On par with Resident Evil, if not slightly better

Rating: 7/10 (24 April 2006)

Saw this last night - my hopes were reasonably moderate given that I'd been looking forward to it since discovering Roger Avary and Christophe Gans were involved, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. That's not to say I thought it was fantastic - there was a fair bit of bad stuff in it, such as Radha Mitchell's unconvincing acting and some of the lines she was given, and the whole Sean Bean part which was tacked on at the studio's "request".
That said, it was very enjoyable, freaky and disturbing enough with a cracking climax, although the end was slightly annoying. A lot of people said they were confused - it's not really that confusing as long as you take a moment to think about who's who and whats happening. Just think of parallel dimensions and manifestations of spirits etc. I have to say the climax (as opposed to the end) was definitely memorable. Also, Gans demonstrates his amazing eye for aesthetics, and the sound design is also excellent. I'd give it 6.5 out of 10 (rounded up to 7) - one of the better game adaptations yet.