Willing Suspension of Disbelief

Movie reviews from someone who loves movies

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Silent Hill

Plot

Mother and daughter drive into haunted town. Daughter disappears. Mother searches for her, avoiding bad things.

The Good

Watchability

This is a very watchable movie. (+1) There were times when I did not want to stop the movie just because the phone rang or from other disturbances. (+1) I would watch this again, especially to pay attention to the creatures. (+1) There were no obvious gaffes that interfered with the movie.

Story Line

The story line worked well. (+1) Obviously, the screenwriter and director looked to the video game for much of the inspiration. As a typical horror/action movie, the director had a choice. Either to stick to the events that drive the story or add in extraneous items. Thankfully, the director chose driving the story. Interestingly, the parts that feel extraneous to the story involve the husband, and according to IMDB.com, the husband was added late in the screenwriting. Would this have been a better movie if it only dealt with the mother and the cop? Maybe, but then the empathy we feel for the mother might have been less. (+1) There is not much original here, since children drawn to evil, then disappearing, and parents looking for them is a common theme in the horror genre. This movie is constrained in its originality by being based on the video game, but, unlike some other video game adaptations (i.e., Doom), the movie is done well, and stands on its own. (+1)

Acting

Don't expect too much acting. The husband character was added late in the screenwriting process, and adds little to the story. The protagonists spend much of their time looking shocked and horrified, but there is some glimmer when there is inter-character discourse between the leader of the town, and the main protagonist.

The Bad


The effects were very well done, and there were no obvious technical issues with the film

The Ugly


It is just as well that the producers could not get the rights to this movie for five years. The effects are good, and really carry this movie.

+6: Time well spent.

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