Silent Hill
Just a quick little mini-review, before I go to bed. No spoilers.
All right, I'm not a big fan of horror. If I'm going to watch a horror film, it better be done well (i.e., have an interesting story and characters, and not follow the all too typical horror movie formula: Step 1 -- spend five minutes introducing characters who never get developed; Step 2 -- introduce monster(s) who will be killing/terrorizing the characters in Step 1 for the next 2 hours; Step 3 -- make sure to use a lot of jerky camera action, shoddy editing, and really crappy lighting/cinematography.) The last horror movie I watched and enjoyed was The Ring, because it had interesting characters and story, and seemed to have been directed by someone with an artistic eye.
Silent Hill, I'm happy to say, is much the same way. Artistically, it made me very happy: the use of color and atmospheric effects, the set designs, and of course, the monster designs were all very creative and original and creeeepy. The story was well-paced, and definitely involving and intriguing enough to hold my attention. Also, I actually liked the main characters. I also think it's worth noting that the entire cast -- with about 2 exceptions -- is female. Virtually everyone who has a speaking role or a name or any kind of bearing on the plot is a woman -- heroes, villains, side characters, you name it -- which I thought was very cool. (And OMG, obligatory fangirling over Cybil and her leather pants and Very Fine Boots. *fans self*)
Now, lest you be led astray by my praises of the story, characters, and cinematography, let me tell you right now, THIS IS A SCARY MOVIE. And although it has plenty of atmospheric creepiness (aided by the very cool art direction and design), this is not one of those movies where you never actually see the menaces and horrors: They are definitely there on screen, and they say HELLO. So if you can't handle gore, don't see this movie; and if you see it anyway, be prepared to cover your eyes a lot. I think I have a pretty decent tolerance for the stuff myself, but I know I went lap-diving at least four or five times during the movie. So keep that in mind.
As for how true it stays to the games... I wouldn't call myself a fan of the games -- like I said, horror isn't my thing -- but I've watched wanderingbeyond play about half of Silent Hill 3 and played a bit myself, and I've listened to nekokoban, sjen, and zinjadu talk about the games quite a lot, so I think I've got a pretty good knowledge of the games anyway. As far as I'm able to tell, although the story seems to be a patchwork of the plots of SH1 and SH3 (with bits of SH2 -- OMG, Pyramid-Head! -- thrown in for effect), it seems very true to the style and the feeling fo the Silent HIll games. In other words: Creepy As Hell.
So, what it boils down to is: If you like horror movies, check it out. If you like good horror movies, check it out. If you're a fan of the games, check it out.
Otherwise... see V For Vendetta instead.
Okay, BED!
All right, I'm not a big fan of horror. If I'm going to watch a horror film, it better be done well (i.e., have an interesting story and characters, and not follow the all too typical horror movie formula: Step 1 -- spend five minutes introducing characters who never get developed; Step 2 -- introduce monster(s) who will be killing/terrorizing the characters in Step 1 for the next 2 hours; Step 3 -- make sure to use a lot of jerky camera action, shoddy editing, and really crappy lighting/cinematography.) The last horror movie I watched and enjoyed was The Ring, because it had interesting characters and story, and seemed to have been directed by someone with an artistic eye.
Silent Hill, I'm happy to say, is much the same way. Artistically, it made me very happy: the use of color and atmospheric effects, the set designs, and of course, the monster designs were all very creative and original and creeeepy. The story was well-paced, and definitely involving and intriguing enough to hold my attention. Also, I actually liked the main characters. I also think it's worth noting that the entire cast -- with about 2 exceptions -- is female. Virtually everyone who has a speaking role or a name or any kind of bearing on the plot is a woman -- heroes, villains, side characters, you name it -- which I thought was very cool. (And OMG, obligatory fangirling over Cybil and her leather pants and Very Fine Boots. *fans self*)
Now, lest you be led astray by my praises of the story, characters, and cinematography, let me tell you right now, THIS IS A SCARY MOVIE. And although it has plenty of atmospheric creepiness (aided by the very cool art direction and design), this is not one of those movies where you never actually see the menaces and horrors: They are definitely there on screen, and they say HELLO. So if you can't handle gore, don't see this movie; and if you see it anyway, be prepared to cover your eyes a lot. I think I have a pretty decent tolerance for the stuff myself, but I know I went lap-diving at least four or five times during the movie. So keep that in mind.
As for how true it stays to the games... I wouldn't call myself a fan of the games -- like I said, horror isn't my thing -- but I've watched wanderingbeyond play about half of Silent Hill 3 and played a bit myself, and I've listened to nekokoban, sjen, and zinjadu talk about the games quite a lot, so I think I've got a pretty good knowledge of the games anyway. As far as I'm able to tell, although the story seems to be a patchwork of the plots of SH1 and SH3 (with bits of SH2 -- OMG, Pyramid-Head! -- thrown in for effect), it seems very true to the style and the feeling fo the Silent HIll games. In other words: Creepy As Hell.
So, what it boils down to is: If you like horror movies, check it out. If you like good horror movies, check it out. If you're a fan of the games, check it out.
Otherwise... see V For Vendetta instead.
Okay, BED!