By Forris Day Jr.
Based on the wildly popular video game from Konami, “Silent Hill” tries to stay true to the feel of the game and does so brilliantly. The movie focuses on Rose Da Silva (Radha Mitchell) as she searches for the answer as to why her daughter Sharon is having crazy dreams and sleepwalks into dangerous situations. Sharon is played by the very talented actress Jodelle Ferland who has a duel role of the extremely creepy Alessa Gillespie. Rose and Sharon take off in search of a town in West Virginia called Silent Hill against the advice of Roses husband, the voice of reason, Christopher (Sean Bean).
Rose and Sharon get to town and do the “Stop for directions and fuel at an unfriendly gas station so you can meet a creepy person scene”. You know the one I speak of…it’s in all horror films. The creepy person they meet is a female motorcycle cop named Cybil Bennet. Well at first she seems creepy but as the story progresses she becomes one of our heroes. I have to say Cybil is my favorite character incredibly played by Laurie Holden. She is strong yet caring. Absolutely my favorite performance. As the ladies enter Silent Hill they crash. When they wake up they have crossed into another dimension or layer sort of speak. It seems to be snowing but it is really ash falling from the sky due to an underground mine fire that has been burning for thirty years. I am sure that the storyline is based on real facts of the coal mine fire that started in 1961 in Centralia, Pennsylvania http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania and still burns today.
The story moves a bit slowly as they enter the town but the monsters they encounter are some of the best I’ve ever seen in a movie, so for that alone it is worth watching. Wonderful locations, creepy as hell monsters, and top notch acting all around make this a must see for any horror fan. The story…well not so much. The dvd is loaded with some nice behind the scenes footage so any aspiring film maker should take the time to watch those to pick up a few tricks.
Here is the cool part. The sequel to “Silent Hill” is being/has been released Oct 26, 2012. It’s called “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”. The storyline picks up 6 years later and the horror is starting all over again. Here is a link to their IMDB page with a trailer: (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938330/) Judging from the trailer this one looks even more scary than the first so I am looking forward to checking it out. The 3D has got to make it even more horrifying I’m sure!
Rating: 6/10… “Mom, there’s a monster under my bed…no seriously…THERE’S A MONSTER UNDER MY BED!!!”
