a review of 寂静岭

A common flaw with video game movies is that they stray too far away from the source material and create something that does have some visual nods to the games their based on, but from a narrative standpoint has nothing to do with them. They just loose the feeling of the games. So not only are they unable to achieve a following from mainstream audiences, but the turn off fans of the games as well. Silent Hill avoids both of those issues. It's a movie that both looks and feels just like the video games. So anyone who has played them is sure to feel at home here. You've got familiar monsters, Akira Yamaoka's incredible soundtrack, and more coherent take on the plot of the first game. Those unfamiliar with the series might have a bit of a harder time getting into it. The narrative structure is unconventional for sure. We watch a lot of our protagonist running around and stumbling upon mysterious and often disturbing things until near the end the movie decides to tell us everything that's going on all at once. The ending is incredibly vague. Still, the horror element is strong. There are plenty of grotesque sights and it's plenty dark and surprisingly violent. While I didn't find it scary to sit through, there are things that will get under your skin and stick with you after the credits have rolled.