It's not very often that I look forward to the release of a new horror film. It isn't because I don’t like them… as a matter of fact, I love horror films. It's just so darn hard to find any good ones anymore. I'm still a fan of the classics like "The Uninvited" with Ray Milland, and not so enamored with a lot of the super stylish horror films of the 90's or 2000's. However sometimes I catch a trailer for a film that is so creepy that I get sucked in by it and hope that the movie lives up to it. This was the case with "Silent Hill." I knew the "Silent Hill" was based on a video game, so that in itself didn’t bode too well. Yet, when I saw the trailer, I was so creeped out that I couldn't wait to see it. I thought that even if the storyline didn’t work, the effects would at least offer some nice moments. And it turns out that I was right on at least some of the counts. "Silent Hill" looked amazing and there were several times in the film that I was as creeped out as I was watching the trailer. Even the storyline was okay, which I'll get to in a moment, but the overall feel of the movie was rather bland and the ending was less than satisfying.

I've never played the game of "Silent Hill", so I don’t know how close the story matches, but in the movie we are introduced to Christopher and Rose DaSilva (Sean Bean and Radha Mitchell) whose daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) experiences bouts of sleepwalking combined with violent nightmares. Her sleepwalking though leads her into some very dangerous predicaments and her parents have tried to find a way to stop it. Her mother begins to focus on the dreams and finds they all seem to lead to a town by the name of Silent Hill. Rose finds out that it is now a ghost town, its evacuation brought on by a horrendous mining accident that has kept fires burning beneath it for over ten years. She decides to take Sharon to the town, against her husband's wishes, in the hopes that she may be able to discover the source of the dreams and perhaps put an end to them. Along the way, her and her daughter's suspicious behavior attracts the attention of a local motorcycle cop (Laurie Holden), who follows them to the town. Once there, Rose loses her daughter and spends most of the rest of the film trying to track her down.

To be honest, I had extremely mixed feelings about "Silent Hill." Everything about the film screamed big budget in terms of its production design. Once the characters entered the town of Silent Hill, it was as though they walked directly into a video game, which was as it should be. The look of the town and what lay beneath it, was a computer graphic artists dream. Every detail was meticulously crafted to convey the look of the original video game, and I am told by some of my gamer friends that they succeeded. Again, as I had not played the game, all I can say was that the overall look worked for me. There were indeed moments that were quite disturbing and watching it late at night only made it worse.

But for all of its great production design, its video game approach also made the events seem detached. As Rose and Cybil (the motorcycle cop) move from scene to scene and face demons at each (just like a video game), I found myself not really caring about the characters. I was too involved in the scenes and how they looked. Even when they discover the truth about Silent Hill and Sharon's connection to it, it was far more visually stimulating that emotionally involving. The ending sequence, which I'm sure is supposed to allow for a possible sequel, left me feeling nothing but frustration. I wish I could describe it here, but I prefer to keep my reviews as spoiler free as possible. Suffice to say that while it seems the 'game' was won, the characters continue to reside in two different dimensions, as detached from each other as I was to the movie.

Sony / Columbia Tristar is releasing the DVD for "Silent Hill", and despite the film's deficiencies, offers up a very nice disc. As the visuals are what really sell this movie, the video transfer is glorious. The world of the video game is excessively dark in places but the contrast allowed me the opportunity to see what was lying in every nook and cranny… and least the things I was supposed to see. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound also created and awesome atmosphere of surrealism coming through my system.

In the realm of extra features, the DVD offers up a 6-part production diary. It is also one of the best documentary features I've seen this year as each part focuses heavily on how the film was created from start to finish. And again, since the production design makes the movie, seeing how they created a lot of the film's look was fascinating. In some ways, a little more so then the movie itself.

Recommending "Silent Hill" to anyone comes with a caveat. Everything about the movie looks terrific. There are images that are both horrific and disturbing, but in the end you will find that style totally overshadows the substance. If you go into the film knowing you will probably not get emotionally attached, but will be blown away by what you see, chances are you'll get some enjoyment out of it.

Directed by: Christophe Gans
Starring: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates
Extras: "Path of Darkness": Six Silent Hill Production Diaries: Part One: Origins of Silent Hill, Part Two: Casting the film, Part Three: Building Silent Hill (the town), Part Four: Stars and Stunts, Part Five: Creature Choreography, Part Six: Constructing the Creepy Creatures from the film
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 8/22/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give Silent Hill a B-.