SH = BD (big disappointment)

Rating: 5/10 (22 April 2006)

I had such high hopes for this movie. Whenever I saw the previews I was like, "Wow that actually looks like it's pretty good!" After seeing the movie though, I have a feeling people in love with the game will love the movie just because they'll be like, "I remember that from the game," but for most others it'll be very lackluster.
This is kind of proof to me that what makes a good video game does not necessarily make a good movie. In a video game you can really immerse yourself in the scene, you *are* the character, and you're "living" this horror. You get to choose where you go (sort of), what you do (sort of), and you have to figure things out for yourself.. sort of. The music in a video game just enhances your own adventure and emotions rather than guides them. You can also get away with crazy monsters because, well, it's a video game!
These same rules don't apply to movies, however the makers of Silent Hill tried to make it as video-gameish as they could. When watching something from 3rd person instead of experiencing it in 1st person, you need that extra "oomph" to put you in the scene. That extra "oomph" was never added, and that's a major reason why the movie will fall flat to about 90% of viewers. (I'm pretty certain most viewers who have run out to see the film after being out for one day are fans of the game.)
You're never really given the opportunity to get "into" the film. The music only assists in being an annoyance rather than a motivator. The shift in settings ends up making the film seem disjointed and messy, rather than dynamic and interesting. The CGI effects end up looking silly and laughable, rather than frightening. (I'm not a huge fan of CGI in movies anyways, but it really hurts this film because it shows such a huge contrast between CGI and non-CGI moments.)
The acting is also quite painful in some areas. The little girl is more like a soap opera actress than a movie star. She was so unconvincing that it made me not take her seriously at all. Also, there were some extras that looked like they really needed some better direction. I felt like I was watching a made-for-TV drama at times...
Anyways, there were just better ways to do things to make this film work, like hiring a new sound guy, a new director, new writers, new editors, better actors, possibly a new cinematographer... see what I'm getting at here? It's just boring, silly, and disappointing... save your money and rent it on PPV. I would have rather them made a great movie loosely based on a video game than a so-so movie greatly based on a video game.