Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
It annoys me that Screen Gems didn’t screen this for critics. Christophe Gans is a really strong filmmaker, and they should be making a bigger deal out of this. Ever since BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, I've been dying to see something from him, and to me, that's an event, regardless of the source material. Instead, they’re treating this just like they treat most of their movies... like they’re ashamed of them and they just want to burn them off, get whatever opening weekend take they’re going to get, and then be done with it.
But even though this was released without screening for critics, we’ve had a few reactions trickle in this morning. Here’s the first of the three I’ll be publishing:
Hey guys. I just got back from a not-so-early early screening of "Silent Hill" in Pittsburgh. As a video-game fan, I'm glad that they finally made a movie based on a game that is pretty damn good, though I am a bit dissapointed that the game in question is part of a series I never really got into. However, this one is far better then other adaptations like the lackluster "Resident Evil" films or the abominable turd known as "Street Fighter." That being said, here are my thoughts:
This is, hands down, the best video game-to-film adaptation yet. Before this was "Doom," a movie I enjoyed but many others did not. However, there is no doubt in my mind that "Silent Hill" is not only a very solid movie, but also one that most video game fans will probably take to.
The movie finds parents Rose and Christopher Da Silva (Radha Mitchell and Sean Bean, respectively) very distraught when their adopted daughter of nine years (Jodelle Ferland) begins to not only walk in her sleep but also begins walking over a very deep fall into rocky terrain right next to the family's home. When ever she is woken by her trance she frantically shouts the film's title over and over. This prompts Rose, without her husband's knowledge, to take their little girl back to the town of her birth to see what all the trouble is.
She really should have stayed at home.
"Silent Hill" is the first horror film I've seen that uses C.G.I. so effectively. The creatures in this thing are what nightmares are made of. From the walking, screaming, burned corpses of children to one big mother with a very large pyrimad helmet and an even bigger sword, the guys who went to work designing these creatures are all artists in their own right. Practical and computer effects have never been combined so well in a motion picture in recent memory. Sure, there are moments where you will know you're watching a glorified cartoon... but at the same time, you'll be asking yourself, "What in the blue fuck was that!?" so many times that it won't even matter.
The actors all do a fine job, with Laurie Holden as the tough chick cop Cybil Bennet being the stand out performance. This movie needed a badass, and Holden steps up to the plate as a cop who, unlike every other horror movie cop, knows when to shoot her fucking gun. Meanwhile, the creepy little girl of the film, Jodelle Ferland, plays multiples roles and does all of them fantastically. It seems that every stupid scary flick these days feels the need to employ some creepy little bastard who speaks in metaphors. Luckily, Ferland does a fine job, as her face is not encased in make-up but rather simple black ash... and that's what makes her so damn creepy.
The real downfall of "Silent Hill" is the cheese that creeps into the movie every so often. Once a secret cult is introduced into the film's script, things not only sort of slow down to an almost painful halt, but clear "Crucible" influences begin showing up that are mostly unnecessary. Every time one of the town's folk whips out a, "Witch! Burn her!," I found myself cringing just a bit on the inside. Fortunately, the rest of the script from "Pulp Fiction" co-writer Roger Avary holds up fairly well.
Director Christophe Gans has really out done himself here. He has finally crafted one of the first, truly great video game films; a movie that seems to have been made solely for the game nerds out there but also just happens to entertain everyone else as well. From the abundance of gore to the music and especially to the set design, it becomes very clear that Gans knew what he was doing every step of the way, which is actually quite refreshing for a movie like this.
All around, this is a pretty good time and a safe bet for fans of the game. And while the cheese is sometimes a bit too thick and the running time could have probably lost fifteen minutes or so, "Silent Hill" is a great, gory time to be had by all. Not perfect, but a very fine start.
Here's hoping for Jackson's "Halo"...
If you use this, just call me SickManOutside.
Interesting. I know one of our regular reviewers also sent in a peek at this, so I’ll put that up next...
"Moriarty" out.
