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Movie Review - Silent Hill (2006)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Christophe Gans |
| Starring: |
Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, and Deborah Kara Unger |
| Rated: |
R (for strong horror violence and gore, disturbing images, and some language) |
| Length: |
125 minutes |
| Genre: |
Horror/Thriller |
| Tagline: |
Enjoy your stay. |
| Studio: |
Sony Pictures |
| Website: |
Silent Hill |
| Release: |
April 20, 2006 |
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PLOT
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Rose's (Mitchell) adopted daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) is prone to walking in her sleep and inexplicably
saying the town name "Silent Hill." Against her husband's (Bean) wishes, Rose grabs Sharon and heads towards
Silent Hill to figure out what exactly is going on.
After swerving to avoid what looks to be a child in the road, Rose's vehicle wrecks. She wakes up to find that
her daughter has disappeared in Silent Hill, an eerie and deserted Ghost town inhabited by inhuman creatures and
an otherworld darkness. Rose is determined to not let this prevent her from finding her daughter. That's all I'm
gonna reveal. A gift for fans of the video game series ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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As a fan of all four of the Silent Hill video games, I am here to unashamedly say that I enjoyed this film
adaptation. The atmosphere and feel of the games are exactly how I imagined they should look on the big screen,
and the unearthly creatures have an added creepiness now that they have a "real-life" manifestation. As I sat back
and absorbed the impressive scenery and cinematography, I couldn't help but be pleased with the comfortable, yet
uneasy, familiarity.
However, I can see how people who know absolutely nothing about the games will walk away a little confused. And
after listening to comments after the screening from people who had no idea this was based on a video game, it's
clear that many people won't "get it." "I still don't understand what that alternate dimension was all about,"
one lady claimed. "Yeah," replied another, "and the ending didn't make sense! And what exactly were all the
creatures supposed to be?"
I admit that the movie could've done a better job of explaining a few creature origins for the uninitiated, and
the ending would have probably been better served with more closure (some folks just don't like things to be left
open to interpretation), but this is a movie whose enjoyment level highly depends on how much you're willing to
bring to the table. You have to willingly engage your brain for a full two hours or you will most likely be
scratching your head, asking your neighbor what in the world is going on.
The highest compliment I can pay to the film is that it kept my eyes glued to the screen the entire time, not
wanting to miss a single thing that might jump out of the shadows. Much like Jessica Biel's tight jeans in
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that's just how attractive this film is to look at.
I'm feeling a bit tired and under the weather today, so I apologize that I'm not as hilarious and as detailed
as usual. I'm shocked I was able to summon the energy to even write this much. So let me just end on this:
If I weren't already a fan of the games then I would've walked out of the theater wanting to play them.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- The real town of Centralia, PA (where underground coal fires have been burning for over 40 years) was a big
inspiration in the writing of the movie. Check out
this article for more information and pictures. Interesting stuff.
- If you're interested in finding out more regarding the mythology behind the Silent Hill world then I
recommend this site.
- Sean Bean's character wasn't originally supposed to be in the film, but the studio complained that there were
too few men in the screenplay.
- Radha Mitchell was in Melinda and Melinda with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Please don't let your pre-teens go to this one. I'm pretty sure they don't need to see people's entire skin
being ripped off or barbed wire splicing folks in half. Profanity isn't extreme, but there are about 5 to 10
drops of the f-bomb.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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It's a fairly decent judge of what to expect, but it's not the straight-up horror flick you might be expecting.
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THE GIST
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If you're a fan of the video game series then you'll definitely enjoy Silent Hill to some extent, despite
whatever complaints you have with the differences between the game's storyline and that of the movie. Those
unfamiliar with the game may walk away clueless as to what they just watched.
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