Some people have no taste...

Rating: 9/10 (7 September 2006)

First of all, I will clearly mark WHEN the spoilers will begin, so until you see SPOILER ALERT do not worry.
Silent Hill is a series of video games that I have LONG been a fan of. I love every in and out of each game, every aspect and concept, I adore the whole basic idea. The atmosphere, the psychological effect, the symbolism... it's all brilliant. At first word of a film I was both incredibly excited and fearful, seeing as how several movies based on video games are very lousy, but when I watched the film I was astonished...
Despite what I had expect, this was not it. I had expected it to be a good movie on its own but pretty lousy in transition with the games, but...
This movie is amazing. While it must be created in a way somewhat different from the games for the audiences who have not played them (so that they'll understand), it still keeps the feel and essence of the video games.
Silent Hill, as a film, does have its problems, so those, first and foremost, is what I shall cover. I had three specific problems with this film, and no others.
SPOILER ALERT -The change in names and basic characters. While I understand that they had to have a main character in town so that it could help explain the plot a little more, and for the transition of the two separate worlds, using the mother instead of the father was unnecessary. All fans of the game wanted to see Harry Mason looking for his child, not his 'wife'. See, these characters also aren't Masons, but similar people with new names, Da Silva I believe. Sharon's name in the game was Cheryl, her father was searching for her, and the mother had died. I didn't mind this MUCH, but I felt it wasn't needed.
-There should have been more creatures involved. I would have liked to see a few more of the straightjackets (for those of you who don't know, that would be the creature that Cybil first sees, the one cast as "the Armless Man" that spits acid at her), I'd of liked to see the Grey Children in the school, that or the ghosts, and I'd of liked to see a little more of the Janitor. The creatures were extremely well done, very creepy, and true to the game for the most part, but needed to be more involved in the second half. Once you meet a creature, it's only in that scene, and then gone.
-Finally, (Red)Pyramid Head. Pyramid Head is my favourite character out of pretty much any movie or game, at least in the top three. He's brilliant, but half of his brilliance is due to his placement and meaning in SH2. He was an incredibly symbolic creature with deep meaning directed toward James, and only James. He was great in the film, but he needed more purpose, in the movie he just sort of played the ultimate creature rather than a symbolic daemon of guilt. Also, since he was placed in the movie he needed to be a little more involved. I liked what he did, when he kills Anna by skinning her... that was brilliant. I liked him disappearing where he did, but I'd of loved to see him appear in an entanglement of barbed wire at the end and just run forward and begin to hack people in half. In the entire movie he never kills anyone using his blade, which is somewhat strange.
Aside from all of this, the film was more of an addition to the series rather than a copy, really. You have to watch it as if it were just another movie, and NOT Silent Hill. Think of the Silent Hill creatures and cast as a cameo.
Some of the things I ADORED were: -The ending. Many people hated it, but if you EVER beat a Silent Hill game they never have 'happy' endings, or complete endings. They are always vague and confusing, and leave you wondering. That's exactly what the film did and it was BRILLIANT. The time before that,when the action slows down and it talks about the past, the part where people say it gets boring, is explaining a very in-depth, and creepy storyline that really amplifies the feel to the film.
-The atmosphere. Everything about the town and the creatures had the exact same feel as the game. The camera was the same way, where it's abstract, sometimes tilted or in weird locations, and pans with the character from far away or above. The design and layout of the town is very dark and gloomy, just like the game, as well as the movements of the creatures.
I could go on. I give this film a 10/10. I'm sorry, but it was a astonishing movie, the best I've seen in a very long time and the best I've ever seen of its genre. No horror or suspense is NEARLY as good. You have to be a deep person to appreciate it, and you can't be closed-minded.