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Rose and Christopher are the foster parents of little Sharon.
But Sharon is sick, suffering from constant bouts of somnambulism
during which she puts her own life at risk. While Christopher
wants to submit Sharon to hospital, Rose researches Silent
Hill on the Internet - the place Sharon yearns for during
her sleepwalks. Silent Hill is a ghost town, abandoned and
closed-off from the main roads for thirty years. Fires are
said to still rage beneath the ground and ash falls like snow.
After a minor accident on the outskirts of town, Sharon goes
missing. Rose and a curious young motorcycle cop called Cybil
set out to find her. When Christopher discovers where his
wife and daughter have gone he follows in his own car, but
is turned away by the local police who know far more than
they are letting on. Silent Hill harbours a deadly secret.
The past and the present are linked, and Rose must face the
supernatural darkness and all its agents of evil if she is
to rescue her daughter. But the darkness has more than a passing
interest in the girl...
This
is the second film review in succession which has featured
Sean Bean in the cast. In fact, Silent Hill has certain
similarities to The
Dark. Aside from Bean, both have a little girl
who goes missing, a supernatural town or village, a link to
the past, and a mother who turns into Ripley from the Alien
films to get back her daughter. Nevertheless,
these are two completely different films in terms of look
and feel.
The
Dark undoubtedly has stronger characters and so more sympathy,
but Silent Hill wins over with plot progression, intricate
sets, and is certainly a showcase for the excellent special
effects which enhance the story rather than overshadowing
it. As everyone knows, there's a fine line between inspired
and insipid, and Silent Hill pokes a toe across it
on a couple of occasions.
Although
on the whole solid, the dialogue periodically staggers into
cringeworthy territory, but the pacing of the film is so fast
that you can easily choose to ignore it.
I
think The Dark produced more jolts, but this film has
much more horror eye candy. There's some nicely-choreographed
set-pieces; the best being the supremely creepy muscular humanoid
with the metallic headpiece and accompanying cockroaches,
and the final scene with Alessa and the barbed wire, when
the darkness gets into the church.
Adaptations
of computer games have a reputation of falling notoriously
short of expectations. Being aware of its existence but never
having tried my hand at the game, I have no idea how this
shapes-up in comparison. I do know that the central character
has been changed to female for the film. It's interesting
to note that all the main characters in the supernatural setting
of Silent Hill are female, whereas those based in the
reality of the world outside are male.
Aside
from the aforementioned Sean Bean, some people might recognise
Alice Krige (who was the Borg Queen) as Christabella. The
whole cast brings a solid performance, but deserving a special
mention is Jodelle Ferland who plays Sharon/Alessa. I'm sure
we'll be seeing more of her in the years to come.
Special Features includes a very entertaining 47 minute Making
Of Documentary, a Photo Gallery, Trailer
and TV Spots.
Ty
Power
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