Desperation and creepiness are the words of the day

Rating: 10/10 (21 April 2006)

Throughout the development process of this movie I'd often find myself wondering just how they could possibly recreate the atmosphere and desperation that is intrinsic to each silent hill game(save for 4). Even as I stepped foot into the theater I retained the mindset that there is no possible way that this movie could stir such continuous dread from the viewer as the game did from the player.
Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. Silent Hill, in so many words, is an experience. A 'roller coaster' if you will. Once the movie starts it grabs hold of your heart and squeezes ever so tightly until the end. This is mainly achieved by the fact that IT HAS NO SCARES. Not one. This allows the movie, instead of going from high tension to low tension and back and forth like average American horror, to maintain the tension throughout the movie. You may then ask, however, "If there's no scares then where is the tension coming from?" The answer to that is silent hill replaces scares with pure desperation. The main character Rose, who by the way is portrayed amazingly by Mitchell, is faced with insurmountable horrors and odds that just keep piling higher and higher without letting up. There is no safe zone, no sanctuary in numbers, no comedy relief.
I believe that this movie addresses the problem that has been prevalent in American horror. Both the directors and the audience think that pop up scares and musical buildups are a prerequisite to any good horror movie. I have seen this view exasperated by all the reviews that have been coming up about this movie. All complain that there are no scares. The thing is, there are absolutely no scares in the game AT ALL, so in the successful spirit of the game there is none in the movie. The game runs on constant tension and desperation to enthrall the player, not jump scares that last a half a second.
The reason why this movie deserves praise is that it achieves fear and dread in the viewer without resorting to cheap thrills.
The movie is not completely without faults, however. The parts in which the husband is present mainly serve to give the viewer a break from the constant buildup of tension and are wholly in my opinion unnecessary and detract from the immersion of movie. They could have put across the necessary plot points in the confines of silent hill. Another point is the flaws in the plot itself. While still good it lends itself a bit too much to those who are already familiar with the games.
All in all a must see horror movie and hopefully a step forward to end the recent chain of horror movies that rely on the recycled garbage system put forth and used by thousands of cookie cutter movies before it.