Silent Hill

Written by Tom Clare in Film Reviews, Wednesday 19 December, 2007

Silence Speaking Volumes?

History has taught us that a good game rarely makes for a good film adaptation. Tomb Raider and Streetfighter are primary examples of projects destined for failure purely because they had so little storyline to work with in the first place, and the same can be said for countless others. Indeed, Mortal Kombat probably remains the best of a dubious bunch simply because it focussed on the few areas that could make for an effective transition into film (the martial arts sequences, in other words) whilst also paying a fine homage to the game upon which it was based.

The problem with such crossovers is, strong storylines are rather more crucial to a film than a game - so no matter how slick-looking the Resident Evil movies are, the games upon which they are based are basically (in a narrative sense) generic mash-ups of anything and everything between Aliens and Assault On Precinct 13. However, Silent Hill was a game that didn't seek such obvious reference points for its storyline; in equal parts uniquely bizarre and brilliantly unnerving, it had major silver-screen potential.

After ploughing through four games and enduring enough underwear-soiling moments to keep a laundrette in business for a year, I was quietly looking forward to the prospect of a film version, which first hit cinemas in 2006. Despite the scathing (and, it must be said, entirely expected) criticism of renowned film buff and game-naysayer Roger Ebert, Silent Hill turns out to be a solid though not especially scary horror film that, predictably enough, long-time fans will appreciate the most.

The story sees Rose Da Silva (Radha Mitchell) travelling to the mysterious, backwater US town of Silent Hill with her daughter Sharon, to uncover the reasons behind Sharon's disturbed drawings and repeated mentioning of the town in her sleep. However, things start to go wrong when Rose crashes the car, as upon regaining consciousness, she discovers her daughter is missing. Her car no longer works, the place is dense, fog-filled and deserted and what's more, ash is falling from the skies like snow. Welcome to Silent Hill, indeed.

It therefore falls to Rose to uncover the nature of Silent Hill's evil secrets, as well as the increasingly apparent link her young daughter has with the town. She also finds herself struggling to survive the attacks of the increasingly deranged and dangerous inhabitants that come out of the woodwork when the towns own evil side ('the darkness') manifests. And then there are the questionable motives of the human protagonists - most notably Christabella (Alice Krige), leader of a strange cult, able to shelter themselves from the evil beasties within a church.

Director Christopher Gans has gone to admirable lengths to recreate Silent Hill in all its twisted glory, but though it proves an enjoyable watch, it never reaches the terrifying heights of the games upon which it is based. Whilst the Resident Evil movies are able to fulfil a rather simple mixture of gore and 'jump' moments, Silent Hill's more sophisticated, psychological brand of horror perhaps required a slightly deeper, darker script. Though rarely shocking in terms of its physical violence, Silent Hill's remarkably twisted designs and use of grotesque visual imagery have been integral to its effectiveness ever since conception - the fact that it is only a '15' certificate suggests that Gans wasn't willing to go quite as far as was required to get the film on equal footing with the game. And because of the limitations on the length of the film, it is unable to build the sense of suffocating isolation; disorientation and panic that the game instils over a period of time as it is forced to move from one scene to the next in relatively rapid succession.

It means that, though many locales synonymous with Silent Hill (such as the school and hospital) are visited, they are featured only very briefly. It has an acceptable plot, but could have benefited from some more original ideas that didn't reference the game so closely - for example, Rose's reasoning to assume that every bit of conveniently-placed debris must be a crucial clue to finding her daughter will baffle many movie-goers. The appearance of 'Red Pyramid', a monster with a head befitting his name and a giant sword, shows up some serious plot discrepancies - though superbly recreated, the creature plays only a bit part that involves him/it attacking the lead characters, before promptly disappearing for the second half of the film without so much as a mention. This is a bit of a missed opportunity; not only because of the tension the monster creates but the fact that fans know there is more to the character than mindless slaying.

Though the story itself gives the illusion of complexity at times, it's still fairly lightweight when compared to the likes of Ring, but despite this, Silent Hill triumphs in almost all aspects of its presentation. The decaying, rusted facades of the nightmarish 'darkness' settings make for a fairly decent take on the games most effective scare tactic. The use of harsh colour combinations, mainly orange and black, along with smoking grills, grates and deformed corpses adorning the walls have the potential to unnerve, though as mentioned earlier, they get passed over a bit too quickly. That said, aesthetically these scenes make for a fantastically disarming contrast to the clean, vivid white-out fog of the normal town landscapes. The make-up and design is exceptional - it's genuinely surprising to see how little CGI is actually used given the sheer deformity of the monsters and the very odd way in which they move. The standout scene sees Rose creeping through a hoard of motionless, deformed nurses in a dimly lit hospital corridor, each brandishing their own serrated blade; it's a real heart-stopper, and considering the number of actresses involved in the scene, the level of detail and individuality in their appearances is top-notch.

As for the actors' performances, they are a mixed bag to say the least. Radha Mitchell puts in a fairly decent showing in the lead role as though the lines she's given are largely unremarkable; she puts plenty of conviction into her words and an equal amount of commitment into the often-bruising action scenes. Sean Bean however is wasted as Rose's husband Chris; his American accent is spectacularly unconvincing and his character largely meaningless - a mere vehicle for revealing some of the more shady elements of the towns past.

Elsewhere, among some slightly over the top performances shines an unlikely young star in Jodelle Ferland, who plays Rose's daughter Sharon. Alternating between endearingly innocent and deliciously creepy with the changing of her persona, she delivers one of the best performances from a minor in any horror film of recent times. It's nice also to see Alice Krige (the Borg Queen in Star Trek) carving out another good villainous performance as the deluded Christabella, and fans will be pleased to note that iconic cop Cybil Bennett (one of only a couple of individuals in the film directly based on a character from the game) is brought to life with style and vigour by Laurie Holden.

The soundtrack is well worthy of a mention, as Silent Hill is a little different to your average horror flick in this department. There are hardly any sharp notes or panicky tempos to speak of; just some alluringly melancholic melodies, which harbour an almost X-Files-esque supernatural feel. The ominous, thrumming undercurrent adds a noticeable ambience to the film.

Ultimately, Silent Hill won't trouble the kingpins of the horror genre, though makes for a rather more original, distinguished showing than Resident Evil. It is victim to a story that is tied a little too closely to its source material, coming across as more of an admiring homage than a fully-realised cinematic evolution. Its strengths lie mainly in set-design and make-up and though it won't take you on the emotional rollercoaster that fans crave, it nevertheless makes for an atmospheric and watchable couple of hours. Recommended to fans of the game and the genre in general - it could have been better, but then it could have been so much worse.

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