Good, but something's missing...

Rating: Null/10 (24 April 2006)

I adore SH games, and I enjoyed the film. Especially in this foggy night of north London, which coincides with the atmosphere in the game.
But there is something missing in this film adaptation. SH horror is fundamentally based on psychological aspects toward heaven and hell inspired from film Jacob's Ladder, blended with Demonology and dark American folklore flavours. The filmmakers paid a lot attentions on the look and camera work to re-create game-play stimulation, but missed out the suspenseful sound effects and the true essence of the game - the ambiguity relations between characters and monsters, the hidden puzzles of mysterious Silent Hill nature, and the dark humour towards the whole insanity, those made the game appealing. Besides a cinema experience would never be the same as a single player gaming experience, therefore the film seemed less shocking nor scary for me.
Nevertheless I think the film is still pretty enjoyable. I also respect it as a filmmaker's contribution to the original SH story, appears to be intriguing and entertaining. Although I felt that Yamaoka should have composed a new set of soundtracks instead of using all the songs from the game series.