Culture from the darker side

Movie adaptations of comic books and computer games have the tendency to … well let’s just say “not live up to the expectations”, Silent Hill (written and directed by Christophe Gans of “Crying Freeman” fame) manages to side step most of the problems and produces something that is as close as a movie seems to be able to get to a computer game.

The Story:

In the games it is never quite clear what Silent Hill really is, there is a lot of speculation going on but beyond that it ranges from “nightmare” to “soul finding mission”. The movie does not really bring us any closer to it. In this installment of Silent Hill a mother Rose (Radha Mitchell) and her young daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) set out to find Silent Hill, a name that the daughter is mumbling while sleep walking. The entrance into silent is is marked by a police chase and a crash and then nothing is as it was before. Rose is gone and the town is covered in thick fog.

Things in Silent Hill aren’t what they appear to be though, the fog in reality are the ashes from the coal fire that closed down the town decades ago. But this is not the only “odd” thing about Silent Hill, it’s inhabitants have left, and what was left behind is not from this world. Rose is soon joined by Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden) the cop that chased her into Silent Hill and both women try to find Rose and uncover the dark secret that lies behind Silent Hill.

Silent Hill clearly is a Horror movie, but it goes beyond this, the images at times seem to be ripped straight from the games and the sound design does it’s best to draw you in. The movie overall is a visual piece of art without sacrificing the story in and on itself (which is a rather simple one, but the visuals and the way it is told make more than up for it).

If you liked the games you should really go and see it, if you want to see some impressive visuals go for it as well. If you like Horror you may enjoy this as well.

Rating: 4/5