Starring:
Radha Mitchell as Rose DaSilva
Sean Bean as Christopher DaSilva
Laurie Holden as Cybil Bennett
Deborah Kara Unger as Dahlia Gillespie
Kim Coates as Officer Thomas Gucci/Henry Townshend
Tanya Allen as Anna
Alice Krige as Claudia Wolf/Christabella
Jodelle Ferland as Sharon DaSilva/Alessa Gillespie
Colleen Williams as Archivist
Ron Gabriel as Old Mechanic
Derek Ritschel as Young Police Officer
Amanda Hiebert as Gas Attendant
Nicky Guadagni as Distressed Woman
Maxine Dumont as Christabella’s Aide
Christopher Britton as Adam
Special Features:
“Silent Hill Origins” Making-of featurette
“Casting Silent Hill” Making-of featurette
“Building Silent Hill” Making-of featurette
“Stars and Stunts” Making-of featurette
“Creatures Unleashed” Making-of featurette
“Creature Choreography” Making-of featurette
Previews
Other Info:
Widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Running Time: 125 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“Based on the best-selling horror action game, “Silent Hill” stars Radha Mitchell (“Man on Fire”) as Rose, a desperate mother who takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose begins her desperate search to get her back. She descends into a fog of smoldering ash and into the center of the twisted reality of a town’s terrible secret. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and a townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years back.
Dare to step inside the horrific town of Silent Hill, where darkness preys on every soul and Hell’s creations await around every corner. But know that once you enter…there is no turning back.”
“Silent Hill” is rated R for strong horror violence and gore, disturbing images, and some language.
Mini-Review:
I have to admit up front that I’ve never played the “Silent Hill” video game. I wasn’t familiar with the storyline, characters, or monsters before watching this movie. Unfortunately, I think that made me a little less forgiving of some of its shortcomings. The story has enormous plot holes that, to a newcomer like myself, make no sense. Why is there a guy with a pyramid on his head running around? How did Rose end up in the parallel world of Silent Hill? I could go on and on but I’d have to delve into spoilers. In any case, the story isn’t all there. It’s better than many video game based movies, but it still has problems. And while the first half is mysterious, creepy, and intriguing, the second half is mired down by crazy religious stereotypes, witch burning, and other fare that you’ve seen a million times over. The film loses all the suspense and originality it had from the buildup.
On the positive side, “Silent Hill” is a fantastic looking film. The sets and locations are incredibly haunting. The monsters are the stuff of nightmares and they’re quite disturbing. Rather than hiding them in the shadows, you see them in all their horrific glory. Radha Mitchell as Rose DaSilva and Laurie Holden as Cybil Bennett really do a fine job as the heroines of the film. Sean Bean as Christopher DaSilva isn’t given much to do, but he gives the film a lot of credibility.
This movie is mainly for anyone that played the video game or anyone that enjoys horror movies. If you fall into either of those categories, you’ll probably enjoy this movie.
The DVD has a pretty thorough documentary on the making of the movie. It covers the transition from video game to movie, casting, the sets, the stunts, and the monsters. And while there are no deleted scenes included on this DVD, there are a few glimpses at some in these featurettes. (Oddly, footage from the video game isn’t shown anywhere in these extras.) My particular favorite was the section covering the making of the monsters.
