Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I got an early look at the DVD for SILENT HILL, the Christophe Gans video game adaptation. I realized while watching that I never wrote a review for the flick.
This is a movie I was dying for. I'm a big fan of Roger Avary's odd-ball sensibilities and of Gans' style (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) and their promises to me of a throwback to the creepy-ass atmospheric horror at the American Film Market last year.
My expectations were pretty damn high to start with, but they skyrocketed after I saw the trailer, which looked EXACTLY like the movie I wanted to see. When I saw the movie, at the LA premiere no less, I really liked what I saw, but it didn't quite hit my high-expectation mark. That mostly had to do with the last 20 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I like the ending, but I wasn't a fan of the decision to go into so much exposition on just what was going on in this town. I thought it was well executed, but to me it drove the film to a screeching halt that it didn't completely recover from.
However, the production design was incredible, the acting was great (except for little Jodelle Ferland who I thought was really, really over-the-top in the film, but hey... most people seem to love her in the movie, so maybe it's just me) and the creatures were cool.
When I got the DVD I immediately flipped it over to see what special features I could look forward to. Unfortunately, the Roger Avary commentary I was looking forward to was absent. Not that I was promised a commentary track by the studio or anyone involved, I just assumed that commentaries were standard extras these days. There are no commentaries on the disc. The only thing in regards to extra features is a series of 6 documentaries. Thankfully these documentaries are really good.
They call it a 6-part Behind The Scenes Featurette, PATH OF DARKNESS: MAKING "SILENT HILL" and all these docs played together reach about an hour of behind the scenes material. This isn't a tradition lame EPK (electronic press kit) surface doc. It goes pretty indepth, which is nice. The six parts are:
Origins
Casting
Set Design
Stars and Stunts
Creatures Unleashed
Creature Choreography
The last two are by far my favorites. I watched the docs first thing when I popped the DVD into the player. I found myself respecting the movie more and more and was eager to watch it again when I finished the docs. It was the creature stuff, man. The practical designs for the FUBAR creatures. The creatures from the game are all sorts of creepy and realized were fucking phenomenal. Watching the creature designs coming together and brought to life was really interesting to me. I love this kind of stuff.
The doc does such a good job showing me the how creepy these were onset that I couldn't help but be a little disappointed when I rewatched the film again and saw that Gans, for whatever reason, CG'd over almost all the practical designs. Particularly the Grey Children and the Armless creature. These looked so goddamn creepy in the behind the scenes, completely practical, and I just couldn't help but feel their creepiness was lightened a bit by the layer of, in my opinion, needless CGI.
The only two creatures to escape pretty much unscathed are the Red Pyramid and the Janitor, still my favorite two monsters from the flick.
So, without dwelling on the aspects that didn't completely work for me, SILENT HILL is actually a really solid horror film that does not pull its punches and a film that can still be pointed at and given as an example whenever anybody says you can't make a good movie out of a video game. Adapting a video game is like adapting any other medium... books, comics, etc. It's all in how you bring the material to the screen and what you decide to focus on. The story of SILENT HILL isn't 100% any of the games, but Avary and Gans decided to focus on bringing the atmosphere of the games over and they succeeded with flying colors there.
It's a balls-out, gut-punch of a horror movie that isn't lite on the gore. The DVD is a bit sparse on the special features, but if you can get it for around $15, go for it. The movie and the hours worth of documentaries are definitely worth it, especially if you're a horror fan.
That's it for me on this one. Back to transcribing. Tons of interviews to go and a few really interesting set visits that just fell into place. More info on those soon! 'Til then this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
