Heather mason is a teenage girl who, along with her father, is continually moving to new areas in order to keep one step ahead of evil forces. She has no memory of what happened to her as a small child, but her father makes one statement abundantly clear: she must never go to Silent Hill. Unable to make friends or connections, Heather is nonetheless plagued by night terrors (some of them living nightmares) relating to the place she must never go to. However, when her father is taken, she is forced to make the surprisingly short journey to the ash-thick otherworldly macabre darkness in an attempt to rescue him. As she encounters a deadly assortment of frightening and chaotic creatures, Heather has a companion, but it seems he has a strong connection to this demonic reality, and knows more than he is saying. Is he a Judas or friend? And for what nefarious scheme has she been lured to this place...?

When I reviewed the original Silent Hill movie back in 2006, I remember saying something to the effect of it was less about shocks and more about creativity. That is also the case with this sequel, which is part of the original computer game franchise. There are some fascinating creature creations, some of them spawned from the game series and others completely original. The best for me is the huge spider made from mannequin dolls, which holds heads in some of its legs to quickly see around itself. Another artistic creation is the group of macabre nurses, which is only animate when there is noise. In that situation, the nurses attack with scalpels or other dangerous implements with jerking, spasmodic movements. Apparently, dancers were employed in order to carry out the required difficult unnatural movements. Returning from the first film for a second bout of menace is Red Pyramid.

Also returning from the first outing is Sean Bean as Sharon/Heather’s father. I’m surprised I didn’t mention in the first review how woefully miscast this otherwise great actor was. You just aren’t convinced by his role. Some of the dialogue, particularly toward the end, is stilted to say the least, but this film was always going to be about the spectacle. Computer games are somewhat notorious for translating badly to the big screen (Resident Evil wasn’t good, and Tomb Raider was supremely average); however, Silent Hill: Revelation does at least create a darkly beautiful landscape in which you never know what’s around the next corner.

The excellent clarity of the Blu-ray version allows you to take in the plethora of creature creations and special effects, including the falling ash, and in particular how everything changes when the ‘darkness’ comes.

Extras include: Making Silent Hill (entertaining stuff); Universal Attraction (a public Silent Hill reality environment); Audio Commentary with Director Michael J. Bassett (you can’t knock the man’s enthusiasm); an Introduction by Bassett; Deleted and Extended Scenes (probably just as well removed); and a Trailer.

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Ty Power