An ode to the games, in every way.

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2006)

First off, let me say that I've played Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 4: The Room and absolutely loved every minute of them. Could this influence my enjoyment of the movie? Absolutely, and guess what, that's why I like it so much.
This movie is almost an ode to gamers that have played the Silent Hill games, and that really makes me want to thank the makers of this movie. I don't believe game to movie translations should be for everybody, if they're done correctly. Real fans of this movie can walk away relieved, this truly is something of a translation from one screen to another.
The first half of the movie had me floored. Why? Because it's seriously like you're watching one of the games in movie form. People who haven't played the games may not like this so much, because it throws them off a little. The monsters are incredibly well done and very unnerving. I would say that most of the horror tension is gone in the second half of the movie, though, which actually isn't so bad, it's the same way with the games, you just get used to the "horror" and get more caught up in the story.
The only real problems in the movie involve dialogue. Specifically in a major scene before the end, the dialogue seems very forced and somewhat superficial. I don't know if it's because of poor acting or if the writing was just slightly off in this spot, but for some reason it doesn't work as it could have.
As for the ending, don't expect every loose end to be tied up. If you've played the games, you wouldn't be expecting such an ending anyway. Yet, I don't understand why so many people have trouble understanding the movie. Pretty much everything involving the world is explained in one way or another. If anything, I think there may have been a little too much explanation, but not overly so.
Overall, this movie does exactly what it should. It follows the formula for the videogames almost perfectly. Any real fan of the games will probably enjoy the movie, though it's not perfect. Personally, I want to watch it again, and again after that. This movie is not for everybody, and that's what I love about it. You can't argue with people who didn't like it because, they just don't GET it. I know every time I saw one of the monsters from the games I wanted to jump up and cheer. However, I'm sure there will be fans of the games that don't quite love this movie. As I've said, it has it's problems, but in it's entirety I think it's a great translation from game to movie, the best I've ever seen in fact. It manages to keep the atmosphere, the style, the creepiness, and the very formula that creates the games, something that no other video game movie has been able to pull off in the least bit (Resident Evil and Doom failed at this MISERABLY).
Don't go to see this expecting a perfect movie, but expect something like an ode to the videogames, heck, it may even add to your enjoyment of the series.
I'm giving this an 8 out of ten only because of the problems with dialogue, and some of the game formula didn't work as well as it possibly could have when translated to the screen.