Silent Hill: When They Get It Right

Rating: 8/10 (19 October 2006)

Silent Hill, based on one of the many Konami franchises is a video game movie finally done right. Although Resident Evil was quite entertaining and gory, Silent Hill retained a grittiness, paralleling more closely the realities presented in the game itself. I suppose that the halls of the mansion in Resident Evil is what made the game so much fun and is exactly what the movie was missing. It would of been even more fun to relive it again in the movie, had they created a set that was accurate to the blueprint of the game. Silent Hill on the other hand conveyed to the viewer, the same feelings and emotions that the video game produced in the gamer. Not knowing what was down the way; not able to see, guided by only a flicker of light and trying to survive. Of course, it is natural when adapting a game to film to omit certain parts of the game that would make no sense to the average non-gamer. The pterodactyls, for example. Enough said. It is a story of a mother seeking the origins and meaning of her adopted daughter's death-defying, night screams. In an attempt to cure her daughter of her mental illness, and against the wishes of her husband, she takes her daughter to the town she wakes up screaming to every night: Silent Hill an abandoned ghost town that fell victim to an infamous fire. She looses her daughter in the process, amidst a car accident in a high speed chase with a well-minded female deputy, and is swallowed by the beast itself. It is a dangerous goose chase this search for her daughter, as she braves deformed and merciless monsters. Fallowing clues to find her little girl, each clue bringing her closer to danger's harm. And yet, each clue brings her closer to revealing the secret of the purgatory that has engulfed Silent Hill and the Puritan cult that feeds it's evil hunger. If you can appreciate a good scary movie or if you love video games, Silent Hill is required viewing. Another enjoying video game-movie to watch is Doom. Movies to avoid: Dungens & Dragons and Blood Rain. I wonder when they will make Grand Theft Auto The Movie?...