Never played the games and I still thought the movie was really good. I was pleasantly surprised and have gathered my thoughts for a review.

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2006)

I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. The main reason I liked it so much was because of the amazing sound quality, the fact that I didn't need to have played the game to understand it, and seeing some of the most gruesome acts known to occur in a movie. When I was watching the movie I could feel the suspense with each passing moment almost to the point where I was going to burst. The sound effects and music created an ambiance that was truly horrific (scary, not bad) and it felt like each moment would exponentially increase the main character's terror factor.
Without going into spoilers, I can give you the plot's breakdown. It goes very deep and just as you believe you understand the main aspect of it, the true situation is revealed to you in a very descriptive manner. It can be a little complicated and you may have to dwell on it to understand it (I had to explain the final pieces to my friends) but you do not need to have played any of the games to understand it. I know this because I never have.
I will say this, if you are not a fan of people getting totally "owned" then you may want to shut your eyes for some parts. It has some intense scenes of horrific violence and gore. I loved every second of it (I'm not sadistic either, I just like to see people get what's coming to them) and it reset the bar for "Things I do not want to happen to me when I die." I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and have recommended it to many of my other friends. I believe most of the critics have no respect for video games and want to see any movie based from a game tank in the box office. I, for the most part, do not care where the story for a movie comes from as long as I am entertained.
If you're not into horror movies, don't like to see people get ridiculously devastated, or are not a fan of suspense then I do not believe I would recommend this movie to you.
If you do like the opposite of the previous paragraph and can go into the movie with an open mind then I believe you'll get a lot out of this movie. Silent Hill, in my opinion, is the best video game adaptation movie (again, I have no idea how true to the game it is and I do not care, I am merely speaking from a theatrical point of view) that I have ever seen. The fact that people have compared this movie to some of Uwe Boll's theatrical abortions just goes to show that they have no grasp of criticism.
I hope this review is helpful in making your decision as to whether you'd enjoy this movie or not. Some may not like it and that's fine with me. Just remember, you never learn anything from somebody who agrees with you.