A horror movie fan's wet dream

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2006)

First of all I have to say that I've only played the SH1 game, so I'm not as knowledgeable about the whole SH mythos as others.
I tried going into the movie with the most objective attitude possible, which was very difficult since I loved SH1 and played it all the way to the end.
No doubt about it, Silent HIll is a dark movie with a layered plot. However, I don't see why so many people have said that they couldn't understand it. IF you were paying attention throughout the entire movie, there's nothing in it that's not understandable by the end. It's obvious why Rose is looking for her daughter, it's obvious that the daughter has a mysterious past the parents don't know about because she's adopted, it's obvious what's going on with Rose's husband Christopher and why their paths don't cross much, and the ending is self-explanatory, even if you haven't played the game. Of course, it's not Halloween or Friday the 13th, which in my opinion have very linear plots and spell everything out for you. Like I said, it's layered. You have to read between the lines and think a little bit about what's going on.
Silent Hill, the movie, is mostly a visual experience. It could almost be understood without any dialogue, but I don't mean that in a bad way. It's a stunning film that had my eyes glued to the screen the whole time (I almost didn't want to sip my drink so as to not block the screen.) The acting is top-notch. Pyramid Head (one of the SH gamers' favorite creatures) only appears twice, but both appearances are worth their weight in gold (or should I say, blood). It almost fully recreates the atmosphere of the game (and I say almost because there's really no replacing that first-person, interactive experience you get in a video game); however some gore and violence could keep people who are not hardcore horror movie lovers or averse to blood and disturbing images from liking it.
Only one possible drawback, and I hope I'm wrong on this, but the lack of a major male character in the movie could hurt it at the box office. Sean Bean's role can hardly be called a leading one, as he appears more sporadically and for less time than many of the women in supporting roles.
That aside, Jodelle owns the role of Sharon Da Silva. I also like Alice Krige as Christabella. She portrays the role of insane religious fanatic very well and the ending of her character is as good as it gets in an R-rated horror movie.
Atmosphere, good acting, good direction, intelligent plot with a message, gore and violence, emotional situations and frightening revelations, this movie is the complete package for the discerning horror movie fan.
All in all a very satisfying movie. I'd give it a 10 in the genre, and an 8 overall, so I'm splitting the difference to a 9.
P.S. Support the "WE WANT MORE R-RATED HORROR MOVIES" campaign! Go see it!