Silent Hill
Director: Christophe Gans
Rated: M
Now screening

Rose (Radha Mitchell) becomes concerned when her daughter starts sleepwalking and uttering the words 'Silent Hill' for no reason. In search of answers, she drives her there: her car crashes near the township and she awakens to discover her daughter missing. Entering the eerie ghost town, Rose finds a hellish pit of demons and witch hunters obstructing her way. Each obstacle increases her determination to reach her goal.

'Silent Hill' is based on a popular video game and aims to increase the success ratio of game/movie crossovers. Very few game adaptations have succeeded, because although the gaming visuals are spectacular, the general storyline is never strong enough to support a feature film. 'Super Mario Brothers', 'Streetfighter' et al, have passed into infamy for being incredibly bad films, with acting that made their game counterparts seem like masterpieces. This film has elements that puts it above those mediocre titles, but doesn't draw the audience into its world as it should.

Director Christophe Gans shows off the requisite visual flair, with an eye for gothic dreamscapes. The storyline tends to meander in too many directions however, deflecting the focus needed for full audience involvement. Whenever the plot adheres to the rules of the game it works, as the audience follows the characters and puts together the clues. The involvement of witches and the subplot featuring a wasted Sean Bean as Rose's husband never gels as it should and only lengthens proceedings.

Radha Mitchell is quite effective as the desperate mother willing to do anything to get her daughter back. Mitchell has made her a strong character that gains audience sympathy as she walks the foggy ash strewn streets. Laurie Holden's role as a feisty cop makes for good viewing, and it's interesting watching the different dynamics of the two women; and thankfully the characters on display are more than the one dimensions usually found with their game counterparts.

This is a reasonably scary film that wisely doesn't dwell too much on the gore, and instead serves up heavy doses of mood. The booming music score adds to the overall effect, with the sinister sound of the township alarm siren lingering long in the memory. Copious editing and more scenes between Rose and her husband would have made this film less alienating, but 'Silent Hill' does at least try to do a few different things within the usual horror conventions and never forgets the shock factor.

Patrick Moore