My Favorite Movie this Year... so far.

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2006)

"Silent Hill" ***1/2(Three and a half stars out of four)
Rated R: Strong horror violence and gore, disturbing images, and some language.
Reviewed by: Andrew Goodman
I love this movie! To me, it is the best movie this year... so far, and it is definitely the best "VIDEO-GAME-TO-MOVIE" EVER MADE!
It starts out with Rose (Rahda Mitchell), and her husband, Chris (Sean Bean) searching desperately for their daughter who has gone for a midnight stroll in her sleep. Rose eventually finds her and saves her from taking a deadly flying leap. Sharon, Rose and Chris' daughter (while still asleep), starts screaming the name, "SILENT HILL! SILENT HILL!" This, to me, was the only cheesily delivered line in the film. Sharon has done this many times before, and Rose can't take it any more. So Rose and Sharon take a trip to the hellish town of Silent Hill...
After I saw this movie, I was so jazzed that all I could do was talk about it. I was so relieved that it wasn't a retarded "video-game-to-movie" movie. Everything was so perfect! The music was perfect (straight from the games, and some have been re-recorded with real instruments!), the photography was perfect (they used many crane shots to mimic those of the games, and some scenes are almost shot for shot identical to the video game), the acting was perfect (except for the very beginning. The "Silent Hill! Silent Hill!" was kind of weak), the dark nature of the games is intact, the occult religion is just like the games, and the disturbing images are not held back.
The movie filled a lot of the plot holes that the games have, when you see the movie you'll know what I mean. It was also VERY intense. It almost has you cowering right from the beginning. The first time that I really got scared was when Cybil and Rose first see the Patient Demon. Cybil kills it, and then looks up a hill next to her to see another one coming.
The film, however, is not without its flaws. With a running time of 2 hours and 5 minutes, many people thought it was on the long side, but it didn't feel that way to me. There were definitely some "unneeded" scenes though, such as those with Chris (Sean Bean). Originally, Gans and Avary had an all women cast for the film, but after the studio read the screenplay, they were told to add in another character that was male. The scenes with Chris, while interesting, didn't add anything to the filmÂ… except a longer running time. This is the main reason I took off half a star from my rating.
I am a huge fan of the games, so naturally I loved it, but it's not for everybody. Many might think it's too in-descriptive, too long, too violent, or that it doesn't have a strong enough plot or script. Many film critics are discrediting this movie as being just that, but they are just one point of view. The kind of point of view that prefers the sappy drama/feel good/Oscar contender's type of movie. Don't listen to the media! If you like the games, or are just a fan of horror movies, then go see this movie! Draw your own conclusions of the film.
If you are like me, then once you finish seeing "Silent Hill" for the first time, you'll want to go buy another ticket and see the movie again!
I hope you enjoy the film. Later, Dark