A horror movie for women.

Rating: 7/10 (22 April 2006)

SILENT HILL'S STORY started out decent, sort of got better as the main character discovered Silent Hill and its secrets, but went downhill (storywise) in the last half of the movie, lame, unoriginal, laughable twists. The story reminded me of a game (not a good game-to-movie adaptation). The main character in the movie spent time memorizing a map, much like a game, and had mini-goals to get to and solve small puzzles (even her evil-sidekick lookalike daughter said that).
The story had subplots which were interesting. There's the burned girl who sought revenge for the last 30 years, the witch who had to keep "evil" at bay, but ultimately failed her goal, and the father who failed to find his family. All of these subplots were driven by the mother who made the choice to bring her daughter to Silent Hill, but switched to the little girl who drove the movie, as the mother took a backseat, trying to find her daughter while discovering Silent Hill's past. So the mother initiated the whole story, but the daughter was the catalyst (unwillingly). The story changes when the mother realizes that she'll never find her daughter unless she confronts the dark evil. She makes the decision to find her daughter from another approach, side with evil. (But who is really the enemy then?) It all comes down to witches burning innocent people to purify their religion, but their mistake cost the town of Silent Hill.
THE DIALOGUE: It was laughable at times. It suggests that the characters aren't very bright with lines like, "There must have been a big fire," minutes after they're walking through a scorched building. It pulls you out of the movie at those times. None of the characters felt rounded.
MISE EN SCENE: It was amazing. It's better than Doom. It's the kind of experience that I expected from Doom, but never got. The choice of lighting, make-up, costume, sets, camera angles, all combined to create some unforgettable scenes. Some of the gory parts reminded me of Hellraiser. This was the highlight of the film. Lots of gore! A burning body, past mutilations left and right, a girl is skinned alive with one pull of the skin! A handful of dismemberment, plus there must have been a thousand different kinds of blood sprays! But...
CHARACTERS: This is a woman's horror movie! All of the main characters are women. The movie cuts to scenes of the husband, searching for his wife and daughter, but most of this is filler, he has no significant purpose. His actions have no great consequence. The protagonist, her sidekick, the antagonist, all the troubled characters who seek revenge, THEY'RE ALL WOMEN! The husband comes off as a bumbling, not very gutsy, stuck in the dark character, with no change by the end of the film. The mother, sidekick, daughter, the evil witch, all were controlling figures. They were the driving force of the movie. Go women, you rock!
So, hopefully you've found why you should watch Silent Hill or why you should avoid seeing it.