Review of Silent Hill (2006) by The_Elusive_Possom — 26 Apr 2006

Tonydannie seems to have, if a little incoherently, nailed the good points about this survival horror game adaptation. The main music theme (while overused) is very pleasant, and the gore levels are pretty fantastic (people getting ripped apart, and climactically, muffs being mutilated).

The creatures are pretty imaginative too: mangled contortions of the human form, and pretty unnerving to view (especially the gang of "hospital patients"). The special effects, particularly the walls melthing and transforming, are also top-notch.

Unfortunately, these attributes culminate the 4 points I have awarded to this movie, which is otherwise severly lacking. For starters, Silent Hill is not particularly scary. And for a horror film, this can be considered a big deal.

It's frustrating though, because all the components are there: the horrific abominations that patrol the streets as well as the desolate atmosphere show so much potential, but this is never exploited.

The story is pretty weak and pretty ridiculous, culminating in an ambiguous (are they dead or just trapped in Silent Hill dimension?) and deeply unsatisfying ending. Also, the lesbian sex cop sideline didn't seem to lead anywhere, which made for an unnecessary loose end.

The acting is pretty offensive too: Sean Bean's laboured American accent is difficult to listen to given my previous respect for the established thesbian, and it baffles me why they would give Sharon (the little girl) would be given so many lines when other films of a similar setup have proven time and time again that children CAN'T act and are unbearable to watch.

So ultimately, we're left with a dull, fruitless shell of a film, with so many non-sensical aspects to the plot: why are there creatures roaming about in the first place? Why would you try and escape from a police officer when you've done nothing wrong? These are just some of the questions pulling the sloppy mix of dialogue and action apart.

But it was this or Scary Movie 4. I made my choice.....make yours.