For better or worse, the first literal video game to film adaption thats out there...

Rating: 8/10 (25 April 2006)

Like I said, this film, with all its faults, is the first literal film adaption of a video game. Let me explain. The movie has been accused of many things; being overly-long, having bad acting, having abysmal dialog, being too confusing. That's just to name a few. Fans of the games will certainly recognize certain parts of these qualities in the film. Being a strong fan and supporter of the franchise (even the bastard child that is Silent Hill 4), I didn't realize at first what the filmmakers had done with this film. They have essentially created a Silent Hill video game thats plays out on the screen. All the great things about the games are there; the interesting if not somewhat inexplicable story line, the depth and history and metaphor to the design of nearly every element to the story and characters and creatures, the creepy and original atmosphere of all the different dimensions that embody the town, and etc.
Something that fans of the series, but naysayers of the movie, have failed to point out is that all the faults of the film are elements of the game. Some point out that the characters don't seem to react realistically to the goings-on that occur in the film. This is true of the games as well (ex. Silent Hill 3's Heather and her encounter with the terrifying boss monster Leonard, she seems completely unphased by the sheer horrific scene that she's in), while sometimes the people in the games do react with strong emotions to certain things, a lot of the time they fail to find the horror in their situations. Some say they don't get the story. Again, most people have to jump on to gamefaqs.net to read the countless plot analysis that exist for the series of games to fully grasp what's happening in the undercurrent of the story. That is part of the Silent Hill charm; it provides something that fans can analyze and dissect and try to explain, even when the game may be designed to be unexplainable in some instances.
I assure you, those familiar with the games, watch the film again keeping all the elements (both good and bad) of the games in mind and you will find that for better or worse, it is a true adaption. For the rest of you, I think you're probably $hit out of luck. Overall, I give it an 8/10.