The future of Silent Hill films?

Discuss the latest about the second Silent Hill Movie

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DistantJ
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by DistantJ »

Homecoming DOES feel very American, I put my doubts aside but all the clichés of an American production were there, and that is a bad thing in many ways, but also it succeeds in a lot of the things the first game was attempting because of it (remember that SH was originally a Japanese attempt at American horror).

And you're right about Origins and SM with the British twist as well, Dr. Kauffman's dialogue could be right out of a Doctor Who episode. Downpour, though, it feels slick, you can almost tell it was by a comic book writer because it has that Sin City feel to it. Although it is rarely 'in your face', it has this very COOL feel to it (in both senses of the word). Suffice to say a calmly voiced narration by Murphy wouldn't have felt out of place.

So I do partially agree with you, BUT, I don't want SH to go back to Japan. Instead, I want the series to absorb the traits it gains from each of the cultures and hold onto them. If it hadn't started in Japan, Origins and Homecoming wouldn't have had such a great look and feel. If it hadn't gone to America for Homecoming, they wouldn't have raised the bar with the acting and dialogue and if it hadn't come to Britain it wouldn't have gained its delicious ironic sense of humour. To be honest I think it feels like a very strong and consistent series, the only one I think ever tends to feel out of place is Homecoming, but that's only due to the (admirable) American tradition of aspiring to make everything 'bigger and better'.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by jdnation »

I don't mind the idea of having new writers,& directors come on board for Silent Hill. It's a world where everyone can tell a unique story.

It just needs a competent development staff that can at least put out a technically sound product. Especially with competent graphics. And the graphics need to be good! Silent Hill is not really the sort of game you get for any deep gameplay mechanics or innovative systems. It's a game that focuses on story and presentation. It's also necessary from a market perspective. Since you can't sell your game on gameplay and multiplayer versus, then it must stand out in the story, presentation and graphics department if it wants to be recognized.

I think Heavy Rain would be a good model to look at in this regard. As Kojima said, 'small locations' and interiors and linear design rather than 'open world' will help make the game look fantastic and the budget will be more feasible too. It just requires good assets and clever design.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by KoRn_Child »

I liked the "open-world lite" vibe of Downpour. I didn't think I would, but I did. The side quests in that game were mostly excellent. The bigger, more open environments freed up the developers to put in cool scenarios that wouldn't gel with the main plot. And please, no Heavy Rain/Indigo Prophecy-style Silent Hill games. I got my fill of QTEs in Resident Evil 6.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by Numb Body01 »

Posted this in Box Office thread but I'll repeat here:

So right now BOM has the total at $20,408,482. SH:R needs to make roughly $40,000,000 to break even (most films spend the same amount on marketing as they do production - and SH:R was rather heavily marketed). I don't see the film making much more from cinemas and DVD/Blu-Ray sales will only take it so far.

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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by JKristine35 »

Except for some special cases, films do not spend the same amount on marketing as production. Usually the marketing budget is half that of the production amount, which would put Revelation at needing about $30 million total. It really wasn't that heavily marketed either, certainly not enough to say they spent $20 million on marketing. Also, the second biggest chunk of money for movies comes from sales to tv stations, so that would figure in as well.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by Yuki »

Plus, most of the marketing was done through social networking--save for some signs, there were just some trailers on television rather than some extensive ad campaign. It was a great blitz, but I can't imagine it cost that much. The film's already made its production budget back a week or so after its debut; that's a good sign, considering there are many films that don't break even.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by DistantJ »

We'll have to wait and see. We don't work in movies or analysis, we can only look at numbers and say 'ooh that sounds high/low' and pretend we know what we're talking about. I just know there are horror series' out there still running to this day which have made a loss in the box office so I'm not giving up on a Silent Hill 3 just yet.
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resevil80
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by resevil80 »

So, I was thinking...Carmody has Produced all the RE movies....So I wonder if he is thinking about bringing Paul Anderson over to "save" the Silent Hill movie franchise...That Prom Night Pyramid Head scene may happen after all...
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by DistantJ »

Paul Anderson made Event Horizon, don't forget.

I mean I enjoy the Resident Evil movies, but they're intentionally dumb and Grindhouse. Every dumb moment in those films he is aware of and did on purpose.

That being said, I can't see him doing Silent Hill and I doubt he will be brought in.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by resevil80 »

That was more of a joke than anything...I have no problems with Anderson's directing...Just don't let him write anymore scripts.....
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by jdnation »

KoRn_Child wrote:I liked the "open-world lite" vibe of Downpour. I didn't think I would, but I did. The side quests in that game were mostly excellent. The bigger, more open environments freed up the developers to put in cool scenarios that wouldn't gel with the main plot. And please, no Heavy Rain/Indigo Prophecy-style Silent Hill games. I got my fill of QTEs in Resident Evil 6.
I didn't mean make the game like Heavy Rain. Although I think some of Heavy Rain's interfacing and concepts could definitely help in terms of character interactions, and puzzle solving scenarios, particularly hearing your character's internal monologues, and the neat way of making what are usually cut scenes more playable with branching paths and moral choices rather than just clicking (Press A to help someone, or press B not to help them). Heavy Rain does a lot right that many people don't give it credit for.

Anyway I was also emphasizing how smaller environmental design can help put resources into boosting the graphics. Like what Kojima said. Making Silent Hill into a more open-world game will run into technical issues, require a lot more work, a lot more resources, and the graphics take a hit. If these are not all nailed down, you end up with overly critical reviews, which is what happened to Downpour.

Besides which, Downpour isn't really Open-world anyway. It feels that way, with access to more areas and pathways, but is ideally no different than any of the previous games in terms of walking around the town, only difference is you've got a few more places to explore on the way, which technically Silent Hill 1 did on the PSX in one instance awhile back to get the full ending. So clever design can already make a game feel more open than actually having a technical open world that won't take away resources or provide complications. Konami simply isn't ever going to devote the time and money to develop that kind of game for Silent Hill. In my estimation isn't doesn't need it. Downpour as far as what I've played, does a great job at that already.

In any case, the FOX Engine is being designed for open-world gameplay, so if that's what we want, then Kojima's the best bet. How well it'll work will have to be seen once Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes is out. But Kojima Productions has never not delivered an overall good quality product from a technical standpoint. In any case, if this game is ever going to be made by them, it'll definitely going to be for next generation consoles, unless somethings happens whereby they can make it by 2014 which is when many expect PS4 to launch, at the tail end of the PS3's lifecycle. Though they could also make it a multi-generational release on both current/next gen.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by FrankRD »

DistantJ wrote:Paul Anderson made Event Horizon, don't forget.

I mean I enjoy the Resident Evil movies, but they're intentionally dumb and Grindhouse. Every dumb moment in those films he is aware of and did on purpose.
Well, I don't know, it seems like he took Retribution dead seriously and that's what ultimately made it terrible, in my opinion.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by RinoTheBouncer »

SPOILERS:
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
I guess the ending of SH:R (if Bassett was given the chance to do it again) is a cliffhanger of it's own and a clear indication to a sequel. The film hinted a SH2 story-based sequel from many scenes. Sean Bean in front of the mirror, Rose's reflection in it and in the end he's looking for his wife and she's not lost like people usually get lost, she's like LOST so maybe they'll twist it somehow to make it look like SH2?
Otherwise, I think a whole new story would be great, one that is AS LONG AS THE FIRST SH FILM not this one that feels like half a film.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by Yuki »

RinoTheBouncer wrote:SPOILERS:
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
I guess the ending of SH:R (if Bassett was given the chance to do it again) is a cliffhanger of it's own and a clear indication to a sequel. The film hinted a SH2 story-based sequel from many scenes. Sean Bean in front of the mirror, Rose's reflection in it and in the end he's looking for his wife and she's not lost like people usually get lost, she's like LOST so maybe they'll twist it somehow to make it look like SH2?
Otherwise, I think a whole new story would be great, one that is AS LONG AS THE FIRST SH FILM not this one that feels like half a film.
I really don't think it's actual sequel bait; considering the film's rife with homages to the game, I'd rather see it as a nod to game canon than openings for a sequel.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by ella-guru »

KoRn_Child wrote:
To make a long story short, better games equals better sales equals bigger budgets and better potential talent for future films.
Having a bigger budget does not constitute a better movie. In most cases it's the exact opposite, especially in the horror genre. One notable example is the 2010 remake of The Wolfman. The film had a budget of $150 million along with a cast of high profile actors and it was a complete disaster at the box office and the critics panned it (38% on the Rotten Tomatoes meter).

On the other hand, some horror films that are listed on many critics lists as the all time best of the genre are low budgeted films (i.e. Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, etc.)

To be quite honest I believe that future films in the SH franchise could be improved on a smaller budget. I don't think, for example, that CGI is absolutely indispensable to creating the "look" of Silent Hill, unless you're talking about making transitions between the town and the Otherworld -- good lighting and set design are really what you need most.

In my humble opinion I would really like to see SH2 get adapted to the screen, because I think it would survive adaptation better than most of the other stories set in the SH universe. James works well as a protagonist whom the audience (most of whom wouldn't be familiar with the game) could identify with: a normal, down-to-earth person who finds himself trapped in something too big and too strange for him to understand. And I don't see any reason why the inevitable twist wouldn't work just as well on film as it did in the game.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by mikefile »

I just realised that it would be a cool final twist for the SH2 adaptation if James
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
didn't kill his wife. For instance, James not murdering Mary,
but simply cheating on her or/and getting a series of tough heart breaking insults and accusations of being the worst husband ever, minutes before her death; or even adopting a
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
SM
style to the adaptation and making James a projection of Mary, who's in a sickbend and imagining her great thoughtful husband, searching for her in a nightmarish town, even though deep inside she knows he's out in a bar, excessively drinking with that Maria girl that is like a hotter version of her while she's rotting all alone in that damn hospital with that noisy brat near her-- Uuh! If only there was a hot Pyramid shaped guy with a giant knife that would try to rip the guts out of him and that slut and help her please her frustration. You know, something more subtle but with the same dramatic effect.

It would be a mind blowing 'in your face' twist for the so intelligent fans and public that read the parallel ending on the Internet and have a 'Duuh- let's finish this already, we all KNOW how it ends, Jeez' standpoint. That's the kind of adaptation I would hope for. But it's the longest shot ever.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by DistantJ »

On the subject of budgets, I think you guys would be more likely to get the SH movie you want if the budget dropped down even further than it did for this film. From what I can gather on these forums, the hardcore Silent Hill fans want something more understated, and low budgets force horror producers and directors to think more creatively and rely on their skills of creating an atmosphere instead of letting the expensive flash-bang-boom do the work for them.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by resevil80 »

DistantJ wrote:On the subject of budgets, I think you guys would be more likely to get the SH movie you want if the budget dropped down even further than it did for this film. From what I can gather on these forums, the hardcore Silent Hill fans want something more understated, and low budgets force horror producers and directors to think more creatively and rely on their skills of creating an atmosphere instead of letting the expensive flash-bang-boom do the work for them.
MJB agrees with you...He stated in several interviews that to make a 'true" Silent Hill movie, the budget would need to be much lower, and whoever is making the movie would need total control and time to make everything work...That way, the studio isn't scared of losing a ton of money, and you don't have to compromise any of the elements that make Silent Hill great...
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by teosoleil »

mikefile wrote:I just realised that it would be a cool final twist for the SH2 adaptation if James
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
didn't kill his wife. For instance, James not murdering Mary,
but simply cheating on her or/and getting a series of tough heart breaking insults and accusations of being the worst husband ever, minutes before her death; or even adopting a
PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER_SHOW PRIME_BBCODE_SPOILER:
SM
style to the adaptation and making James a projection of Mary, who's in a sickbend and imagining her great thoughtful husband, searching for her in a nightmarish town, even though deep inside she knows he's out in a bar, excessively drinking with that Maria girl that is like a hotter version of her while she's rotting all alone in that damn hospital with that noisy brat near her-- Uuh! If only there was a hot Pyramid shaped guy with a giant knife that would try to rip the guts out of him and that slut and help her please her frustration. You know, something more subtle but with the same dramatic effect.

It would be a mind blowing 'in your face' twist for the so intelligent fans and public that read the parallel ending on the Internet and have a 'Duuh- let's finish this already, we all KNOW how it ends, Jeez' standpoint. That's the kind of adaptation I would hope for. But it's the longest shot ever.
I think that a SH2 adaptation with a SM-type twist (not exactly the same, but along the same "memory-shattering" line) would work out quite well for most audiences.

Except the purists, of course. Always the purists.
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Re: The future of Silent Hill films?

Post by Silent Fantasy »

The purists your thinking of would complain no matter what, so no harm.
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