We are lucky

[simeonalo]

The RE movies are completely stupid.

[rm2kking]

What annoyed me about the movie was it tried to explain everything, and the beauty about the games its being left in the dark that makes the experience so interesting the ambiguous conversations and vague explanations. I personally didn't like the whole coal fire back story, i know it has to appeal to a mainstream audience but it still dint need to simplify too much.

I get what you are saying and I agree. The thing is, even with all that explanation, people still don't get it. How often do any of us find ourselves attempting to explain the events or ending to anyone who hasn't played the games? The movie did need all that explanation, I think, for that very purpose.

[DistantJ]

The RE movies are completely stupid.

It's a good job you were here to say that.

[simeonalo]

Thank you

[rm2kking]

Hey don't bicker about the RE movies. As for the Silent Hill movie, Chrism said it perfectly.

We are privileged to have a director like Christophe Gans make a film based on one of our favourite videogames which actually turns out to be so well executed when it comes to the atmosphere and the translation from game to movie in general, that is indeed a rare gift.

[simeonalo]

Well, we are lucky anyways. I really loved how they emphasized the atmosphere really great, and the movie was scary without the jump-scares that RE has. And, I loved how the movie really focused on how what a mother would do to get her daughter back, more than the original.

Aside from the Witch-Burning story basis, and some of the acting.

[Csilent Ihill]

Actually, unlike SH, the first RE had the occassional suspense, a sense of claustrophobia, some nerve and build-up in the low budget direction, and a strong ending... Unfortunately the crappy APOCALYPSE ruined everything and worse. Director Paul W.S. Anderson did a decent job, though it obviously was far from being undoubtedly GOOD. All SH delivered was spot-on visuals, incredible sound and occassional atmosphere. The script, the narrative and suspense were pretty much useless. So I think RE in a way, perhaps commercially and for fulfilling a decent product onto the screen, came out "stronger" than SH did.

[JKristine35]

I disagree. I found much more to like in SH than the visuals. The storyline was great, the acting was good, and I loved how deeply symbolic the movie was. All of those are things, IMHO, that RE lacked.

[Csilent Ihill]

As you know, RE had no intention of bringing symbolism nor depth, what it did was telling a decent, "fast food" story with familiar Hollywood features and easy going suspense and decent acting, and it worked fine in that matter. The outcome of the first RE is okay.

Besides the visuals and audio portion, SH also had a strong cast and the storyline was promising, but the cast didn't exactly overcome the foolish script written by Avary, and although various symbolism did occur, it was poorly executed, mainly due to the awkward script.

Since SH's script is so bad, trying to intrigue but fails miserably, and visuals as well as casting don't exactly "overshadow" the script's major flaws, I objectively think RE with its decent results is better than SH.

You seem to be a reasonable person, do you really think SH's script is a good script? Don't you find it awkward, foolish? The way the one-dimensional characters interact with each other is nine out of ten times pathetic.

[AuraTwilight]

I've really yet to be convinced why the script is "awkward" and why the characters are "one-dimensional," in the past four or so years since the movie came out.

[Fevered Dream]

I definitely found much of the dialogue to be very awkward and downright silly, but I think the plot and storyline as a whole was well done and intriguing and most likely a lot of it will carry over to the planned sequels. So it will definitely be interesting to see how the rest of the Sharon, Rose, and Chris storyline unfolds if they do plan to continue with it.

[JKristine35]

There are only a few places I find the script to be awkward (such as Sharon's screaming). Honestly, I found it more along the lines of how real people would talk in a situation like that. Not everything's going to be Shakespeare or deeply meaningful coming out of a regular person's mouth. The times when it did need to be deep and symbolic (Rose's and Dark Alessa's speeches), it was. I didn't find anything in the movie to be termed 'pathetic' at all.

[46n2]

There are only a few places I find the script to be awkward (such as Sharon's screaming). Honestly, I found it more along the lines of how real people would talk in a situation like that. Not everything's going to be Shakespeare or deeply meaningful coming out of a regular person's mouth. The times when it did need to be deep and symbolic (Rose's and Dark Alessa's speeches), it was. I didn't find anything in the movie to be termed 'pathetic' at all.

Agreed. Though I must admit that when Sharon moaned "uhSilent Hilluh" in the beginning, me and my friends all exchanged worried glances. We got a lot of looks in the theater, especially when a few of us stood up and clapped when PH ripped that Godhead Chick's skin off.

[RuneDragonfire]

I like Silent Hill as a movie, but I had my own issues with it.

To me, while they had the right atmosphere, it just wasn't creepy enough or mindbending enough. I would have loved to see an Otherworld transition that just made me go "WTF!?", like the School Clocktower and the Hospital Elevator in SH1, or the random things that made me go "that's just messed up", like disembodied baby cries or loud bangs from nowhere... I just wish it would have made more of an attempt to make me feel uncomfortable.

And in my opinion Radha Mitchell's acting just wasn't very good. These are, however, only my opinions.

[Mr. Domino]

Wholeheartedly agreed that the otherworld transitions were much better handled in the game. However, I understand that Gans was trying to get across that the town was 'burning' just like Alessa had. It works, just not as well.

[JKristine35]

I think the idea of the world 'melting' during the change from fog world to darkness was more symbolic of Alessa's flesh being melted during the burning, with the blood spreading over the walls also being representative of that.

[DistantJ]

I'm going to have to agree with AuraTwilight, the number of times I've heard people on here refer to an "awkward" script, but never justify that by explaining what exactly they found wrong with it. I think the story is told brilliantly in this film, and it's deeper than it appears on the first viewing. I notice more and more each time I return to it, just like the games.

I loved how the movie really focused on how what a mother would do to get her daughter back, more than the original.

Ya know, if you really pay attention, the entire movie has somewhat of a motherhood/birth theme to it, and a bit of family vs. faith. I know that Rose replaced Harry because the director felt that a female character would A) show her emotions and fear more openly and B) make it easier for casual audiences to understand the bond between her and Sharon, but it seems that from there this theme was worked in and that is the reason for Dahlia to become a sympathetic character.

Rose and Chris are a young couple but they chose to adopt, which implies that they're unable to conceive a child, and Rose is unable to be a biological mother - and yet over the course of the movie, she goes through experiences symbolising biological motherhood, eventually at the end taking dark Alessa inside of herself (she disappears into her stomach, and Rose clutches her abdomen, implying that she went into her womb), then giving birth to her in the church (much like how Heather was to give birth to the god).

I also feel like Cybil is wanting to mother a child but just hasn't settled down yet, the way she is so concerned for Sharon at the very beginning of the movie, and the story of how she looked after a young child who was dropped down a mineshaft for three whole days while waiting for assistance, and how even when being burned at the stake, her primary concern is to make sure Sharon is okay. Hell, when Gans talks about Cybil's character, he says that she joined the police force out of a desire to save children from abuse.

I believe that that's why Dahlia's role in the game was replaced by Christabella, and Dahlia became a character who had been forced to choose between faith and family, and made a huge mistake, and is still suffering for it decades later. I particularly love when she becomes almost feral trying to protect Sharon from the cult members.

Finally add to that Christobella's death scene, where Alessa's barbed-wire tentacles are holding her legs open, as she prays to god for 'the strength to stay pure', and Alessa then, well, you know what she does, symbolically impregnating her, then bursting out from inside, almost like a birth, while Dark Alessa dances and plays in the blood (okay, that particular shot's not symbolic of birth, but it's fucking awesome and creepy as hell).

There's even a little moment where cult member Anna's death is lamented by her mother, while Christobella tries to downplay her bond with her daughter in the name of faith. The whole faith vs. family thing really gives significance to Cybil's line "Mother is god in the eyes of a child", and later, Rose repeating it to Dahlia, the only one spared by Alessa, even though she let her go to her burning, now that she finally understands it.

I also like how while Rose is physically in Silent Hill, looking for Sharon and directly caring for her, Chris is elsewhere, looking for the truth and the information he needs, being the provider, in a way, sort of representing the more distant nature of fatherhood.

*Breathe*

...And people call this movie shallow?

[Skylerness]

I didn't like the movie at all. I thought it was really disappointing, compared to how great the games are. ):
I did think the monsters were cool though.

[DistantJ]

-_- I hope that doesn't cause people to miss my lengthy, thought-out comments.

[Mr. Domino]

It doesn't. For the most part, the people that haven't liked the film are unwilling to give any very specific reasons why. That being said, though, I have read several well-though-out posts trashing the film, and while I see their points, and even agree with some, I still love the film overall.