A faithful adaptation

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2006)

I walked into Silent Hill this morning with many preconceived notions in my head. The characters should be this, and the town should look like that, and the story should convey both salvation and damnation at the same time. Luckily, the film contains a balance of the elements I expected and new additions to the Silent Hill mythology I'd hoped for. There are times when the movie deviates from the focus of your attention, causing a bit of a lull and a desire to return to the action. If Silent Hill were solely meant to be a horror flick, such respites would be unwelcome. In this case, however, they are necessary to flesh out the story. At its core, Silent Hill is meant to be a psychological journey. The macabre imagery is meant to augment the experience--not sustain it. Though I believe the underlying mystery of the town could have been explained a bit further, the movie remained true to the game in leaving you to figure out some things for yourself. Using the music from the games was an excellent decision and the entire atmosphere of the film is spot on. There are even a few humorous moments and subtle nods to fans of the series. Overall I was very impressed and believe this film to be the most faithful and well done game-to-movie adaptation that I've seen.