Post by teppic on May 8, 2006 20:33:26 GMT -5
So i'm a few days late posting this, but i haven't been on the forum much recently... BTW, i'll avoid any spoilers cos i hate it when people just blurt out what happens without warning.
Skip to near the end for a quick summary as this is loooooong...
I saw Silent Hill last monday. Finally!
I'm a huge fan of the second Silent Hill game, so this movie was something i'd been both looking forward to and a bit concerned about for a long time. Concerned because videogame based movies usually end up being rubbish, and to see that happen to my beloved Silent Hill would have been just too much to bear... I needn't have worried! I heard that the original music composer for the games was doing the soundtrack to the film and so had really high hopes just from that perspective - the music and sounds are so important to the games that if they got this wrong it almost wouldn't matter how good the actual film was. But it's all there! This is not a film with a butchered soundtrack where commercial music is forced in wherever possible - in fact i didn't hear any music from anyone other than the composer (including a song from one of the games if you listen carefully). Sound-wise the film is perfect, with everything in it's right place and obviously done with a great deal of love for the games (no surprise i guess given the composer was, as i said earlier, a member of the development team behind the game).
Without giving many details away, i'll just say that the plot takes elements from all the games. The best way to describe it would be to say it takes much of the story from the first, but most of the cinematography and atmosphere from the second game. For those that don't know the games it's probably important to point out that Silent Hill has always been more about an oppressive and heavy atmosphere that really begins to get under your skin and into your mind, rather than trying to make you jump all the time and try to make you feel sick from the amount of gore. The film mostly sticks to this, but with a bit more gore in there to please horror fans. The best way i can think of to describe the pacing is like the sea coming into shore... It's often very slow and calming even, but you feel the waves approaching more and more, and with more and more intensity - and just as the water has begun to rush at you and you think you may sink... It pulls back. Everything's gone quiet. Everything is calmer and slower, but this time that bit more unsettling because of what you've witnessed.
It's a two hour film, which i wasn't expecting going in. I was a bit worried how a film would have the space to do the games justice. Silent Hill is as much about the quiet moments as the horrifying ones, but with a game lasting many hours it can afford the luxury of going slow. It's not often that saying a film felt longer than it's running time is intended as a compliment, but here that's exactly what it needed. You get drawn into how the real world and the 'alternative world' overlap with each other, and by the end of the film your perception of time has been messed with a bit. It uses all the tricks from the games in this respect, and they work just as well as could have been hoped.
For those that want some gore, it's there. More than i'd expected in fact (i honestly don't know how this film got a 15 here in the UK - i've seen much less violent films get an 18 rating). Maybe it's the fact that the horrific set-pieces have to be condensed into two hours, but there definitely seemed to be more gory scenes than in the games - in fact towards the end of the movie the blood and guts really get turned up high, but it fits within the movie's story. I frequently saw people in the cinema turning away from the screen, and that's not something which is such a common sight these days.
I mentioned the story... Of course anyone who knows about anything Silent Hill will know i can't say a damned thing about the story without ruining the film completely, and so i won't. Learning the story is all a part of what Silent Hill is about. You just aren't meant to know who people are right away, or even why they do certain things and make certain decisions. Most of those things are answered only at the end, and when you think back over people's actions after the end of the film you begin to understand why they made the choices they did. Silent Hill stays with you - like the games do, and much like a good book does. Watching it is only half of the journey, the rest is made up of thinking back upon what happened. That's not to say all questions are answered however, and for those who don't know the games or are unwilling to put in the thought some of the film won't make sense. A moment at the very end in particular left some of the viewers obviously a bit confused.
Yes i'm a bit of a Silent Hill fanboy, i'll admit. And the film is definitely better than i had ever hoped it would turn out. But i'm not blind, and there are some faults... Sean Bean's accent for one is awful, and hearing him put on a bad American accent seems even more stupid when his natural English accent would have actually added even more to the feel of the film. Otherwise he's perfect for the role, having that Silent Hill look which is common to all the games. It should be noted that the film's monsters are mostly physical rather than CGI, which is most definitely a good thing given how much the look of the games is organic - but it's also a slight weakness when something which is supposed to be made from thick rusted steel instead is obviously thin plastic with no weight to it at all. Mostly however the effects work well, with the monsters not having that flimsy CGI look whilst having CGI effects overlayed onto them to make them look as ...well, monstrous as possible. Over all the balance is well struck between real and CGI. There's a female police officer that just doesn't feel right at first, feeling like a game side-character which just doesn't work in a film. Though by the end she does finally feel like a worthy character, she never quite overcomes that feeling of a faceless game character. Alice Krige's acting goes a bit too far into the realms of hammy. A pity since in looks and going from her previous acting she was perfect for the role. She doesn't ruin the film at all, but anything which snaps you out of the Silent Hill mindset works against the film. Radha Mitchell as the main character is superb however! She plays the role with all the seriousness and conviction needed to pull the viewer into all the bizarre happenings throughout the film. Indeed, she holds the whole movie together in a way that none of the other characters and actors are able to. I honestly can't think how she could have played the part better.
My biggest problem with the film is due to my love of the second game (and as such isn't a consideration for anyone who doesn't know the games). The second game is by far the story that would have made the most interesting film. It's much more about the psychology of the main character than about the occult, and so never has to try and sell the idea of weird cults and strange religions to the player. But any hope of any potential sequel being based upon that story is ruined by all of it's monsters being used in the first film. The irony is that all the parts were in place to film that story, with Sean Bean being perfect for the role of James Sunderland, Mitchell would have worked as Mary/Maria, and with the possible exception of the metal part of Pyramid-Head they get him very close to perfect. And indeed Pyramid-Head doesn't ever fully fit into the new story other than as one of the nastier monsters - not that this stops 'him' from being the highlight of the movie. I sit here typing this and wonder if upon re-watching he may fit into the potential sequel that's left open however - that alone should tell you how much the film stays with you after watching it, after all i'm writing this a whole week after seeing it!
I know i've said a lot (and i'm amazed i got through that without letting any serious spoilers slip!), but if you skip everything and just want an idea of what type of film you'd end up watching if you went to see this... It's a well paced horror that will play as much on your mind as your ability to watch blood and guts. It's one of those films that leaves you feeling a little fucked up, and you'll be piecing things back together long after you've left the cinema. It's the first movie to do a videogame any justice, and shouldn't be judged as bad simply because it's based upon a game (as sadly many reviews in the mainstream press have done).
Just like the games upon which it's based, at the end you may leave Silent Hill - but Silent Hill doesn't leave you.
Skip to near the end for a quick summary as this is loooooong...
I saw Silent Hill last monday. Finally!
I'm a huge fan of the second Silent Hill game, so this movie was something i'd been both looking forward to and a bit concerned about for a long time. Concerned because videogame based movies usually end up being rubbish, and to see that happen to my beloved Silent Hill would have been just too much to bear... I needn't have worried! I heard that the original music composer for the games was doing the soundtrack to the film and so had really high hopes just from that perspective - the music and sounds are so important to the games that if they got this wrong it almost wouldn't matter how good the actual film was. But it's all there! This is not a film with a butchered soundtrack where commercial music is forced in wherever possible - in fact i didn't hear any music from anyone other than the composer (including a song from one of the games if you listen carefully). Sound-wise the film is perfect, with everything in it's right place and obviously done with a great deal of love for the games (no surprise i guess given the composer was, as i said earlier, a member of the development team behind the game).
Without giving many details away, i'll just say that the plot takes elements from all the games. The best way to describe it would be to say it takes much of the story from the first, but most of the cinematography and atmosphere from the second game. For those that don't know the games it's probably important to point out that Silent Hill has always been more about an oppressive and heavy atmosphere that really begins to get under your skin and into your mind, rather than trying to make you jump all the time and try to make you feel sick from the amount of gore. The film mostly sticks to this, but with a bit more gore in there to please horror fans. The best way i can think of to describe the pacing is like the sea coming into shore... It's often very slow and calming even, but you feel the waves approaching more and more, and with more and more intensity - and just as the water has begun to rush at you and you think you may sink... It pulls back. Everything's gone quiet. Everything is calmer and slower, but this time that bit more unsettling because of what you've witnessed.
It's a two hour film, which i wasn't expecting going in. I was a bit worried how a film would have the space to do the games justice. Silent Hill is as much about the quiet moments as the horrifying ones, but with a game lasting many hours it can afford the luxury of going slow. It's not often that saying a film felt longer than it's running time is intended as a compliment, but here that's exactly what it needed. You get drawn into how the real world and the 'alternative world' overlap with each other, and by the end of the film your perception of time has been messed with a bit. It uses all the tricks from the games in this respect, and they work just as well as could have been hoped.
For those that want some gore, it's there. More than i'd expected in fact (i honestly don't know how this film got a 15 here in the UK - i've seen much less violent films get an 18 rating). Maybe it's the fact that the horrific set-pieces have to be condensed into two hours, but there definitely seemed to be more gory scenes than in the games - in fact towards the end of the movie the blood and guts really get turned up high, but it fits within the movie's story. I frequently saw people in the cinema turning away from the screen, and that's not something which is such a common sight these days.
I mentioned the story... Of course anyone who knows about anything Silent Hill will know i can't say a damned thing about the story without ruining the film completely, and so i won't. Learning the story is all a part of what Silent Hill is about. You just aren't meant to know who people are right away, or even why they do certain things and make certain decisions. Most of those things are answered only at the end, and when you think back over people's actions after the end of the film you begin to understand why they made the choices they did. Silent Hill stays with you - like the games do, and much like a good book does. Watching it is only half of the journey, the rest is made up of thinking back upon what happened. That's not to say all questions are answered however, and for those who don't know the games or are unwilling to put in the thought some of the film won't make sense. A moment at the very end in particular left some of the viewers obviously a bit confused.
Yes i'm a bit of a Silent Hill fanboy, i'll admit. And the film is definitely better than i had ever hoped it would turn out. But i'm not blind, and there are some faults... Sean Bean's accent for one is awful, and hearing him put on a bad American accent seems even more stupid when his natural English accent would have actually added even more to the feel of the film. Otherwise he's perfect for the role, having that Silent Hill look which is common to all the games. It should be noted that the film's monsters are mostly physical rather than CGI, which is most definitely a good thing given how much the look of the games is organic - but it's also a slight weakness when something which is supposed to be made from thick rusted steel instead is obviously thin plastic with no weight to it at all. Mostly however the effects work well, with the monsters not having that flimsy CGI look whilst having CGI effects overlayed onto them to make them look as ...well, monstrous as possible. Over all the balance is well struck between real and CGI. There's a female police officer that just doesn't feel right at first, feeling like a game side-character which just doesn't work in a film. Though by the end she does finally feel like a worthy character, she never quite overcomes that feeling of a faceless game character. Alice Krige's acting goes a bit too far into the realms of hammy. A pity since in looks and going from her previous acting she was perfect for the role. She doesn't ruin the film at all, but anything which snaps you out of the Silent Hill mindset works against the film. Radha Mitchell as the main character is superb however! She plays the role with all the seriousness and conviction needed to pull the viewer into all the bizarre happenings throughout the film. Indeed, she holds the whole movie together in a way that none of the other characters and actors are able to. I honestly can't think how she could have played the part better.
My biggest problem with the film is due to my love of the second game (and as such isn't a consideration for anyone who doesn't know the games). The second game is by far the story that would have made the most interesting film. It's much more about the psychology of the main character than about the occult, and so never has to try and sell the idea of weird cults and strange religions to the player. But any hope of any potential sequel being based upon that story is ruined by all of it's monsters being used in the first film. The irony is that all the parts were in place to film that story, with Sean Bean being perfect for the role of James Sunderland, Mitchell would have worked as Mary/Maria, and with the possible exception of the metal part of Pyramid-Head they get him very close to perfect. And indeed Pyramid-Head doesn't ever fully fit into the new story other than as one of the nastier monsters - not that this stops 'him' from being the highlight of the movie. I sit here typing this and wonder if upon re-watching he may fit into the potential sequel that's left open however - that alone should tell you how much the film stays with you after watching it, after all i'm writing this a whole week after seeing it!
I know i've said a lot (and i'm amazed i got through that without letting any serious spoilers slip!), but if you skip everything and just want an idea of what type of film you'd end up watching if you went to see this... It's a well paced horror that will play as much on your mind as your ability to watch blood and guts. It's one of those films that leaves you feeling a little fucked up, and you'll be piecing things back together long after you've left the cinema. It's the first movie to do a videogame any justice, and shouldn't be judged as bad simply because it's based upon a game (as sadly many reviews in the mainstream press have done).
Just like the games upon which it's based, at the end you may leave Silent Hill - but Silent Hill doesn't leave you.