I'll admit it: I went in with a little hope. The second Silent Hill film did real damage to the franchise, and I genuinely believed the third might undo some of it. On paper, everything pointed that way. Christophe Gans, who directed the first film (the one that was at least halfway decent), was back in charge, and he even co-wrote the story.
It didn't help. Not even a little.
A story that bores, baffles and insults
The plot swings between three states: boring, absurd, and downright insulting to anyone who has played even one of the games. Silent Hill has always been about guilt, trauma and the things people refuse to face. Here, all that's left is the scenery.
The clearest example is the Pyramid Head scene. Anyone who knows the games knows what that figure is. It isn't a monster lurking around the corner. It's punishment made flesh, a broken man's guilt given a body and sent after him through the fog. The filmmakers understood that much. What they did with it is the problem. Instead of weaving the symbolism subtly into the story, they hammer the point into the viewer so bluntly that every trace of symbolism is lost. Pyramid Head is reduced to a cheap imitation of himself: no finesse, nothing intimidating, none of the brutal, crushing violence that made him unforgettable.
The filmmakers knew what Pyramid Head stands for. They just forgot that a symbol only works if you don't explain it to death.
Where did the atmosphere go?
What stings most is that Gans doesn't even manage what he pulled off the first time. His 2006 film had its flaws, but it felt like Silent Hill: that mix of horror, claustrophobia and gore, the sense of being trapped in a place that actively wants to hurt you.
This time, none of that is left. No pressure, no dread, no feeling of being locked in. I did get slightly dizzy during the film, but that had nothing to do with the atmosphere. It came from shaking my head.
Verdict
For fans of the games, it's an irritation. For newcomers, it's simply dull. Even as an attempt to at least capture the mood of the source material, it fails. That's a real shame, because this was supposed to be the film that put things right.
Next up: Raccoon City
There is one glimmer of hope. The new Resident Evil film is coming to cinemas soon, and I'm hoping that a survival-horror game will finally get the adaptation it deserves. The last attempt, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, was at least on a promising path. After this Silent Hill, the bar isn't exactly high, but maybe that's the opportunity.