Between nightmare and reality (Silent Hill (DVD))

Member Name: Delicate_Orchid1

Product:	Silent Hill (DVD)
Date:	02/05/06 (187 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good acting, no need to know/like video game, special effects

Disadvantages: some unbelievable moments, false screaming

"Silent Hill" is one of those films that women are likely to dismiss as a pure bloke's film. Based on a video game and obviously part of the horror genre, it does not exactly seem inviting to the female species. In addition, "Silent Hill" suffers from the fact that so many previous films that have been based on video games ended up being rather catastrophically bad.

I really did not consider "Silent Hill" to be worth the money to be seen at the cinema. However, when a female film critic gave it a four star rating on a news programme, I was utterly surprised. I also quite enjoyed the little excerpt of the film. And as I had dragged my other half to see a chick flick the previous week, it was only fair that I should tag along to this screening.


***The plot***

Rose (Radha Mitchell) and Christopher (Sean Bean) Da Silva adopt a little girl names Sharon. Sharon suffers from terrible nightmares during which she sleepwalks and talks about a place called "Silent Hill". One night Rose awakes to find Sharon missing and just about saves her from jumping off a cliff. It is after this event that Rose decides that counseling is simply not enough. She thinks that her daughter would benefit from a trip to "Silent Hill" to conquer her fears. After some internet research on the place, Rose sets off to West Virginia with little Sharon, naturally without telling her husband Christopher.

When Christopher notices that his wife and daughter have disappeared, he casually checks his laptop and discovers that Rose has been doing some research on "Silent Hill". As he reads about the horrors that occurred in the place a few years ago and realises that the city is still burning today, he makes every attempt to contact Rose - only reaching her as she has nearly come to her destination.

Despite numerous warnings about visiting "Silent Hill" and despite the fact that the road to the town is actually bloked off, Sharon will not be deterred from her road trip. She would probably have changed her mind if she knew what was to expect her.

The majority of the film takes place in "Silent Hill" itself and focuses on Rose trying to discover the mystery surrounding the place and to find the reason for her daughter's horrible nightmares. It is in this search that she encounters various creatures, not clear whether human, monster or supernatural, that she needs to fight off along the way.


***My opinion***

During the first few moments of the film I was bitterly disappointed, as I actually thought this would be another one of these horror films that suffered from horrendously bad acting. As Rose is searching for her daughter, she lets out some screams that sound entirely fake, unconvincing and overdone. These kind of screams and shrieks do come up throughout the film from time to time - but luckily, the rest of the film's attributes make up for this minor shortcoming.

The acting of the characters over all is not bad at all. They do not lay down an Oscar-winning performance, but generally, everyone has a firm grasp of the personality of their character - almost as if they studies it in detail. One of the things that I found highly entertaining is how the director obviously wanted to keep some of the "video game film feeling" in Rose's acting - and indeed in police officer's Lauren Holden's acting (played by Cybill Bennet). Both women run in the same heavy-set way as characters run in these type of video games.

There was some controversy around the rating of this film. In fact, the film has been rated R in the United States, 18 in Canada, only 12 in France - and 15 in the United Kingdom. Some critics felt that there is too much violence and gore in this film to be rated only 15. Personally, I felt the rating was spot-on. I did not find the film very scary - in fact, I only jumped once at a scene that was not meant to be scary at all. The film does contain quite a few gory and bloody moments during which sensitive viewers might close their eyes, but in essence, it does not show much more blood that "War of the Worlds", which received an equal rating.

The special effects in this film are simply amazing. Again, the director must have wanted to retain some of the "video game feeling", often shooting scenes from angles that you would see in a video game - for example from above or from the side - giving the scene a bit of a 3D feeling.

There are a few moments in the film that detract from its pure genius. Most of the film is just tense and packed with action moments, but there comes a time where the script writer decides that a bit of an explanation of what is going on is necessary. This is done by way of narration - and it somehow seems so artificial and does not fit the rest of the film at all. Although I am usually someone who prefers to know what is going on, in this particular instance I would have preferred to have been left in the dark and to enjoy the artistic merit of the film.

Not every question is answered in the course of the film - and there is plenty of room for interpretation what is actually going on. And the set-up at the end of the film does indeed pave the way nicely for a potential sequel called "Silent Hill 2".


***Characters***

Radha Mitchell .... Rose Da Silva
Sean Bean .... Christopher Da Silva
Laurie Holden .... Cybil Bennett
Deborah Kara Unger .... Dahlia Gillespie
Kim Coates .... Officer Thomas Gucci
Kim Coates .... Henry Townshend
Tanya Allen .... Anna
Tanya Allen .... Pyramid Head
Alice Krige .... Valtiel The Yellow God
Jodelle Ferland .... Sharon/Alessa
Jodelle Ferland .... Sharon DaSilva
Janet Land .... Sister Margaret


***The verdict***

I would definitely recommend seeing this film, as I think it could be enjoyed by pretty much anyone, except for someone with an overly sensitive nature and aversion to seeing any type of blood on the screen. There is no need to like or to know the video game, there is no need to like horror films. There is, however, a need to suspend disbelief and to remember that all of this takes place in a fictional world, not in reality.


***Further information***

Running time: 127 minutes
Rating: 15
Director: Christophe Gans

Summary: A film for nearly everyone.