Silent Hill...My personal opinion!

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2006)

As a hard-core SH game fan, I must start off by saying this movie does an amazing job re-creating the element and atmosphere of the game. Gans truly had a vision and I understand exactly where he was coming from. I am going to try my hardest to make a decent review so that both, SH gamers and the common movie-goer will get some type of idea.
PROS: The element and atmosphere came out really good on the screen. The fog and environment was nothing short of amazing, in my opinion. I got that same ol' unsettled feeling watching the movie, as I did when I first played the games.
Original Plot. I've seen others ranting and raving about how the plot is weak and flawed. I just don't see it. I have never seen a movie like this, nor a plot that would even come close. Even if you don't like the plot, everything else in the Silent Hill movie is sure to make up for it. I've also heard that Sean Bean's character in the movie serves no purpose, but I think it does. It breaks the movie up right when you're ready for a change. It also explains a lot about the town and shows that Rose and Cybil are in a completely different realm than Christopher or everybody else for that matter. Sean Bean's parts kept me guessing and helped me understand everything a little more.
The acting was very credible. Rahda Mitchell did an excellent job and I would also say that the other actors did a fine job themselves, although there were a few (very few) scenes where it was a little weak. It's really hard to find a good horror/suspense flick with acting that isn't dreadful.
The creatures were also done extremely well. They looked great and definitely freaked me out. Honestly, I've been hesitant to walk in a dark room ever since I watched it.
Forget scary...this movie is down right disturbing and unsettling. The climax was, by far, the most horrific think I think I've ever seen in a movie, and I've seen a lot of horror/suspense movies. The feeling you get is unexplainable.
The music was well done. Arranged by the same composer that did the games. It helped create the feel, without a doubt. It changes in each room and keeps you guessing. I've read other reviews with people saying that the music got monotonous and didn't fit some of the scenes, but judging by the interviews I've read with Gans (and having seen it twice already), I think those things were intentional. The fact that the music didn't fit in on certain scenes only helped build things up and get the audience excited. As far as it getting monotonous...I love music, and I personally think it helped make the movie what it was.
The ending gave me a satisfying feeling of dissatisfaction. Doesn't really make sense but it leaves a few unanswered questions, and I'm a firm believer that it isn't always a bad thing. Its an uneasy, weird ending that either leaves you coming to your own conclusion, or waiting for a sequel.
CONS: Like I said earlier, the acting (mostly the little girl) comes off a bit weak in a scene or two. I've read reviews saying that the actress that played Anna (dont know her real name) did an awful job and everybody in the audience was laughing. I think a big deal of this would be that the majority of that audience were ignorant and not willing to think things through. Sure, she was corny and goofy...but you have to think about what living in a place like that for so long would do to your mind.
I think it should have been darker. When Rose is walking around Silent Hill during the day, its not all that scary...its eerie, but not really horrifying. I think there should have been at least one scene where she was walking around the streets during the night.
It seems just a tad bit uneven. The first half (and maybe a fourth of the second half) has that ol' fashion Silent Hill-ish feeling to it...the town, the surroundings, the school...somewhere after an hour or so the movie started to lose that and started focusing more on the cult.
I heard a rumor that there was very little CGI used in this movie, but that is definitely only a rumor. I was looking forward to seeing a flick that isn't pack loaded with crappy cgi. Fortunately there was a happy medium...I saw a movie that had a lot of very decent cgi. It was weak in one or two scenes but again, I think that was intentional. I believe it was there to give the audience a sense of false reality...maybe not, but I do know that Silent Hill is known for messing with your head big time and it wouldn't surprise me if the couple of weak cgi scenes were done on purpose.
Over all...the best game-based movie so far and one of my personal favorites. I'm a huge Silent Hill fan and always will be. I had HUGE expectations for this film and it met 95% of them. Was it perfect? no, but I have never seen a movie that was..but it came damn close, in my opinion. However, if you don't know a lot about the Silent Hill world, I would definitely either read up on it quite a bit or play the 1st or 2nd game extensively before watching this movie, because it does tend to be targeted for the game fans and will leave you with a lot of unanswered questions. Hopefully this helped you out some, guys.
9/10