A very pleasant surprise!

Rating: 8/10 (16 September 2006)

I am stunned. I watched this movie with a younger female friend who had already seen it, and just said it was "really scary!" (but then, she's the type that has to hide her face for the scary bits ;). I'm a life long gamer, and all gamers have come to expect VG-movies to be either very very bad, or quite corny and superficial. So I was kinda expecting another "cash cow" movie. But one must keep an open mind - so I did.
There are way to few movies out there that portray an ominous eerie setting the way Silent Hill does. The first scenes in the town of Silent Hill are just as beautifully serene as they are spooky, and simply left me amazed. Instead of littering the movie with "cheap" shocks, there's that feeling of "oooh..sh*t" that gets to me in a much more effective way. Not having played the Silent Hill games, I didn't know what to expect from the plot - so I just sat back and enjoyed it.
The movie makes some strong comments on the major religions, and without giving away the wonderfully "slow, steady build-up" plot, it was a true pleasure to see a relatively mainstream popular genre and movie make such a strong argument. Your own fear of "Evil" might just lead you to create that very evil, and have it come back to bite you. An old Danish saying goes "He who digs a grave for someone else, might wind up falling into it himself".
I warmly recommend both strongly religious people - as well as atheists and others that might have an opinion on western religions - go watch this movie and enjoy what is not only a very well made horror-movie, but also a bold comment on what dangers lie hidden in the human psychology. It's not Schindlers List, but it's well worth watching - especially if you're a bit tired of all the typical teen-slash movies that dominate the genre.
If you're a fan of a well made horror movie, do not miss out on Silent Hill. I'm already looking for a Collectors Edition DVD - this one is worth watching again!