I'm kicking myself for watching it

Rating: 1/10 (11 February 2007)

Had I known this movie was based on a video game, I would never have watched it, but sadly, I wasted a couple of hours on this drivel on DVD.
The story starts with an anxiety-ridden family whose young daughter sleepwalks. Before the audience can understand more of the family dynamics, the mother and the daughter are on their way to Silent Hill, where the girl quickly disappears after a minor car accident. The rest is a series of CG action scenes with some live actors in them.
I do know there are quite a few movies whose main attraction is CG. So why am I picking on this one? Because I watched it. I also know there are many movie-goers who enjoy movies packed with special effects. I may be an old school, but I like movies with the characters I can empathize with or love to hate. And I truly appreciate fine acting whether on-stage or on the big screen. In my opinion, the movies, in which actors become peripherals to almighty CG and FX, are an insult to the actors and producers who devote their lives to this art form. While watching Silent Hill, my phone rang. I usually pause whatever the video I'm watching to answer the phone, but this time, I couldn't care less about the movie or its characters, let it play on and enjoyed a fifteen-minute conversation with my friend more than what was on the TV screen.
About the ending: it does remind me of a short science fiction about a young mother and her albino baby. Somehow they are transported to a different dimension, and the woman's husband frantically tries to bring them back; however, as he is pulling them back to this world, the invisible portal closes. While the husband ages over the following years, the 'portrait' of the mother and child (they are halfway in this world but the rest remains elsewhere) that hangs in the air remains unchanged looking content with each other's company. Although the story was short and labeled as science fiction, I loved it because it dealt with human emotions--sorrow, shame, relief. Compared to it, the ending of Silent Hill was trite, almost an afterthought.
I've been telling my friends that the movie makers in Hollywood nowadays are an unimaginative lot churning out remakes, sequels, prequels and movies based on comic books and old TV shows. Some of them may be in the alternate reality believing the audience would embrace a movie like Silent Hill.