Silent Hill: Worth it or not

[Legato]

Is Silent Hill worthy enough to buy on DVD. I have been hearing some good things about it but I want the final word from the CBR folks.

[blackdragon6]

i liked the movie fine,as far as the dvd goes *shrugs*.i guess its as about as good as a dvd can get i suppose.

[Mike Pothier]

If you liked the games, definitely yes.

If you never played the games, rent it first.

[Leslie Lee III]

It's a great movie.

You don't need to play the games to watch it, but you should go in with an open mind about what horror films should be. Understand that it's NOT an american type horror film, but much more in line with Japanese horror.

[Legato]

It's a great movie.

You don't need to play the games to watch it, but you should go in with an open mind about what horror films should be. Understand that it's NOT an american type horror film, but much more in line with Japanese horror.

Thats good to hear since I have lost respect of the American Horror genre but found a new respect towards Japanese horror.

[Chiasm]

Great first 2/3 of the movie. Lame climax. The movie does a great job of catching the eerie visual tone of the game. The story is a lot like that of the 1st game but the ending diverges greatly into cliched muck. I'd recommend renting because, for me anyway, the ending ruined all that came before. And by ending I'm not talking about the last few scenes ending which was actually kind of cool but rather the ending in regards to the main story.

[Bruce Wayne Jr.]

NEIN.

If you own any of the games, just play them again.

[Arawn]

I loved the movie, it was so delightfully twisted. They coppied places from the game perfectly. Right down to stain patterns, serriously if you were a fan of the first game, you can't let yourself miss this. Besides it's only 17 bucks at best buy. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7910086&type=product&id=1554047

[G. Wayne]

Loved the movie, beginning to end. Saw the movie first, and the games are now on my "to get around to" list. Picking up the DVD today.

[SMKSPY]

never played the game, but I like the movie.

[BlairH]

Visually, it's a very interesting film, and it does a good job of capturing the art direction of the games. Other than that, I thought it sucked. Play through the games again instead.

[Indigo Al]

I found it an interesting movie, definitely worth a view. Whether you want to have this in your library for all time is another issue.

[Leslie Lee III]

Play through the games again instead.

I don't understand this comment. Spending 2 hours watching a movie isn't worth the effort, but spending weeks playing 10 year old games is?

[wingsofdamnation]

can someone explain the ending for me? i loved the movie and i really want to play the games but i still cant figure out the ending of the movie. my guess is that the mother and daughter are dead and what we do see of them are ghosts...but then why dont the cops find the bodies in the car? once again i loved the movie but the ending is bugging me.

[Leslie Lee III]

Your post contains spoilers, you should really edit it. Quote my post to see how:

The mother and daughter aren't dead. The good daughter is, but the mother is still trapped in the dream world with the evil daughter.

[Hiromi]

Great first 2/3 of the movie. Lame climax.

And what really sucks is how easily they could have fixed it.

That should have been PYRAMID HEAD that showed up, not barbed wire girl. It would have fit perfectly with his scene earlier.

[Alex]

I hate horror movies, since i was a kid...just never liked them.
They don't scare me, the acting is often horrible, the directors are boring, and they are completly predictable. And that's just the ones with a budget, i won't even get into the slew of low budget one's i've seen (horror movies seem to come out at a pace of 30 a week).
But i liked Silent Hill, and i still can't pin down why. As others have mentioned, i wasn't a fan of the ending, the very end, which just seemed like they used a stock horror movie ending that i felt didn't fit in with the film, and the gore fest leading up to it, which removed the creepyness that came before it.
But other then the end, i really enjoyed it, and found it to be generaly creepy.

[Silliw 2]

I just saw the movie a few days ago, and I agree with the general view. Amazing first part of the film, but once the cult is brought into play, the pace bogs down.

[wingsofdamnation]

Your post contains spoilers, you should really edit it. Quote my post to see how:

The mother and daughter aren't dead. The good daughter is, but the mother is still trapped in the dream world with the evil daughter.


ok but then why are they together? but still if the little girl is dead then why didnt they find her body? plus how were we supposed to come to that conclusion? or is that just how it plays out in the game?

and thanks for showing me how to do the spoilers thing. its taken me forever to get it right.

[the_coldest_sun]

ok but then why are they together? but still if the little girl is dead then why didnt they find her body? plus how were we supposed to come to that conclusion? or is that just how it plays out in the game?

and thanks for showing me how to do the spoilers thing. its taken me forever to get it right.

Playing the games won't help you understand the ending to the movie.

Although they are similar, the plot of the game and motivations of its characters greatly differs from that of the movie.

For instance:
In the game, Alessa attempts to prevent the Demon from coming to power.
In the movie, Alessa aligns herself with the Demon.

Its basically those kinda changes throughout, so playing the game won't really help you understand the movie better AT ALL.

Also, the game has 4 different endings (5 if you count the comedic UFO ending). So you could say the movie ended like one of them if you really wanted to, although that wouldn't necessarily be right because of the changes made.

-------

But as far as the poster's question goes, I'd say RENT it. Its one of those movies people either like or don't like. Me, I'm kinda both but thats only because I'm a huge fan of the games, but was put off by all the changes made for the movie. It still kept a lot of the essence of the games: the creepiness, the settings, the tone, the creatures, even EXACT camera shots. All that I LOVED. But the story and plot were changed, which I didn't like.

[xmanson]

Yeah, the ending was crappy. But seeing exact scenes from the game used on the movie was great, the camera angles and everything. But i think the story on the first game worked better and was less cluttered. (Though only playing the games explain nothing to you, you can finish and have no idea what is all about).

[Gargus]

NEIN.

If you own any of the games, just play them again.

I notice alot of people saying this.

How exactly does asking if the movie is good enough to get but instead people just say play the games again. Watching the movie is nothing like playing the games, you either say the movie is good or its bad.

Like someone asking if the movie tallegdega nights is any good and everyone saying "just go watch a nascar race instead". You dont watch talegdega nights or in this case silent hill because youd rather be playing the games.

Why do so many people on forums have such a problem with just answering someones questions instead of running off in direction that originator made no mention of?

[Haunt]

i have a question about Sean Bean's character in the movie.
how is it that he was able to enter the Silent Hill world and return when the mother didn't? .

[Bruce Wayne Jr.]

How exactly does asking if the movie is good enough to get but instead people just say play the games again. Watching the movie is nothing like playing the games, you either say the movie is good or its bad.


If the original poster is interested in Silent Hill at all, I feel playing one of the games would be a better experience overall.

But it's just my opinion. You don't have to agree. You'll get no apology from me for recommending something related to the topic of the thread.

[Legato]

If the original poster is interested in Silent Hill at all, I feel playing one of the games would be a better experience overall.

But it's just my opinion. You don't have to agree. You'll get no apology from me for recommending something related to the topic of the thread.

Well this is a movie forum and my topic is about the movie itself. If I was interested in the game only then I would have posted a topic in the game forum.

[Bruce Wayne Jr.]

Well this is a movie forum and my topic is about the movie itself. If I was interested in the game only then I would have posted a topic in the game forum.

Christ.

Alright, so if I happen to think a movie based on a game isn't as good as the game itself, I shouldn't say so?

Gotcha.

[Mike Pothier]

i have a question about Sean Bean's character in the movie.
how is it that he was able to enter the Silent Hill world and return when the mother didn't? .

Sean Bean's character never entered the Silent Hill world where the demons lived.

[Haunt]

Sean Bean's character never entered the Silent Hill world where the demons lived.


ok, thanks.

[Shellhead]

I finally saw Silent Hill recently, but have never played the games.

Visually, it was fantastic. Very strong style and amazing eye for detail. The monsters were both original and interesting. The plot seemed okay, but there were things that I didn't get and just ignored so I could focus on the visuals. The pace slowed down too much during the dramatic confrontation with the cult at the end, and the whole movie could have been better if they dropped about 15-20 minutes of wallowing in the grotesque disfigurations of the creatures. The ending had a nice twist.

That said, the style of this movie was not to my liking. I'm not saying that it was bad... in fact it was very well-executed... just not my cup of tea. There was a lot pseudo-christian imagery turned very dark and twisted that just doesn't resonate with me since I'm an atheist. Also, there was a lot of extreme bondage and sado-masochistic imagery that didn't interest me either.

Overall, I do recommend Silent Hill as a horror movie worth renting. But you might not want to buy it without seeing it first, unless you were already a fan of the visuals from playing the game.

[Leslie Lee III]

There was a lot pseudo-christian imagery turned very dark and twisted that just doesn't resonate with me since I'm an atheist.

I gotta call foul on that one. I'm non-theistic but find religious symbols can be interesting, beautiful, and, as in Silent Hill, twisted and creepy.

"I'm actually quite fond of crucifixes."
- Louis

[Julusnc]

Wait for it to be on HBO or Starz....

[Dreadstar]

Wait for it to be on HBO or Starz....

Yep.

You may never watch it more than once or twice on the DVD.