Very Good , but flawed

Rating: 7/10 (3 May 2006)

I was initially interested in this movie based only on the fact that I was a big fan of Christophe Gan's previous film Brotherhood of the Wolf. So I did have high expectations and I'm glad I read quite a few positive and negative reviews across the net before I finally saw this. So what did I think? Yes I quite enjoyed it, not the best film ever and it does have its flaws. The flaws for me were some of the dialogue was a bit dodgy but it didn't detract too much from the film and Sean Bean's accent-he should have just stuck with his normal English accent as it was all over the place,but his performance was convincing other than that, and I like the way his scenes lead into the end of the film which was subtle and quite a sad ending. The creatures, set design and photography were outstanding for a horror film,the film oozed atmosphere and dread although not outright scary,lets face it I don't think there is barely any horror film nowadays that truly scares me, for me this film really succeeded in drawing me into the world of silent hill and absorbing me into its hellish dark and nasty atmospheric misery. I liked the explanation section of the film,again nicely shot and downright creepy . I think I will need a second viewing as not being a gamer I was a little muddled by some bits and although this did not detract from the quality itself,I see how some people saw this as a reason not to like this film. I would cautiously recommend this to anyone with an open mind who wants to see something that is original,different from the usual teen slasher horror thats out there,you wont be disappointed.