Silent Hill Have Eyes of Bewilderment!

Rating: 3/10 (16 February 2019)

I have a feeling quite a few young people will see this movie given their ever growing interest in horror films and video games, and even a good portion of 25-30 year olds will make their way to the theatre since the game made its debut on the Playstation system back in 1998. Not only will people be disappointed with the film, they will be leaving the theatre with knots in their stomach, moments from regurgitating their popcorn or other movie snack. The violence is so graphic that you just have to wonder what's next in terms of gore. I thought Even Horizon (1997) was graphic, grisly, horrific (not to mention brimmed with demonism), but Silent Hill somehow exceeds this. There are mutilations, children being burned alive, contorted and bloody disfigurements, moments of barbaric hedonism, rotting corpses, and so forth. To be entirely truthful, the story itself is not very interesting or involving, but credit must be given to a revelation at about the 90-minute mark. It is a flashback sequence explaining things in a manner that makes some things clear but it is too little too late. At the end, I wondered why Sean Bean would even be involved, but was even more bewildered by the acting performance of Rahda Mitchell, who is essentially the weight of the film appearing mostly solo onscreen. I am very easy on actors, but her voice is not commanding enough for important passages in the film. She also talks to herself in a regular voice, instead of "thinking out loud" as any natural person would do alone. In one sequence, she evades a cop by speeding, and when she is picked up later and arrested, she unconvincingly bellows, "What did I do!"