Pure enjoyment for SIlent Hill fans and viewers with brains

Rating: 8/10 (8 September 2008)

I have just read some bad reviews about this movie and marked them as "not useful", because ALL of them have one thing in common - all the reviewers which gave bad ratings didn’t have any idea of what are they dealing with - they haven’t understand the movie and story IN GENERAL. And how can a misunderstood opinion be useful?
I'm a big fan of Silent Hill universe due to the rich depth and symbolism and music as well + due to mysterious-industrial-artistic look and scariness in general. I have played all the video games from this franchise and I must say, that the first part is my favourite. And this movie is based upon 1st and 3rd part of the game series.
In movie we have absolutely brilliantly done visuals and cinematography, which are held so closely to the original. Looking at this makes me to confirm that the Cristophe is a true fan of the Silent Hill game and a very talented director! This is a combination that serves as a good salmiakki for me - I cannot imagine greater pleasure.
I do find this movie to be a brilliant adaptation of amazingly brilliant video-game series under the same name, of course. In this movie all the key elements are kept true and alive. We do have multiple mirrored realities, we do have a brilliant story, which is like a puzzle itself, we do have some meaningful creatures (monsters) and we do have all the aesthetic values of the game franchise. Everything is done right. But it is not some kind of rip-off. We do have here some experimentation and interpretation from the movie crew. And even these off-roads are kept true to the aura and sense of Silent Hill. AND WE DO HAVE CREEPS AND SCARES AND THE TRUE SPIRIT OF SILENT HILL.
But if all the key elements are kept here, why do some people gave (and will give) extremely bad ratings and reviews? I think that it’s because that they did not see the depth of the story, didn't see the symbolism of creatures and actions (in story) in the movie. But, if they did see some of these elements - they didn’t understand them.
And you just cannot appreciate and enjoy the things, which you haven’t noticed or understand (with exceptions). So, if you do have negative opinion of this movie, I suggest you to open your mind, to be symbolism-tolerant, to run away from your stereotypes (it's OK that the main protagonist is a female - it doesn't affect the storyline) and to be open and able to think and accept the interpretations done by the Cristophe and writer, especially, if you are a fan of the Silent Hill games.
Be open-minded and try to accept those few well-done innovations and turns, and explanations.
Silent Hill is a form of art, which can be enjoyed at its best, when completely understood. And YOU MUST use your brain to achieve the complete understanding. Believe me - there are no holes or gaps in the story, there are plenty of hidden clues instead, given to you to create your own interpretation. This isn't a cheap Teen Slash where you get the story from 5 minutes. This is a puzzle, which may take multiple view-times to combine all the hidden clues and hints. And this is the spirit, transformed directly from game to movie. Excellent job!!!
Masterpiece, which will make you to use your brain – if you have any!