Silent Hill :: Wessex Scene Online

Silent Hill

8th June 2006

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Starring: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean - The recipe for Silent Hill seems to be to take one large spoonful of gore, mix with a dash of Sean Bean, a pinch of dialogue and cook on maximum heat for 125 minutes. However, despite showing promise Hollywood again falls short of the elusive recipe for success in adapting computer games to the big screen.

Silent Hill is not a concept tailor-made for film so credit should go to director Christophe Gans [Brotherhood of the Wolf] who has faithfully realised the sinister and surreal mythology of the source material. The deeply atmospheric and particularly disturbing story focuses on a troubled little girl (Jodelle Ferland) who is haunted by dark images. Adopted mother Rose (Radha Mitchell) takes her to the ghost town of Silent Hill to unearth the truth but a car accident leads to the two being separated. Rose must then search for her daughter amongst the towns deserted streets.

But in the world of Silent Hill everything is not as it seems, by day ash falls like snow creating a thick fog and shadows move sinisterly, but by night the place is crawling with deformed, grotesque creatures. This resultantly leaves your own skin crawling. Familiar and ‘safe’ environments such as schools, churches and hospitals are perversely used as back drops for the horror and cheery themes of bullying, burning and child rape create a thoroughly disturbing atmosphere.

The stunning visuals and unsettling tone are matched by awkward camera angles that convey the disturbed nature of the nightmarish world and are aptly blended with a disjointed, rasping score. Unfortunately the imagery fails to cover the horrifically clichéd dialogue which is only magnified by the films over indulgent length.

The actors do admirably despite the script and of particular note is the performance of young Miss Ferland. She chews up the screen, appearing both vulnerable and disturbingly creepy (surely making a generation of adults think twice before having kids). In general the cast seem well suited to their roles, all but for Sean Bean who plays the girls adopted father. Like new England manager Steve McClaren, it’s good to see Brits getting the big jobs, but again like our Steve, Sean Bean is inconsistent and unlikely to ever win a major trophy!

If you are easily frightened then stay at home tucked up with a good book but if you can overlook the script and don’t mind hiding behind the cinema seat holding back the urge to scream like a little girl then you should ‘enjoy’ Silent Hill! 3/5 - Matt Aylott