NEW Silent Hill (DVD)

Silent Hill is a movie based on a video game.

Still reading? Good, because you will be pleasantly surprised to learn that, unlike every other video game-based movie ever made, this is a great film! And it's a great film that fans of the game can enjoy as well as moviegoers who never heard of the game (or who have been offended by the drek that usually comes to the theaters in the guise of video game movies).

Silent Hill is a ghost town that was abandoned in the seventies because of an underground coal fire and now haunts the nightmares of a little girl. In an attempt to help her adoptive daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland), Rose (Radha Mitchell) takes her to Silent Hill and enters a nightmare-like alternate reality. Going any further into the plot would spoil the surprises in this film and the surprises are part of the fun.

The creatures that inhabit this alternate Silent Hill are very disturbing and nightmarish and they move in a very fluid way that is both familiar and strange at the same time. Seeing them in action (and, unlike most horror films, in full lighting) causes an almost immediate flight or fight reaction until the rational side of your brain remembers that it's only a movie.

Also on the plus side is the music of Silent Hill. Very creepy, very fitting, and, very good; at least half of the reason this film works so well is because the music and sound effects do so well in conveying the sense that something is moving just beyond your vision.

There is a downside to the film and it occurs almost dead center in the film. The beginning and ending of the movie is rife with psychological-based horror, and creatures dredged up from the depths of nightmares. But the middle is where we get an explanation for what's going on and it's a jarring change of pace that, thankfully, doesn't last too long.

But the rest of the film makes up for that one pacing stutter and the entire film comes together in a great conclusion that may or may not hint at a sequel.

Silent Hill also accomplished two very important things; it proves that a video game can be successfully translated into a great film, and it restored my faith in the horror genre' by giving me real chills without resorting to cheap tricks.

A must see!

I went with my mom to see this movie because surprisingly my mom really likes horror flicks and loves these kinds of movies. I thought it would be very boring but it turned out to be a very mindbending and one of the most scariest movie moments i've ever experienced, buy this dvd. The only part i did not really like was the shocking ending but other than that BUY IT.

I am a fan of the Silent Hill games.

I read nothing but negative critics about this movie and I thought it might be a bad one... until I saw it. This one is an outstanding work. The story is unique and brilliant, as well as the acting, even the smallest parts are played by very talented actors. The director took care of all the details to make a perfect and scary movie about Silent Hill. Amazing. Can't wait to get the R2 version.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 349 reviews  3.6 out of 5 stars