A genuine effort to satisfy the fans of the games.

Rating: 9/10 (28 April 2006)

As a fan of all of the Silent Hill games, with their complex plots, disturbing visuals and gritty action sequences, at first I had a pessimistic outlook when I learned that a film adaptation was on its way.
I was pleasantly surprised by Gans' effort to capture the first game's plot line and include certain parts of its successors, as all of the scenery was beautifully assembled with great care.
In terms of visuals and especially soundtrack, "Silent Hill" is very impressive. Even if you are not a fan of the games I would still recommend you have a look at this if you desire a genuine horror film with unrelenting scenes of violence, gore and characters' psychological torment.
The plot is mildly ambiguous in places, but a carefully added explanation is added to enlighten newcomers to the unique story of "Silent Hill". Another let-down is parts of the script, yet these mistakes are mercifully few and far between. The only error which contributed to my vote slipping was Sean Bean's character, as in terms of relevance to the story and a believable accent, he is very much sidelined.
Apart from these shortcomings, this film lived up to my high expectations and I would gladly re-live the cinematic experience in the near future.
It pleases me greatly that a video game adaptation has made it to the top of the US box office, and that it remains loyal to the source material, unlike Paul W. S. Anderson's horrendously abstract production of "Resident Evil".
Overall a strong 8/10