Effective adaptation of a great video game series

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2006)

All of the Silent Hill games have done an excellent job of pulling me into the game through the use of superb story writing, ambient sound effects/music and creepy environments. The movie achieves all of these things almost as well as the games.
As I had predicted before even seeing the movie, I didn't feel quite as drawn into the "World" of Silent Hill on the big screen as I was with the games. I think this was due mainly to the fact that they're cramming 10+ hours of story/action into 2 hours worth of footage- not to mention the fact that the passive nature of sitting and watching the events unfold instead of actively taking part and interacting with the story/environment are two very different ways to experience something. The movie went by too quick for the amount of plot they were trying to convey, which could cause viewers not already initiated with the games to become confused with everything that is happening (and those who are to not be able to follow along with and process the information as well).
This does not, however, mean that people who are not familiar with the games won't enjoy this movie- it still has all the elements of a great horror/thriller and ties together (sort of) the plots of a few of the games well enough to stand on it's own. I'm really not a big fan of CGI in horror films so I was relieved to hear that a good deal of the monsters were just actors in latex/makeup which really added to the eerie feel and look of the creatures which was a wise decision, as most of the monsters in the games were either based around human forms or had human-like qualities to them. The scenes that did use heavy CGI, notably the outside of the town with the thick layer of fog and during the "Nightmare World" transition phases were portrayed in just the right way so as to capture the essence of the town that those who have played the games before have come to know and love from the series.
The acting/dialogue isn't the greatest, but the characters really don't make or break the film. It's the strange goings-on in the town and all of the chaos that ensues that drive the story of the movie, whereas in the games the story is mainly driven by the characters' gradual and differing involvement in the town and how they relate to what is going on in the town- where across the 4 games, Silent Hill can be and mean different things to the different characters.
Another drawback to not having played the games before seeing the films is the lack of understanding for the different monsters and the symbolism they represent, which you can really only fully grasp from playing through the games and understanding what they have to do with the rest of the story instead of just being shown as a "weird creatures that want to kill", as in the film.
The film did an excellent job of unfolding the story (changing some elements of the game stories just enough to make it seem fresh) and had enough plot twists and surprises to keep me interested and guessing what would happen up until the very end. And of course, leaving a good chunk of the plot open-ended to make room for individual interpretation that the games are known for (though unfortunately you can't re-watch the movie to see the different paths the characters take to lead them to different endings) which could leave some, as my friend Tyler had said after seeing it, "W.T.F?!".
I told him to play the games, which ironically he says go too slow for his liking, whereas I feel the movie went too fast for mine. Ah well, whether you've played the games to death or not at all the movie won't disappoint for fans of the genre.