Fresh Fish Served Daily

As soon as I got out of work Friday we made a break for the theater to see Silent Hill. My feelings are somewhat mixed, but I would still classify this one as a winner.

My inital impression after seeing the trailer months ago was that it would essentially be the storyline from the first game with some minor changes. I should probably have known better, as Silent Hill has one of the most complicated storylines in gaming, and filmmakers notoriously believe American audiences are stupid. The basic storyline of a parent looking for his lost child in the city was still there, but the reasoning behind everything else was different. It works fine in the movie (for the most part).

Good: the visuals were stunning, and the attention to detail and the effort towards authenticity could be seen everywhere. We even recognized a particular corner in an alleyway from SH1, complete with attendant overhead perspective shot. With Christophe Gans (of Brotherhood of the Wolf) directing, the cast did a wonderful job creating the full experience. The monsters were amazing. The thick fog chokes the city, deadening all noise. The ear-splitting sirens herald the switch over to dark side, while the paint peels before your eyes. The music was ripped straight from the game. Also, Pyramid Head. Let me repeat that: PYRAMID HEAD. I think that the five minutes of Pyramid Head would have been enough for me to enjoy the movie, even if everything else was terrible.

Bad: thin screenwriting. It shouldn’t be necessary to have a five minute monologue to explain the story if you’ve been doing your job right in the first place. Please give the audience a little more credit. I also think that the original story would have been fine for the movie, and the changes weren’t necessary. Just once I would like to see a movie that is based on any previous franchise that actually caters to its core audience. Why do film studios feel the need to change certain things around to “appeal to a larger audience”? When making a movie based on a video game there isn’t much you can do to appeal to people who normally watch dramas, so just stop trying. That being said, the new storyline wasn’t too bad, but it could have used a little more background.

If you’re a fan of the games, I would recommend it. It’s also a good choice if you enjoy the more creepy, disturbing horror films.