Silent Hill

For a die-hard fan of the game, it will most likely be a captivating atmospheric spectacle full of familiar heroes (or heroines). But for a viewer experiencing the theme of a town shrouded in eternal mist for the first time, it will be confusing and I dare say quite overwhelmingly so. It requires a great deal of attention, especially considering the packed visuals, which will make you forget about everything else around you, quite effectively. The editing and sound are masterful, the director primarily builds the atmosphere on these two elements. Distant clanging of iron, various rustling and whimpering – that's what you will take with you from the cinema. The ingenious atmosphere is supported by excellent roaring music, which works here as well as, for example, in Underworld. The visual effects are incredibly good and the action scenes are gripping. Occasionally, the excessive brutality and blood may be a problem for some people, but the biggest issue will be the aforementioned story for the lay viewer, which can cause quite a mess in your head with its multiple layers. It certainly requires more than one viewing. However, the question is: Do you want to see it again? (28/06/2006)

In audiovisual terms - excellent. Almost everything from the book was included here, although that is paradoxically the biggest negative about it, because this way Silent Hill the movie seems just like another part of the game where, however, there is no opportunity for interaction - we move from level to level up until the finale. Literally like watching somebody playing one of the episodes of “Silent Hill" the game. The screenplay isn’t one of the strongest ever written, but it works for this picture and the ending fits exceptionally well with the overall mood. The actors are also well-chosen and even the little girl is bearable. Overall this is more of an unusual experience than an actually good movie. If nothing else, Christophe Gans proved that movies based on games don’t necessarily have to be C-movies, but can even be B-movie standard. (15/11/2007)

Visually, it's absolutely amazing and whether it's Pyramid Head, Alessa, or any other appearance, I just envy what Gans presents to the viewer with a stunning piano accompaniment. Unfortunately, as someone who didn't play the video game source, I got quite lost and ended up completely lost at the end. If I hadn't looked up a lot of things, I probably still wouldn't know if I liked Silent Hill or not. After understanding the main connections, it's a bit far-fetched, but I give it four stars considering the atmosphere. It should have continued immediately the following year in this atmosphere and not turned the suspicious town of fog into a cheap horror brand. (07/12/2006)

Another proof that the world of PC games and the world of film are not yet very compatible. Gans brilliantly portrays the oppressive atmosphere of the game, but you can sense the leaning towards the mainstream and the resulting somewhat sterile portrayal of the horrors of darkness. The few digital boogeymen and the very decent gore didn't save it (but Pyramid Head was impressive despite the small space). They should have pushed the envelope more, throw out the boring storyline with the completely useless Sean Bean, which diluted the dense atmosphere of the film unnecessarily and did not solve anything, and above all to make the unraveling of the mystery more clear. It was too overcomplicated and chatty at the end. But Radha Mitchell was great. (31/07/2006)

I hadn't played the video game, but I had high expectations before the movie, followed by somewhat conflicting reactions, so I was appropriately excited. The result was pleasantly surprising. In horror movies, the atmosphere is extremely important and Silent Hill is an example of a film that stands or falls with a well-established atmosphere. The depressive environment of a destroyed city, where ash constantly falls to the ground and black smoke rolls, accompanied by the wailing sound of a siren, dark shadows appearing, and people's faces covered with gas masks all serve to evoke a feeling of claustrophobia, and dark premonition. As it is well known, people are most afraid of the unknown, and the film is logically strongest in its first third when evil still has an abstract form. If the director didn't try to explain anything, my final impression could be 100%. The twist itself didn't impress me, but fortunately, it was not decisive for the result. In its category, Silent Hill has had no competition in the past two years. Overall impression: 75%. (01/12/2006)