Rated
R (Violence and Disturbing Images, Some Language and Brief Nudity)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 34 Minutes
Cast-
Adelaide
Clemens-Heather Mason/Sharon Da Silva/Dark Alessa
Kit
Harington-Vincent Cooper
Sean
Bean-Harry Mason/Christopher Da Silva
Carrie-Anne
Moss-Claudia Wolf
Malcolm
McDowell-Leonard Wolf
Martin
Donovan-Douglas Cartland
Deborah
Kara Unger-Dahlia Gillespie
Radha
Mitchell-Rose Da Silva
Erin
Pitt-Young Sharon Da Silva/Alessa Gillespie
Heather
Marks-Suki
Peter
Outerbridge-Travis Grady
Roberto
Campanella-Pyramid Head
Directed
by Michael J. Bassett
 |
| Not even Adelaide Clemens' cute looks can save the mess that is "Silent Hill: Revelation." |
You
should always strike while the iron is hot when it comes to sequels. Although largely
panned by critics when it was released in 2006, Christophe Gans' "Silent
Hill," based on the survival horror series of the same name published by
Konami, is one of the few film adaptations of a video game that's actually good thanks to its macabre
visuals and atmosphere. However, that's not exactly high praise given how low
the bar is set for such films. A sequel was always intended but production
stalled when Gans suddenly pulled out in order to focus on his own projects and
writer Roger Avary was sent to jail for vehicular manslaughter. "Solomon
Kane" director Michael J. Bassett was eventually chosen to replace Gans
and Avary. Six years later, "Silent Hill: Revelation" finally arrives
in theaters with little to no fanfare. Such a gap is an eternity for the horror
genre since audiences aren't known to have the longest of attention spans. Given
how faithful the original film was to the source material, I was genuinely excited
to see this long-belated sequel and Bassett's enthusiasm at New York Comic Con
seemed to promise a worthy follow-up. How wrong I was. Bassett manages to
create some creepy and bizarre visuals despite the reduced production budget
but "Silent Hill: Revelation" is ultimately a disappointing sequel, undone
by its weak characters and sloppy storytelling.
Nine years ago, Rose Da Silva
(Radha Mitchell) took her adopted daughter Sharon (Erin Pitt) to Silent Hill but
the two became trapped in the fog-shrouded, reality-shifting ghost town after
defeating the religiously fanatical cult that resides there. She manages to
contact her husband Christopher (Sean Bean) through a mirror and sends Sharon
back to the real world using a special amulet known as the Seal of Metatron.
Led by Claudia Wolf (Carrie-Anne Moss), the Order of Valtiel sends its members
to find and bring Sharon back to Silent Hill, forcing Christopher and his
daughter (who has no memory of the town) to adopt new aliases and go on the
run. An eighteen-year-old Sharon, now known as Heather Mason (Adelaide
Clemens), suffers from reoccurring nightmares where she is burned alive by Dark
Alessa. Her father, going under the name of Harry, reassures her that they are
just dreams that will pass in time and reminds her to be careful when she
leaves for school. During class, she meets fellow new student Vincent Cooper
(Kit Harington), who is immediately smitten with her despite her insistence
that she is not interested in making new friends due to being constantly on the
move. After school, Heather runs into a private investigator named Douglas
Cartland (Martin Donovan), who warns her that the cult knows where she is
because he told them. She rushes home to find the house ransacked, her father
missing, and a bloody message telling her to come to Silent Hill. Enlisting
Vincent's aid, Heather returns to the damned ghost town not just to save her
father, but herself as well.
For some strange reason, horror films love to use
the subtitle "Revelation," even when said film doesn't actually have anything to reveal. "Silent Hill:
Revelation" is a loose adaptation of Konami's Silent Hill 3, with several details from the game altered to fit
into the continuity of the previous film. Unfortunately, the numerous retcons
enacted by writer/director Michael J. Bassett results in a completely
nonsensical story chock full of plot holes. Apparently, anyone can just up and leave Silent Hill, which begs the question:
why doesn't the cult just leave instead of having their ranks slowly thinned
out by the town's hellish denizens. Much of the dialogue is meaningless,
consisting of long scenes of exposition explaining the purposes of the Seal of
Metatron and the Order of Valtiel, which will leave audiences unfamiliar with
the games baffled. Bassett believes that by throwing as many references to the
games as much as possible, he's being faithful to the source material but Silent Hill has always been about
characters confronting their own sins. However, the characters in the film lack
any sort of personality and it soon descends into a melodramatic soap opera
once Vincent declares that he loves Heather, even though they've only known
each other for a day. While there are some interesting visuals, the reduced
production budget clearly shows as much of what happens in the film takes place
in cramped corridors with minimal lighting. The monsters that the games are
famous for are reverently recreated but they appear only to provide some cheap
thrills rather than serve as symbols of a guilty conscious. Gans' expertly
crafted atmosphere from the original film is entirely absent here, although
there are some memorable moments such as a disturbing hallucination of children
feasting on flesh and a deadly confrontation with a group of Nurses, who moan
in a sexual manner as they slash at their victims. "Silent Hill"
ended in a fountain of blood and barbed wire; "Revelation" ends with
a lame battle between Pyramid Head and a "Hellraiser"-reject known as
the Missionary. At every turn, "Silent Hill: Revelation" fails to
muster up any excitement or scares and it's a damn shame because Bassett
clearly knows what makes a creepy visual. With a bigger budget and an extensive
script polish, it could've been at least enjoyable but instead it's just
another bad adaptation of a beloved video game. As for the 3D, it's competent
if gimmicky—with severed fingers flying at the screen but the effect is at its
best when Heather encounters a spider-like entity known as the Mannequin, the
only CG monster in the film. Despite shooting in native 3D using the RED Epic
camera, dialogue scenes are essentially 2D yet the environments has enough
depth to them so that the effect doesn't feel wasted. Whichever version you
choose, it won't exactly make or break the experience but I'd suggest avoiding
the film altogether.
The performances fail to engage and can be shockingly bad
at times. Adelaide Clemens (who is a dead ringer for Michelle Williams) fares
the best as Heather Mason, even if her character tends to devolve into a
screaming mess. Sean Bean is likable while Kit Harington looks completely
disinterested. Why he even bothered to sign on even though he stars in a
critically-acclaimed television series is head-scratching. Carrie-Ann Moss and
Malcolm McDowell are just god-awful, more laughable than intimidating. Old
faces like Radha Mitchell and Deborah Kara Unger also pop up in what amounts to
glorified cameos, adding little to what is already a terrible film.
Released on
October 26, 2012, "Silent Hill: Revelation" has received overwhelmingly
negative reviews with a 5% on Rotten
Tomatoes. Critics derided the film as 'a mediocre effort even by the standards
of video game adaptations.' Given the decreased relevancy of the games,
"Revelation" flopped at the box office, debuting in fifth place with
$8 million and effectively killing off any chance of a third "Silent
Hill" film. Christophe Gans' adaptation wasn't remarkable from a film
perspective but it served as proof that you can
make a good film from a video game. "Silent Hill: Revelation" destroys
all that goodwill and is a mess from start to finish. Great films can be made
from comic books but video games are still treated like second-class citizens
thanks to schlock like this.
Final
Rating: 2 out of 5
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