Silent Hill (2006) starring Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland directed by Christophe Gans Movie Review

Silent Hill (2006)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Radha Mitchell in Silent Hill (2006)

Run, Shoot, Hide and Scream

With her adopted daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) having another bad nightmare and episode of sleepwalking involving a place called Silent Hill, Rose (Radha Mitchell) decides the best course of action is to find this place and take Sharon there to try and lay rest the nightmares. It is something which her husband disagrees with forcing Rose to take Sharon against his wishes and hitting the road. Along the way Rose picks up a cop who becomes concerned as she witnesses an upset Sharon. But following a car accident Rose comes to only to find Sharon gone leading to her going up to the abandoned town of Silent Hill located above a burning mine which is coated in a cloud of ash.

It is a very long time since I played any sort of computer game and pretty sure that when I did occasionally play them I never played "Silent Hill". Yes for those who are unaware "Silent Hill" is a movie adaptation of a computer game and as such I have no idea how well it brings to life the game for those who have and maybe still play it. So to put it simply my interest in watching "Silent Hill" is a movie fan and one who enjoys the occasional horror/ spooky thriller.

The question as to whether I enjoyed "Silent Hill" is easily answered as it is a no. The reason why is it does what other game adaptations have done in the past and deliver a movie for those who know the game or at least that is what I presume it does. I say that because whilst "Silent Hill" is not complex, mother searching for daughter around creepy abandoned town following clues, it seems to have more going on which doesn't really make a great deal of sense for those who watch without the game playing knowledge.

Now in truth that disappoints and frustrates me, not only the gaps in story telling but also how it ends up as I wanted something more engaging than woman running around a creepy town, dealing with some sort of demon and screaming a lot. It also disappoints me because visually "Silent hill" is impressive and none more so when we encounter the ash covered town. It may be a cliche the abandoned, creepy town but this one is spectacular as are some of the special effects but it does make "Silent Hill" almost feel vacuous for a movie fan who is presented with just a great visual and no real depth.

It also disappoints as Radha Mitchell is a very good actress and she convinces as a mother desperate to find her child but that is it, there is no real character depth here. And then there is Sean Bean who is so under used that they might as well not bothered to hire a recognizable actor for the part.

What this all boils down to is that "Silent Hill" is a terrific looking movie, in fact it is a fantastic looking movie which seriously impresses. But sadly what goes on in "Silent Hill" doesn't and it makes it a surprisingly shallow experience.


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