Freaky Enough to Make Me Happy. Sequel, Please.

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2006)

The early reviews are already in, and it's absolutely no surprise that all these aging, mostly white, mostly male film "critics" are tearing into this movie for making no sense. I take their word on the film no more than I would take that of my parents. It isn't for them.
"Silent Hill" is a horror movie, but not the kind most of us are used to; where the Big Scary Deformed Killer spends 90 minutes slashing up teens. If this film has any cinematic precursor (other than the games, which are very cinematic on their own), it would be "The Exorcist" ... where the film isn't a constant onslaught of fear or images, but has several valleys and peaks on its way to a climax that is more emotionally powerful than visually stunning (though I think SH might have done both... though the result is far, far less powerful than The Exorcist).
The audience isn't supposed to know what is happening any more than the characters do. The audience is not supposed to know what these things are, where they are, what they see. I was a bit annoyed that the two female leads (Rose and Cybil) didn't communicate more once they realized what they were facing, and more so that whatever terrifying image Rose would see, she would be completely emotionally recovered in the very next scene. There was zero growth to her character, which means she isn't the protagonist. Unless she = us, but that's if you're reaching.
Despite these trifles, and despite a staggeringly weak ending, the meat of the film is terrifying and creepier than any CGI-effect or masked killer. I haven't played the games, merely asked a lot of questions in the weeks before the films release-- and I still had no trouble understanding anything before me, or at least understanding it as well as the very confused lead characters.
"Silent Hill" is a vision of Hell that is more real and compelling than anything I've ever seen... though admittedly, I'm not a 50-something fat white guy who writes movie reviews for a living. Thank God.