Release Date: October 26, 2012
Rated: R
Genre(s): Horror, Suspense, Supernatural
Cast: Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Sean Bean, Malcolm McDowell, Carrie-Anne Moss
Director: Michael J. Bassett
Writer(s): Michael J. Bassett
Running Time: 94 minutes
Adaptation of: Silent Hill 3 (video game)
SYNOPSIS: Following the events of the first Silent Hill film, Sharon is returned to our world from Silent Hill with the help of her mother, Rose, who must stay behind. As she grows up, Sharon and her father, Christopher Da Silva, live life on the run, constantly dodging the otherworldly agents of Silent Hill. The two have moved once again and assumed the identities of Heather and Harry Mason, respectively, but Sharon is soon called back to the hellish town in a way more powerful than ever before.
That’s right, give your father a hug, you may never see him alive again—he is Sean Bean after all.
REVIEW: I’m a fan of the Silent Hill video game series. Admittedly, I also loved the first film, even though it deviated from the game’s canon quite a bit. It was disturbing and genuinely creepy, a horror film that instead of relying on lame jump-scares, relied on atmosphere and the fear of not knowing what terrors were around the next corner. To date, I still list Silent Hill as my favorite video game adaptation, and a sequel has been well overdue. Now, six years later, we have that next installment with Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. But, does it live up to it’s excellent predecessor? Not quite, but it’s still a fun film—especially for fans of the series.
Where 2006′s Silent Hill elected not to follow a certain game’s plot, Revelation chooses to follow the plot of Silent Hill 3—closer than you’d think too. The film actually merges the game’s plot with the characters and back story of the first film quite nicely. I’m usually a stickler for adaptations being faithful to the source material, however, in this case I think it hurts the film. There is so much story from the game(which takes several hours to complete while playing) crammed into a 90 minute film, that things seemed very rushed at times. The film does get passed these rough spots fairly quickly and smooths out. Another thing that bothered me was some of the line delivery: you’ve got Sean Bean and Carrie-Anne Moss, both good actors, giving some of the most cringe-worthy dialogue deliveries I’ve seen in some time. Once again, this happens sparsely, but it’ll yank you right out of the film until you can settle back in again.
So this is what happened to Alex DeLarge.
Michael J. Bassett does a very fair job of writing and directing this monstrosity; definitely better than Paul W.S. Anderson’s work when handling the similar Resident Evil films. To put things into perspective, I think this film is better than the entire Resident Evil film series combined—and I’m a bigger fan of the Resident Evil games than I am of the Silent Hill ones. Comparisons aside, Bassett could’ve polished the script a bit more, but it’s mostly in order. His direction switched back and forth from dramatic to creepy very well, but bordered on sloppy a couple times. And the town of Silent Hill just didn’t feel quite as scary or unsettling without Chistophe Gans, the director of the first installment, shooting it.
The cast is pretty well put together, showcasing the cute and capable Adelaide Clemens and handsome, fellow newcomer Jon Snow Kit Harington. The rest of the cast is rounded out by recognizable, seasoned, genre pros including Sean Bean, Malcolm McDowell, Carrie-Anne Moss, Deborah Kara Unger, Martin Donovan, and even a cameo by Radha Mitchell. Everyone gave pretty solid performances, aside from the aforementioned line deliveries, but I think Clemens did a really good job tackling the role of Heather Mason, one of (in my opinion) gaming’s best horror survivors.
Pyramid Head is the universe’s most terrifying carny… and we all know how scary those people are already.
By the time the credits roll, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D will either leave you feeling entertained or underwhelmed. Personally, I was entertained. While some of the acting, writing(there’s a few plot holes), and pacing is spotty, the effects, atmosphere, scares, and overall story is pleasing. Even the 3D effects were good, which should be expected since this film has touted the effect’s inclusion, even in it’s title. I would’ve liked more Pyramid Head too; while he has more screen time this time around, he’s still criminally underused. This is most likely what you would expect from a sequel to a great film—it doesn’t quite live up to it’s predecessor, but it still manages to scratch your proverbial itch. If you’re a fan of the original or the games, I highly recommend seeing this as soon as possible. Fans of the game series should pay special attention to the film’s ending, as it sets up a possible third film following another game in the series.
SLAP THIS ON THE BOX (FINAL WORD): “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D offers a fun, creepy time; late night and Halloween movie marathon enthusiasts have a new film to add to their list.” — Dusty Hope, Editor-in-Chief Arcadversary.com
