An incredible adaption, and a truly amazing film

Rating: 7/10 (11 April 2018)

"Silent Hill," directed by Christophe Gans, who manages to build a convincing and believable mythos by giving viewers enough information to ponder and chew on without discouraging them from further research or speculation to find out more, is a consistently interesting and very effective psychological horror film that will keep you locked in and engaged throughout its entire runtime.
The plot is simple: a little girl by the name of Sharon continuously gets horrific nightmares, and while she is sleeping, she screams out the name of a town, named Silent Hill. Her mother, Rose, in an attempt to find out why her daughter keeps having bad dreams while screaming this town's name, decides to take her daughter there.
It's a straightforward premise, but the film's sense of mystery and dread works so well, and the history and world building of the movie is so effective, that you can't help but be completely captivated and wonder what in the world is going to happen next.
One thing that makes this movie very effective is its set design; it truly is spectacular, looking eerie and hellish for the most part, but full of life when it needs to be. However, what really makes the set design so fantastic is the way the film utilizes it for its visual storytelling. For example, at one point Rose visits an abandoned school that stands dusty and derelict, but on the inside is rich in its history and visual storytelling. Religious quotes preaching vengeance are engraved in the wall of the school, the word "witch" is carved on the surface of a student's desk, and a dead janitor is found tied up with barbed wire inside of a bathroom stall, his body twisted and contorted in impossible ways. These sights, taken separately, are all sickening in their own right, and they will make your stomach churn, but you'll find yourself unwilling to look away because of the wealth of information about the town that you'll be getting from witnessing them. However, once these things combine together to form coherency, that is when your blood will really start to boil as the horrifying truth about Silent Hill comes to light.
When it comes to storytelling in general, though, "Silent Hill" starts to falter. The way that the stories are conveyed by the clever use of setting and of the different images that are being shown is smart as it lets the audience slowly piece together the story and come to their own conclusions about what is going on. If the film would have left it at that, it would've been a brilliant example of a movie where viewers actually have to watch attentively and pay close attention to what they are being shown if they want to grasp the narrative and understand the story. "Silent Hill" feeds us information little by little, in such a way that you really wouldn't know what you are seeing is important until after you've already seen the film, and this is a good thing, as it encourages further viewings to pick up on things that you wouldn't have noticed or fully understood the first time. Unfortunately, one scene of obvious exposition does take you out of the film, as it comes completely out of nowhere and doesn't fit into the method of storytelling that the film was previously conveying. The information that is being explained is necessary for viewers to understand the story, but such a jarring scene should've been kept on the cutting room floor and it really does feel like the producers pushed the director to put that scene in, because it goes against the clever visual storytelling that every scene prior has. But, this was a major studio release, and without the exposition the audience would most likely not have understood what was going on, but it does feel mildly insulting that the studio didn't think that the audience could've figured things out on their own.
While there is the exposition scene that is incredibly jarring and, in this reviewer's opinion, unnecessary, and some cringe inducing dialogue and spotty acting, these things do not detract from the unique horror experience that this film offers. "Silent Hill" is a very effective psychological horror film that utilizes clever visual storytelling and that isn't afraid to demand its audience to pay attention and think while they are witnessing the events unfold. If you're looking for a film that crawls under your skin, sickens your stomach, and builds a sense of mystery within you that will keep you invested and guessing throughout, then look no further than "Silent Hill."