Two tormented parents have a child afflicted with a debilitating sleepwalking disorder. Despite this, they routinely leave doors open and unlocked at night. They also live in a house with a garden merging into a precarious cliff top path, ending in a precipice and 1 mile freefall.
It is this glaring plot hole, which leads somewhat undeservedly to the first scene of dramatic tension. This involves a horrified mother rescuing the oblivious and parachute-bereft child from a foolhardy base jump.
As the mother (and now attending father) cradle the delirious child in the aftermath, the child mumbles two words, ‘Silent Hill’.
The next day while the father is out, possibly buying YALE locks, the mother GOOGLES Silent Hill and finds it is a reputed ghost town. While the social services and even the child itself would dictate that this is no place for a child, mum knows best. Armed with a Chelsea tractor and a full tank of gas, she takes herself and child to Silent Hill to find salvation.
Predictably, the mother and the child, especially, who is abducted within a heartbeat of arriving, go through a process of psychological terrorisation, as they negotiate through the many torturous dimensions that Silent Hill has disintegrated into.
This part of the movie is pretty good. The SFX and the zombie/ghoul/ghosts are reasonably inventive, and the multi-dimensional Silent Hill is a dark and intriguing place.
However, while the acting is mostly adequate, the script lacked due care and attention. The actors had to labour at times and several scenes fell flat. The butch policewoman is best ignored altogether.
But all in all, the developing mystery of Silent Hill is quite seductive, and kept me fairly interested. The end is suitably arcane, getting a bonus for defying Hollywood convention.
It is this glaring plot hole, which leads somewhat undeservedly to the first scene of dramatic tension. This involves a horrified mother rescuing the oblivious and parachute-bereft child from a foolhardy base jump.
As the mother (and now attending father) cradle the delirious child in the aftermath, the child mumbles two words, ‘Silent Hill’.
The next day while the father is out, possibly buying YALE locks, the mother GOOGLES Silent Hill and finds it is a reputed ghost town. While the social services and even the child itself would dictate that this is no place for a child, mum knows best. Armed with a Chelsea tractor and a full tank of gas, she takes herself and child to Silent Hill to find salvation.
Predictably, the mother and the child, especially, who is abducted within a heartbeat of arriving, go through a process of psychological terrorisation, as they negotiate through the many torturous dimensions that Silent Hill has disintegrated into.
This part of the movie is pretty good. The SFX and the zombie/ghoul/ghosts are reasonably inventive, and the multi-dimensional Silent Hill is a dark and intriguing place.
However, while the acting is mostly adequate, the script lacked due care and attention. The actors had to labour at times and several scenes fell flat. The butch policewoman is best ignored altogether.
But all in all, the developing mystery of Silent Hill is quite seductive, and kept me fairly interested. The end is suitably arcane, getting a bonus for defying Hollywood convention.