6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
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.
Starring: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim CoatesHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 67% |
Supernatural | 35% |
Mystery | 20% |
Surreal | 9% |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Help me.
Video game-themed movies are one of the most sought-after commodities by Hollywood
studios, yet the genre remains perhaps the most confused and even vilified of them all. For
every
hit -- a Resident Evil, for
instance -- there seem to be a dozen total flops that neither stay true to source material nor
provide even a semblance of a sound foundation, decent acting, or even a moderately strong plot.
Even those video games-turned movies that actually work well enough on the silver screen are
bolstered generally from comparisons to other, similar films, making it easier to forgive the
minuses in the better efforts, though as a general rule even the best of the best of game-based
films pale next to the better efforts when analyzed in a broader spectrum and against a more
diverse population of same-genre films. Director Christophe Gans' (Brotherhood of the
Wolf) Silent Hill falls into precisely that category, the film one of the stronger video
game-based outings but a decidedly tepid picture in the greater realm of Hollywood Horror.
Incredibly atmospheric, strongly crafted, well acted, and boasting a haunting score, Silent
Hill works well to a point, considering the onset of several problems later in the film that
even the aforementioned strengths cannot mask.
Nothing like a P-series Sig with which to blast some monsters.
Silent Hill arrives on Blu-ray with a messy 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. While the film's few bright outdoor shots offer fair clarity, sharpness, depth, detail, and color reproduction, the many murkier locales scattered about the film fail to impress. Aside from the image as a whole looking artificially smooth and unnaturally flat, blacks appear pale and dingy rather than unsettling and inky, the latter serving as the transfer's primary flaw considering its generally dark atmosphere. Additionally, distracting blocking seems an ever-present issue throughout, particularly in the film's darker corners. Fine detail, too, fails to impress; there are a few objects -- chipped paint, rusted metal, random debris, and general grime -- that can boast adequate texturing, but such are the exception to the rule. Many of the details in the far reaches of the frame appear smeared and indistinct as well. Flesh tones can look ghastly, but that seems more a result of the film's tone rather than an issue with the transfer. All told, Silent Hill makes for one of the lesser Blu-ray releases on the market from a visual point of view.
Sony scares up a most impressive PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack for this Blu-ray release of Silent Hill. Unlike the disappointing video transfer, this soundtrack excels at every turn and never once presents any major causes for concern. First and foremost, this is an incredibly loud soundtrack; listeners with a set reference volume might find it a bit too much at normal levels. That said, it's a full and enjoyable experience, from the most innocent of atmospherics to the more aggressive and gut-wrenching Horror sound effects. The film's opening scenes before the arrival at Silent Hill do feature a smattering of fine sound effects at varying levels of intensity, delivering a mixture of quiet ambience and somewhat more obvious directional effects, but it's not until the action shifts to the ashen town does the track start to spread its wings. Deep and rumbling sounds often penetrate the soundstage to chilling effect; bass is incredibly deep and prodigious throughout, only adding to the visual intensity and horrific images that define the picture. Indeed, there's an entire range of sound effects that come together to enhance the picture's atmosphere; of note is the disquieting presence of an alarm klaxon that blares out its ominous warning with a lifelike fidelity that engenders a true sense of fear with every pronouncement. Additionally, various creatures squirm about and shriek with a spine-tingling high pitch that literally sends shivers through the body. Every sound -- those front-and-center and those others that support the atmosphere throughout -- blends seamlessly, and Silent Hill never feels cramped or phony; instead, there's an unnerving sense of space and realism to the entire track, and along with focused and clear dialogue reproduction, it makes for one of the most aurally impressive Horror soundtracks available.
Only 1080p trailers for Basic Instinct 2, Underworld: Evolution, and Resident Evil: Apocalypse are included.
2006's Silent Hill may be one of the better of its kind, but in a broader sense, Christophe Gans' film is rather superficial. By no means a great movie but one that's nevertheless sufficiently creepy and intensely atmospheric, Silent Hill seems ultimately a take-it-or-leave-it type that's a solid genre entry within the strict confines of video-games-turned-movies rather than the greater collective of Horror-at-large that's worth checking out but not particularly memorable for other than its effective visual and aural tone. Likewise, Sony's Blu-ray release is decidedly serviceable but not much more. Featuring a disappointing 1080p video transfer, a strong lossless soundtrack, and nary a trace of film-related bonus content, Silent Hill is worth a rental as a film good for conjuring up a few scares in the after-hours.
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