may even recognize the same eerie camera angles towards the beginning of the film when our protagonist reaches the actual town of Silent Hill. Monsters that were in the game that are also in the movie remain faithful to their original design (Subtle but noticeable changes are apparent, sometimes in design, other times in behavior). The change from a male protagonist to a female one is reasoned very well (As the male protagonist in the game was very maternal towards the care of his daughter).
If you're not a player of the game (Released by Konami), you will still be able to greatly appreciate the horrifying atmosphere, terrifying monsters, and wonderfully executed sound effects (They also the very excellently composed music from the game, which is used notably). Acting is pretty good, with my largest gripes being the inartistic use of the F word a couple times (Yes, you can use the F word artistically).
The first half of the film is excellent and oozes potential and possibility, even if it begins a little less subtly from an artistic point of film-making. The most gripe I had about the beginning was the rather tepid use of dialog. Not great, but not cheesy and frown inducing either. It all runs fine and well and keep you intrigued until the middle, which brings us to...
Cons:
I tried, VERY hard to remember that this was going to be a movie with it's flaws, and would undoubtedly deviate from the games story in a few ways. I try to look at things from both angles before and after making a judgment in any way.
If you haven't played the game, it seems like they lost sight of what made the first half, and even Silent Hill in general, such a place of horrifying intrigue. Any emotion that was in the first half is lost in the second. Characters react unbelievably to their current situations more in the last half than the first, and their acting seems to have taken a large blow. Cliché's pop up more than a few times (In scenarios which characters find themselves and dialog), and gradually, the film goes downhill with a few positive moments to distract. The pacing is a bit off, with a bit of a shallow, unimaginative explanation and ending. It seems as if those who wrote and directed the movie were getting a little to comfortable with their creative license.
Players of the game will note the cameos made, but will find them lacking. Where the game had little explanation of the events which transpired in the game (though had enough clues to piece everything together), the movies will explain everything in thorough detail toward the decent-at-best climax. The storyline is also changed to a point where it feels like just a huge cliché' and not something which was put a great deal of thought into. And again, some incredibly unrealistic reactions from characters, especially ones in torturous and life threatening situations (you'll know when you see it). A very special monster character is dropped halfway through the movie, and it leaves bits and pieces left unaccounted for. I felt only distantly sympathetic towards the heroine close to the end rather than the beginning.
By the end of the movie, you may be going, "Umm, okay... What the heck? Why'd they do that?" Which is sad, given the great first half. The only reason I personally would want to see a sequel, is to tie up loose ends and rectify acting and storytelling flaws which keep this from being a simply great horror movie, while keeping the same elements such as the atmosphere and the ambiance that made it great. As both a person who watches movies and has played the game, I am built up and then let down.
I still love Silent Hill, even if my faith in it's foundations is now a bit more shaken and cracked than they once were.