With its overabundance of demented images, “Silent Hill,” the film world’s latest video-game adaptation, desperately wants to be a horror movie. Unfortunately, the movie evokes more confusion than terror.
Radha Mitchell (“Man on Fire”) stars as Rose Da Silva, the mother of Sharon, a disturbed child who is plagued by chronic sleepwalking episodes during which she screams for ‘Silent Hill.’ The film is based on the Playstation 2 video game series of the same title.
From the beginning, “Silent Hill” is a bit unsubstantiated as Rose, who apparently has nothing better to do with her life, suddenly decides to take Sharon on a trip to the West Virginia ghost town. After being knocked unconscious in a car accident, Rose awakens to find that Sharon has disappeared into the abandoned city. Rose proceeds to follow the distant laughter and the slight glimpses of what she assumes is her daughter. Among abandoned buildings and ashy streets, Rose meets up with a police officer who helps her search for her missing daughter.
From this point on, the film becomes a disturbing tour through a city abounding with twisted, burned and mangled bodies. One cannot help but wonder why Rose is so adamant about exploring a ghost town in which she continues to encounter strange creatures who are trying to kill her.
Excluding a few goofy scenes in which the movements of the ghastly residents of the ghost town resemble something out of “Thriller,” this film offers a multitude of haunting scenes and imagery that give the film a unique look.
The video game world from which the movie originates is brought to life in stylish scary environments, characters and sounds – especially the ominous fire alarm which echoes throughout the town before the “darkness” of Silent Hill is unleashed. But the chilling images of the film would mean much more if we knew why they were there.
As the story unfolds, the truth behind the living residents of Silent Hill is revealed. This information comes far too late in the film, and much of “Silent Hill” only makes sense in retrospect, which is evident when the story pauses to explain itself before proceeding to the climax.
“Silent Hill” delivers a barrage of terrifying visuals. However, the delayed details of the story often lead to confusion. It seems that the filmmakers have forgotten that movies need more of a story than video games.
For the majority of the movie, I was left wondering why the town of Silent Hill is so ridiculously disturbing, and more importantly, where did Rose develop the bravery to charge into the United States’ most haunted ghost town with nothing but a Jeep Liberty and Zippo lighter?
