An original thrill-ride thats not without its flaws.

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2006)

Let me start by saying I'm a huge fan of the games,dig the atmosphere and cower away at the scares.So I'm going to be a little biased when i say that overall,i had a real good time watching this.
The story revolves around Rose (mitchell), Chris (bean) and troubled,sleep-walking sprog,Sharon (ferland). Before i had settled in with popcorn in hand,Rose has whisked her child away to the deserted,mist-filled ghost town of silent hill in the hope of finding some kind of cure for Sharons' deteriorating mental condition.
In no time at all,we're treated to the joys of this forbidden place,and believe me,we are plunged in to this place with a number of goodies thrown our way that will make avid fans drool with ever-growing anticipation.We get the "snowing-ash",the mist,music and even sound effects taken directly from the games.Its hellishly gorgeous.
Apart from the main character being female,the first few scenes within silent hill are a carbon copy of the first game.I have to say I've never been more gripped or stunned with the terrifying notion that things are going to become very,very nasty.i mean,as a gamer,seeing all the events unfold on the big screen after years of playing these games,is like reliving my worst nightmare.Its a real feast for the eyes.A siren sounds,and the world is plunged into darkness as it takes hold of everything,including the audience,with it.
As Rose quickly realises that this is no ordinary place,we join her (along with cop-in-pursuit, Cybil (holden)) in a cat-and-mouse chase for her little girl around the town.Scenes travel at break-neck speed as we're quickly swept up in the mystery surrounding the child and how the town came to be.
And that brings me to its flaws.And it has a few,to say the least. First off;the major thing is, to the ordinary cinema-going public,this will confuse the hell out of you.Even fans of the game will find it difficult at times to keep up with the plot as its tossed around in every direction imaginable.It really does go pair-shaped when they begin to explain things.I was thinking, "Just get on with it!" many times.
About half-way through the film,scenes start to drag,characters begin to have longer and more pointless conversations,which kind of makes it feel "top heavy".This becomes even more apparent when we reach the climax,which when compared to the first hour or so, really does seem over a little too quickly.Not to say that its without its merits,i was just left wanting more. Bear in mind that the running time is a shade over two hours,which is a little more than your average horror film.
Possibly the worst part for me was the acting and (forgive me) Roger Averys' script.It stank most of the time. i guess,from Mr.Avery, i was expecting the pulp fiction of horror films. The characters say the most embarrassing things at the most inappropriate times,and it really does smash the effect of a real intense scene sometimes. There are some incredibly hilarious characters in this.Alessa is directly out of Silent hill:The stage show, Claudia is almost humorous as she creeps hunchback-style around the town, Dahlia and her fellow worshippers often look like they're in the wrong place most of the time and some of the extras really did steal a couple of scenes by standing in the background swaying or grimacing away like they cant believe they're in a feature-film.
Rose and Cybill were pretty much up to standard with the script they had to deal with,Sharon is just about creepy enough and as for hubby Chris,well,sorry Sean,but you just as well have stayed out of this one.
But for all its flaws,the flick just had this other-worldly,epic feel that raised it above your normal horror film.Its original,damn creepy,looks AND sounds absolutely amazing and has plenty of gore, action and suspense to keep it afloat. Ill be interested to see what they do with the sequel...
7/10