Tag Archives: Silent Hill
Film Review: Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
Also known as: Silent Hill 2 (working title), Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (poster title)
Release Date: October 25th, 2012 (Hong Kong, Russia, Ukraine)
Directed by: Michael J. Bassett
Written by: Michael J. Bassett
Based on: Silent Hill 3 by Konami
Music by: Jeff Danna, Akira Yamaoka
Cast: Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Deborah Kara Unger, Martin Donovan, Malcolm McDowell, Carrie-Anne Moss, Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, Heather Marks
Silent Hill 2 DCP Inc., Konami, Dynamic Effects Canada, Davis-Films, 95 Minutes
Review:
“The darkness is coming. It’s safer to be inside.” – Dahlia
Utter shit.
That’s what this movie is.
I don’t know if the six year hiatus is what caused this to be such an atrocious follow-up to the first Silent Hill movie but man, this was fucking terrible.
It tries to naturally follow the plot of the first movie, which loosely adapted the first two Silent Hill video games, by loosely adapting the third game. However, it gets a hell of a lot wrong and apparently the writer/director didn’t pay close attention to the first movie, as several things contradict and retcon it.
The story is garbage and frankly, it makes little to no sense if it actually exists in the same universe as the previous movie. That first film’s rules no longer apply and this is a sequel that just makes shit up as it goes along and does whatever it wants for plot convenience. It’s lazily crafted in every way and it derailed this from becoming a film franchise built on top of the video game franchise.
This movie also stars very capable actors but in this, they all give their worst performances.
Additionally, the special effects are CGI heavy and the movie looks a lot cheaper than the successful first one. Usually, this means that a studio will spend more money. However, this looks like a mediocre fan film made by first year film students.
I don’t know what else to say. There’s not a single good thing about this movie and everything that could’ve gone wrong, apparently did.
I’m sorry your agent talked you into this, Mr. McDowell.
Fuck this movie.
Rating: 3/10
Pairs well with: it’s far superior predecessor. But more importantly, the video game series. Specifically, the first three games.
Film Review: Silent Hill (2006)
Also known as: Centralia (fake working title), Terror en Silent Hill (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela)
Release Date: April 20th, 2006 (Hollywood premiere)
Directed by: Christophe Gans
Written by: Roger Avery, Christophe Gans, Nicolas Boukhrief
Based on: Silent Hill by Konami
Music by: Akira Yamaoka, Jeff Danna
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland
Silent Hill DCP Inc., Davis-Films, TriStar Pictures, 125 Minutes, 132 Minutes (Special Edition Blu-ray, Canada only)
Review:
“When you’re hurt and scared for so long, the fear and pain turn to hate and the hate starts to change the world.” – Dark Alessa
When this came out, it was the film that seemed like it bucked the trend of video game movies being shit, as far as adaptations and overall quality goes.
The Resident Evil films were their own thing and before them we had the Street Fighter movie, Super Mario Bros. and Double Dragon. I would say that the film that actually bucked the trend first, though, was 1995’s Mortal Kombat. However, Silent Hill is a much better film than that one and it works without having knowledge or appreciation of its video game series before seeing it.
In fact, I know several people that saw this film first, which then served as a gateway into the games due to the effect this movie had on them.
I used to watch this quite a bit after I bought it on DVD when it was first released that way. It’s probably been a dozen years since I’ve seen it but my fondness for it was still really strong and I wanted to revisit it. I also want to playthrough some of the earlier games too, which I might in the very near future.
Seeing this now was kind of cool because I was separated enough from it to see it with somewhat fresh eyes. I definitely see the flaws in it more than I did in 2006 but that could also be due to me not being as obsessed with the franchise as I was back then. Subpar sequels in both video games and film took the wind out of this once great property’s sails.
The film adapts elements of the stories from the first two games and sort of merges them while also doing its own thing. So it’s familiar enough for fans to immediately recognize but also takes some interesting turns that allow it to breathe and evolve in a different way.
I like the film’s story quite a lot, even if it does change some key things. Those things don’t break the film as its own body of work, though.
My biggest gripe about the film is the dialogue. It’s not terrible but there are some weird lines and some weird delivery, here and there. I’m not sure if that’s due to a language barrier due to the director, who also co-wrote the film, being French. I don’t know enough about him outside of his finished films that I’ve seen, which aren’t many.
However, the child actress delivers some lines with weird inflections on certain syllables that sound unnatural and a bit off. I don’t necessarily blame her, I blame the direction and the takes that were chosen to be used in the final film.
Overall, she did well essentially playing two different characters that were polar opposites of each other: one being good and innocent and the other being the absolute embodiment of evil. The requirements of her role aren’t easy for most adult actors and she did rather well considering her age and experience.
Moving on, some of the CGI effects look a little dated but for the most part, the film still looks great. There are just a few shots that look kind of weird.
The film as a whole looks incredible, however. Gans has a stupendous eye and from a visual standpoint, he captured the tone and aesthetic of the video game series phenomenally well. I am still really impressed by the scenes where the purgatory world dissolves into the Hell world.
Beyond that, I’m not a big fan of the ending but it fits well within the framework of what Silent Hill is. I guess there is a part of me that wanted something more optimistic but the ambiguous and strange ending leaves the viewer with more questions than answers. Also, that’s not a bad thing, some of my favorite movies do that but after the literal hell that the characters went through, it felt like more of a reward was needed.
I liked the cult aspect of the story and I definitely loved their end. As violent and incredibly fucked up as the climax was, it was also satisfying as hell after learning who these people really were. This movie doesn’t simply provide you with sympathy for the Devil, it makes you root for him… or in this case, her.
The last thing I want to mention is the music. The film recycles the score and iconic songs from the video game series. That might not work in the case of most film adaptations but it really amplified the effect of the film and its brooding, disturbing atmosphere. I think that I appreciated it even more now, as I kind of forgot how good the games’ music was.
Silent Hill is, hands down, one of the best horror movies in its decade, which was unfortunately a terrible decade for horror. But I think it would’ve been just as great in earlier decades, regardless of the higher quality of the genre.
Rating: 8/10
Pairs well with: it’s absolutely shitty sequel, I guess. But more importantly, the video game series. Specifically, the first three games.
Vids I Dig 502: Razörfist: ‘Silent Hill’ Retrospective (In 3 Parts)
Video Game Review: Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (Xbox)
*written in 2014.
*I played the original Xbox version. This game was also released on PlayStation 2 and Windows. An updated HD version was later released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
This is my favorite horror video game of all-time. Now it might not be as scary as my first experience playing the original Silent Hill in the dark: alone. However, it captures the beauty and magic of the first game, enhances the graphics and game play and gives the players a better story and more intense situations. In fact, this is the game that launched Pyramid Head (or Red Pyramid, if you prefer) to horror icon status, especially in the gaming world.
I played the Xbox version of this game, which is subtitled Restless Dreams. The reason being, it is an extended version and has a bonus game featuring another character. This smaller game is called Born from a Wish. It ended up being a pretty awesome experience on its own and a game worth reviewing separately at some point.
The situations in Silent Hill 2, mixed with the visuals and scares are enough to have you on edge every second of this game. You are never really sure what is going to happen at any moment. The game makers did a great job of adding a lot of surreal elements and creepy sounds to keep the players disoriented, at least on the first play through.
This is also a game with an insane amount of replay value, as there are a half dozen different endings and the different choices you make throughout the game, effect the overall experience.
This game is still the strongest in the Silent Hill lineage. It is actually pretty close to what I would consider a perfect game, especially for its genre. I have now replayed it enough to know where every scare is but it doesn’t mean that I’m not still a bit freaked out when I have to jump into a big black hole in the ground or walk into a demonic prison.
Despite the fact that it is a thirteen year-old game, it is still quite effective at making the player fearful and nervous. Especially when played alone, late at night, in the dark.
Do not take hallucinogens and then play this thing.
Rating: 10/10
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