DVD REVIEW: Silent Hill (2006)

For those of you who have played the game, the story is fairly similar. However, for those of you who haven't, I'll give you a quick rundown of what the movie is about:

"Rose Da Silva and her husband, Christopher, awake almost every night to prevent their adopted daughter, Sharon, from sleepwalking towards a cliff. After rescuing her, repeatedly, she screams the same words, before passing out: Silent Hill. Sharon has no memory of any of the incidents and Rose is getting desperate. She decides to take her daughter to the town of Silent Hill, in the hopes that she will finally be saved from her nightly terrors. However, once they reach the outskirts of the town, she is distracted by a "passerby" and loses control of the vehicle, crashing it into the side railing. When Rose awakes, Sharon is no longer in the car. She now faces the dilemma of tracking her daughter down in the destroyed town, known as Silent Hill, while facing hellish demons that appear every time the sun sets in the town."

I will say this: You don't have to be a fan of the series to enjoy *or even understand* this movie. I only played the first game and that did little for me when I tried to understand what was going on in the movie. However, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the movie. In fact, I thought it was very good. *Story and Visual- wise* It's not very scary, however, there are a few scenes that are freaky and will keep you on the edge of your seat. The creators decided to remain true to the game, when it comes to the monsters and even the town as well, which is a good thing considering the other video-game-to-movie-adaptations. *Hint Hint House of the Dead, DOA, and Resident Evil ><* The story and a few characters are a little different, but that doesn't detract from the movie at all. For one, they decided to change the main character, Harry in the game, into a female. They also added a few more main villains that made the story a little more intense. The monster had a very creepy feel to them, but they weren't scary *Except maybe Pyramid- head* As I watched the movie, I couldn't help but feel like the the mosters were almost dancing *This was made more apparent in the Nurse scene at the hospital* This takes us to the ending. I must admit... that was quite bloody, but somewhat expected. The ending scene sort of makes sense, but if you don't pay attention to some of the earlier scenes, I can almost guarantee you that you will be lost. *Then again, it still won't make a lot of sense if you paid attention anyways, so don't be sad if you don't get it. You're not alone.* If you're a fan of the game or are just looking for a good thriller to watch, I highly suggest getting this DVD. Aside from the main feature, it has great special features that will help you better understand the concept and idea behind the movie.

Rating: ★★★★★ (Buy it. It will make game and general thriller fans very happy.)