It has it's weak moments, but by the end you'll leave astounded.

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2006)

As a small preface: I am one of the most sarcastic, critical people on the face of this earth. Even when I'm a fan of something, I'll tear it to shreds. This November's RENT comes to mind.
But Silent Hill was definitely an experience. It had its weak points. It did have some bad dialog. And it did have some very blatant plot devices. But good lord, at the end will you ever walk away stunned. And I think that -- more than anything is the point.
The good: The visuals. Good lord, the visuals were absolutely amazing. Every character design, creature manifestation, and set were of the highest caliber. Silent Hill did create Hell. It was Hell. And it was a damn fine looking horror film. Bar none. If you want atmosphere, this film has it in droves. DROVES.
And really, that's it. The visuals make this movie, and they make it in every possible way. But really -- this isn't a drama, or a comedy, or action, or mystery. This is horror. Raw, suspenseful horror. And what more is there to horror than the visuals? Not much. Acting -- great for the genre. Script? Wobbly, but it worked. And that's about it.
There are a few negatives that are ham-fisted and did bug me throughout:
1. The OVERUSE of music! I know Director Gans wanted to use music from the games. And the music from the games is of high quality and very good. But there must have been 30 or so tracks squeezed into this flick -- most of it was ill-placed, and ridiculously short. Shot of Rose running from point A to point B: cue 15 seconds of random Silent Hill music track. It was suffocating and broke the tension of being alone in a ghost town.
2. Speaking of breaking the tension: the inane husband/Christopher subplot. It felt as though a producer said "We need subplots! And Men!" and tacked this in. Right as you were getting gripped into the terror of Rose's journey, it would cutaway to her husband searching for her, or looking through archived files. It would have made more sense for Rose herself to find some archive or record. Given that the town is some ethereal ghost-realm, it doesn't seem so out of place for a file to appear for Rose (and the audience) to piece it all together.
One gripping scene in the school was just butchered through the juxtaposition of the husband side-plot. Rose encounters one of the most -- if not the most -- terrifying creature in the film, and the tension is broken by splicing it with Christopher. AND there was ill-fit music for the scene, to boot.
3. Anna, the walking plot device (among others). The time devoted to the husband side-plot could have been better devoted to Rose uncovering the mystery herself. Some cryptic clues in the school transform into grandiose posturing and needless plot exposition. The character of Anna is worthless in this film, and her lines are so forcibly developed to introduce the film's religious base that it destroys much credibility.
Those are the three main gripes with the film -- most of which stem from just the overuse of loud, ill-placed music and the devotion on the side-plot: which seems more a studio decision rather than that of the scripter or director. Though I may be wrong.
The plot is cryptic, but followable. Forced, but man, it comes together in the end. And for the gamers who feel it was ruined: cry me a river. Silent Hill 3 was a tragedy of storytelling, not Silent Hill the film. The film improved upon this by droves: and Deborah Kara Unger's Dahlia was fabulous.
See this film. You will walk away dazed by the visuals. However, if you're going in a critic, there is enough to mock and not enjoy yourself. Do what I did: go alone, delve into the atmosphere, and by the end you will be absolutely stunned.
It earns every bit of its 9/10 for the horror genre.