This review could begin with a discussion of the complex mythologies involved in translating a video game to film. But that would be a pointless exercise, as the latest Silent Hill film seems to have been conceived by someone who, at best, only glimpsed that mythology in a brief online summary.
What is presented as a return to the origins is, in reality, a watered-down and spineless product. The director and screenwriters have performed a curious alchemy: they have taken the visceral anguish, the disturbing symbolism, and the paralyzing sense of guilt that are the DNA of the saga, and replaced them with a sequence of predictable jump scares and a linear plot that could belong to any B-grade horror film. It’s as if, faced with the psychological labyrinth of Silent Hill, they preferred to build a monotonous, well-lit entrance path, devoid of fog.
The cardinal error is not in the freedom of adaptation, which is sacrosanct, but in the total misunderstanding of the essence. In the game, the monsters are tangible manifestations of private traumas and psychoses; here, they are simply “ugly things” that chase the protagonists amidst an explosion of excessive and unconvincing digital effects. The fog, an iconic element of suspense and claustrophobia, becomes a banal smoke screen to hide a limited set design. The soundtrack, which in the original titles is a knife to the soul, is reduced to an ordinary background noise.
The result is a film that talks about Silent Hill, but is not Silent Hill. Lacking the disturbing depth of the original, it is content to merely touch upon its aesthetics on the surface, like a tourist photographing a monument without understanding its history. The oppressive atmosphere is sacrificed on the altar of a fast pace (read: impatience), and the psychological trauma is reduced to a mere motivation to make the characters rush from one set to another.
Ultimately, this film doesn’t commit the sin of being absolutely terrible; in a way, it’s worse. It’s insignificant. It’s a distillation of horror clichés, packaged with the name of a prestigious intellectual property to attract fans and the curious. It’s watchable with increasing distraction, only to be forgotten within an hour, unlike the images from the games which, years later, continue to haunt.
Recommended only for those who want to see what remains of a wonderfully complex nightmare after being put through the blender of the mainstream film industry: a bland and completely harmless pulp. For purists of Silent Hill, the only true “silence” to observe will be the eloquent one at the end of the screening.
