Silent Hill
By Cory Peynado, Blockbuster.co.uk
“Honey, sometimes when you go to sleep you go on a little walk. And you talk about a place called Silent Hill”
Director
Christophe Gans bravely steps up to the stand and takes on a challenge that most directors would not go near. Many like him have tried but most of them constantly come up short when it comes to video game to film conversions, so it is with great apprehension that I take two hours out to step into the realms of the dark and lonesome place called Silent Hill. Turn up your collar before you read on because that chill your already feeling at the back of your neck is about to run a lot deeper.
Now if you’ve spent time playing the games (there’s about five in total) you will no doubt be thrust into familiar territory right from the start. Silent Hill has always attempted to tap into us by means of true psychological fear. And it certainly pulls it off; cold streets, foggy roads, decrepit buildings with black windows… it’s all here and surprisingly enough it’s done magnificently well.
We’re brought into the story by a young girl, Sharon, (Jodelle Ferland) who has a constant tendency to sleepwalk her way through the night and mention strange places in her dreams. Her mother, Rose, (
Radha Mitchell) has tried several times to help her ten year old daughter get better but upon the wake of another very bad dream she decides that she is going to take her daughter to this place that she keeps speaking of, the long-abandoned Silent Hill.
Rose's husband, Christopher (
Sean Bean), was a tiny bit opposed to the idea of visiting a corpse-ridden town that his daughter has nightmares about (sounds kinda fair), but Rose took off without telling him. He has several scenes with unhelpful police officers as he tries to locate his wife and daughter. You could remove every one of those scenes without losing any of the story, while cutting a much needed 10 minutes off the running time. (I'm just sayin is all)
In the meantime Rose is on her own. After nearly crashing on the road at the sight of a ghostly apparition the car skids to a stop and she wakes up to find that the car is now engulfed in snow and her daughter is missing. The atmosphere is completely different, as though she has stepped into another world. She reluctantly makes her way into this daunting place wanting only to find her daughter and get the heck out of there but she quickly realises that to do this she will also have to learn some of the horrifying truths that lurk there.
Visually this film is absolutely astonishing, and I rarely say that about a horror movie. The cinematography aspect seems to be its strongest card, taking us seamlessly from beautifully moonlit fog filled playgrounds to those supernatural grimey don’t-open-me doors (that she HAS to open) and it doesn’t slip up once. The only real struggle is in the complexities of the story.
I think the true fans of the games will perhaps know what to look for when it comes to pinning down the clues of the film. There’s a lot to take in. Everyone seems to have a weird and wonderful story to share with our heroine, Rose. And when you watch it a second time all those intriguing plot points start to fit together. I’ve played the games myself and justice has definitely been served. I got totally encapsulated by the spiritual and sensual feel of every character and every dark corner. Add to your list now!