A gritty, unique, horror movie that will take viewers through the darkness that is Silent Hill

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2006)

To begin, I was lucky enough to not be impacted by the string of bad reviews by the critics when I seen it. When going to the film I was hoping for a good movie, though I was a bit worried considering it was being kept from screeners.
My background on the games is limited; I have played the first three but never got close to completing them (which I hope to do sometime). so I don't' believe I was impacted much at all by the game's story or really how well this matched up to the games. Anyway, enough talk, let me get on with the review.
It wasn't a movie you could shut your brain off while watching, since it was full of so much symbolism and allowed you to answer some of the questions (the ending was great, in that it was open to interpretation without feeling tacked on for shock value). The important "protagonist" character deaths were limited to only one main character dieing, and that scene will stick with me for a long while. That was one of the creepiest sequences I've seen in awhile. Also what the cultists did to Analese when she was a child was truly a disturbing cinema moment.
The atmosphere was superb throughout the movie, with some of the best creature designs I've seen in awhile. Towards the beginning, where the sirens start and things turn black, was a tense moment which snowballed when the demonic children started attacking. This really stuck with me, along with the appearances of Pyramid Head and his roaches. I've read that some people laughed during the "nurse demon" scene, but I did not view it that way, it was yet another tense moment along with the end "Battle".
One knock I did have against the film was the dialogue (mainly acting) along with many of the character reactions being slightly off base. It seemed at times the main character would be scared when she shouldn't be yet in others she is screaming when it didn't fit with what was going on and what happened.
Besides that, I thought the plot worked great within the context of the movie, it was strange and gripping, at least it was for me. I've had very little experience with the games (they are kind of on the back burner for now), and had no trouble with the plot, which was brought together decently towards the end. The plot was no more video gamey than many Japanese horror movies, and that is ignoring the fact that even if the movie was close to the game, that the game seemingly lends itself quite well to a movie (at least from the basics I know of) To conclude, if you are looking for a film that hands you all the answers, or are looking for top notch acting, this is not your film. Also, like the games, if you want "boo" scares, you should look elsewhere, there are a couple but this film is mainly full of psychological scares. Even with my complaints about the movie, I do not understand the bad press it has been getting from critics; it is a relatively smart horror with some of the strangest and creepiest atmosphere I've ever encountered. I suppose it isn't for everyone, but I do think you should give it a shot if you are the least bit interested in a psychological horror. So that is why I enjoyed the film.
Overall 7.5 (I am forced to take off points for the sometimes campy acting, and for it being a bit too long).