Almost arty.

Rating: 5/10 (10 April 2013)

As a game adaptation film this is apparently very good, however I haven't played the game so I'll have to judge this on its merits as a stand alone theatrical production.
Silent Hill is a mystery horror film. The mystery is sort of interesting and sort of compelling, till it's all mostly revealed near the end and we find that the driving plot was really pretty silly. As for the horror aspects; it's not scary but it IS gross.
Visually this is a lovely film. The scenes are beautifully shot, the sets are great, and the monsters are fantastic. The scene with the jerky bodied nurses was wonderful, I kept wanting a strobe light to play over them and techno blasting in the background. The constant eerie atmosphere created by the dulled light and twilit colour worked perfectly and gave the film a "waking dream" feel.
But, the story just couldn't match the clever visuals and the child actor that played the little girl roles wasn't convincing in any of them. They'd have done better to have an adult play the demon version with the child actor miming along. All in all a good looking film, but long and with a weak story, fine acting from all except the child.