Visually Brilliant-yet muddled and confusing

Rating: 7/10 (20 March 2010)

The Silent Hill games are one of those works of fiction that I hold in a remarkably high esteem. Even being someone who doesn't frequent gaming, the Silent Hill series is and remains to be the only video games I ever loved so dearly and proof to me that Video games could achieve a level of art. Insult it and if I didn't have the composure that I do, I would probably scold you with unrelenting fervor. But you insult the film. I might join in. Because the 2006 film that bears the name "Silent Hill" fails to live up to its namesake and only marginally makes it as a film itself
The film can be forgiven for quite a lot. I found the visuals beyond brilliant. Every monster design was rendered wonderfully. Thankfully, most of it is not CGI,making it more natural and also bizarrely elegant. The town maintained an aura of isolation early on. And the first 20 minutes is a perfect translation of the subject matter. BUT....
We come to the problem that a good portion of it doesn't make a lick of sense. Silent Hill is a series that is built on ambiguity. It's stories are based almost entirely upon the context clues and subtle hints picked up through the countless hours of exploration. Good for a video game. It can be achieved in film,but it isn't done here. Most of the film consists of running here and then there and this offers next to no story development outside of "holy CRAP what was that!".While its actual plot is revealed to us towards the end in a remarkably lazy way. It presents its monsters one after another like a nightmarish catwalk. One scene quite literally has a group of distorted bubble-head nurses standing there; followed by them walking in unison while they twitch and convulse almost as if they are preparing for a dance routine. What is also confusing is that a good portion of the creatures have a complex meaning fused to them and their design in the game series. Having little to do with the story and characters in this film. This may not bother the casual viewer but to people more familiar with the games,it'll seem like a hodgepodge of characters thrown in for the obligatory fan service.
The acting in the film is a bit iffy. Most do their job. Some don't even need to be in the film.The performance by Jodelle Ferland irked me. Which is odd considering this girl is a brilliant actress. But her double roll as the mandatory creepy girls seem forced. As if she is straining herself to the ends of the earth to try and be that creepy little girl complete with the voice and everything; Which just comes across as rather goofy rather then its intention of being creepy.
All and all,the film is plagued by its ambition.Its by no means a lazy production. You can see the directer is passionate about the subject matter,but some of the heart of the series is lost in the process. The director veered just too far off the mark with story and pacing-trying to translate the subject matter yet at the same time trying to do something new which made it seem more like an attempted imitation. Its not one of those films that are awful-but rather one of those films that was up to its eyeballs in potential but failed to meet that potential.Its worth seeing for it does have the occasional interesting bits. But still, it is only OK.