Silent Hill Blu-Ray Review

Rated R (Strong Horror Violence and Gore, Disturbing Images, and Some Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours and 5 Minutes

Cast-

Radha Mitchell-Rose Da Silva

Sean Bean-Christopher Da Silva

Jodelle Ferland-Sharon Da Silva\Alessa Gillespie\Dark Alessa

Laurie Holden-Cybil Bennett

Kim Coates-Officer Thomas Gucci

Deborah Kara Unger-Dahlia Gillespie

Alice Krige-Christabella

Tanya Allen-Anna

Roberto Campanella-Pyramid Head/Janitor/Colin

Directed by Christophe Gans

How come demons always turn out to be children?

Looking at Rotten Tomatoes, the highest-rated film adaptation based on a video game is 2001's "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" with 44%, followed by 2010's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" with 35%. The latter was one of the biggest box office flops of the year as Disney assumed the brand-name alone would be enough to carry the film to success. Unfortunately, this was not the case and it barely made back its massive $200 million production budget (not including the substantial marketing costs) with $335 million worldwide, dashing the studio's hopes for another lucrative franchise. Video games is without question an art form but it's hard not to become jaded when you see one film adaptation after another fail due to some meddling studio executive or the source material being lost in translation. Racking up $893.5 million worldwide across five films, only the "Resident Evil" series can be called a success, although each installment resembles less and less to the video games it's inspired from. For me, the 'best' film adaptation of a video game is 2006's "Silent Hill." Developed and published by Konami, the original "Silent Hill" made its debut on the PlayStation in 1999 and was a pioneer in the survival horror genre. Sadly, I haven't played it since it was never released on PC (the later installments were). Emphasizing atmosphere over blood and gore, the game achieved critical acclaim, selling over two million copies but the franchise's glory days are long over as players eventually tired of the limited resources and cumbersome controls. The last two "Silent Hill" games, "Homecoming" and "Downpour," received middling reviews. What about the film adaptation? Directed by Christophe Gans, "Silent Hill" successfully transplants the game's disturbing visuals and atmosphere to film but stumbles with its clunky plot and overlong running time. 

Nine-year-old Sharon Da Silva (Jodelle Ferland) suffers from erratic sleepwalking episodes that leave her screaming the name Silent Hill whenever she wakes up. Against the wishes of her husband Christopher (Sean Bean), Rose (Radha Mitchell) decides to take her adopted daughter to the eponymous West Virginia ghost town in a desperate search for answers. While stopping to refill for gas, Rose draws the attention of Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden), prompting the suspicious police officer to write down her license plate number. Rose is ordered to pull over by Bennett at the turnoff to Silent Hill but she makes a break for it instead. A child suddenly appears, causing Rose to swerve off the road and crash. Knocked unconscious, she wakes up hours later to find the car door open and Sharon missing. Searching for her daughter through the empty streets, Rose discovers Silent Hill blanketed by an ominous fog while ash falls from the sky like snowflakes. She later runs into Bennett, whose bike had crashed while in pursuit of her. Ignoring her pleas for help, Bennett places Rose under arrest but the two are forced to battle for their very survival when the town's shifting realities and hellish denizens places them in danger. 

"Silent Hill" is one spectacular-looking film and Christophe Gans' reverence for the games is evident in every frame. The amount of detail that went into the production design of the town is impressive, with many of the locales lifted straight from the source material itself. Dark and atmospheric, one of the highlights is when it transitions to the 'Otherworld,' where the dilapidated walls and floor flake off to reveal the rusted, bloodstained surface underneath. The many ghoulish monsters from the games are faithfully recreated, including the iconic 'Pyramid Head' and the knife-wielding, scantily-clad Nurses. I also appreciated the fact that the monsters were portrayed by real actors and made extensive use of prosthetics, with CG only used in post-production. This gives them a more tangible quality that just wouldn't be possible if it was rendered on a computer. Some of the fog effects aren't quite as seamless but Gans went above and beyond in ensuring that the look and feel of the games was faithfully recreated on-screen, even using Akira Yamaoka's score from the first four games (arranged by Jeff Danna) to add to the ambience. However, visuals and atmosphere can only carry a film so far and where it really counts is the story and characters. This is where many video game adaptations fail but "Silent Hill" manages to succeed despite the inane dialogue and superfluous subplots. Written by Roger Avary (who received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with Quentin Tarantino for 1994's "Pulp Fiction"), the plot is basically a haunted house tale but instead of a house, it's the entire town that is haunted. Although it contains elements of Silent Hill 2 to 4: The Room, it is largely based on the first game but switches the protagonist from male to female to create a stronger sense of vulnerability. 

The problem is that there's not enough material here to really justify the 125 minute running time. When Rose first steps foot in Silent Hill, there's a lot of scenes of her running around screaming 'Sharon!' at the top of her lungs. Much of the film has her traveling from one location to the next in search of clues, which leaves precious little time for character development and reduces the dialogue to either exposition or to announce something we can plainly see on-screen. Some of that exposition almost derails the film, specifically at the end when 'the truth' is finally revealed, which only served to baffle those who haven't played the games. Christopher's subplot is completely extraneous and at times redundant because much of what he learns is revealed later on anyway. Excising it would've shaved off a good twenty minutes and helped with the pacing. Apparently, his character was added because the studio mandated a male presence. As for the scare factor, there are some tense moments but nothing that will make you jump. The game instilled a sense of dread every time the static on the radio went off, which is sadly not replicated here. Those who crave gore will get a kick out of the climax, which has a character getting sodomized by barbed wire. Maybe Gans was watching "Hellraiser" while playing the games! 

The cast is credible and commit to the script even when it does not provide much opportunity to give their characters a sense of depth. Radha Mitchell is relatable as a determined mother in search of her daughter, even though her reasoning to go to Silent Hill is mind-boggling to say the least. Laurie Holden (who's currently starring on AMC's "The Walking Dead") is suitably tough as Officer Cybil Bennett even though she's largely wasted here, as is Sean Bean and Deborah Kara Unger. Alice Krige makes for a compelling and sinister villain as the Order's fanatical leader Christabella. Her honeyed words recall the Borg Queen from 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact". However, it is Jodelle Ferland who makes the most memorable impression, playing dual roles as the innocent Sharon and the malevolent Dark Alessa. 

Released on Blu-Ray back in 2006, the video transfer in "Silent Hill" is amazing and features stunning clarity, sharpness and depth. The scenes taking place in the Otherworld can get murky at times due to the heavy use of shadows but this is a minor flaw and it's a testament to Gans' visionary skill as a director. With blaring sirens and screeching monsters, the audio is loud and aggressive, further immersing you into the world. The only drawback is that the dialogue can get muffled with all the sound effects. While the DVD version contains extras, none are included in this Blu-Ray release, sadly. 

"Silent Hill" was released on April 21, 2006 to largely negative reviews with 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that it was 'visually impressive, but as with many video game adaptations, it's plagued by inane dialogue, a muddled plot, and an overlong runtime.' This was a film made by a Silent Hill fan for Silent Hill fans, which limited it's audience since it only grossed a modest $97.6 million worldwide on a production budget of $50 million. A sequel was always intended but it didn't arrive until six years due to Roger Avary being sent to jail for vehicular manslaughter. Despite its harsh reviews, "Silent Hill" remains the sole bright spot in a sea of terrible video game-to-film adaptations thanks to its strong visuals and adherence to the source material.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

"You burned in the fire that you started and nothing can save you because you're already damned!"