It was good. Not as good as the games but I don't think any film could be.

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2006)

It was an intelligent interpretation of the games and it fleshed out a lot of the ideas without losing too much mystery.
Cast: Very good. People have complained about Tanya Allen's performance but I thought she was great. Her character seemed very child-like as if she stopped developing after the fire, cocooned in the cult's embrace. Laurie and Radha were good together, bringing an interesting emotionality to the world. Sean Bean's accent wobbled occasionally but he was otherwise okay. I really liked that the lighting and make-up were not used to hide all of the wrinkles and flaws in the actor's faces. The characters in the games don't have perfect faces and this makes them more real (and more interesting to look at). I'm glad they carried this across to the movie.
Setting/atmos: The foggy world didn't feel quite like the games. I'm not sure why but for me it just didn't conjure quite the same feelings. The darkness, however, was spot on! It felt 100% Silent Hill and perhaps even had a bit of an edge that is lacking in the games.
Monsters: Great! Nice combination of live-action, CG and speed changes. The sequence with the grey children at the start is superb! PH is terrifying.
Story: More stuff is brought to the front and the mystery suffers. It is quite clear what is going on a bit too early. There are many things left unanswered and ambiguous which is good. On the positive side they have taken and made excellent use of the religious ideas of the games. The blind (and deaf) faith of the cult is terrifying and believable. There is a moral ambiguity that is very unsettling.
Climax/ending: The climax of the film is gruesome and wonderful. It feels very Silent Hill. The ending is very interesting and will spawn many discussions and interpretations. I really liked it. I felt it captured the feel of some of the scenes in SH2.
Conclusion: I enjoyed this film a lot. It didn't completely capture the world of SH but it was still bloody good. I'm really glad Christophe and pals were in charge of this film and I would be thrilled if they made a sequel.
Not all fans will like it. Some people will be so excited about seeing it that they could only be disappointed. Some people will miss Harry and grumble about every difference. Some will have exposed themselves to so many spoilers that there are no surprises left. Some will worry too much about what other people think of the films (I think that many non-fans will be left a bit confused). But I think most will be really glad that the film comes as close as it does to being silent hill.