It tries. It really tries.

But Silent Hill fails to reach any sort of mental depth at all.

Tonight, Fabiana and I went to the cinema so that she will have fodder for her film review later this week. Oh, she has fodder, if she wants to hear me rant :) Although my ramblings do occasionally go in circles, preventing easy comprehension (and with the accent, well...).

Film is classed as, and I quote, "Action/Adventure/Horror". There is not much 'action' that you don't fully expect (except for the Michael Jackson Thriller-type nurses, at one point). Since things are mostly obvious throughout, I don't class that as 'adventure.' Only one option left. And in parts, that was just comical. Horrifyingly so.

On the positive side, some of the cinematography was nice. And I did like the mother's sweater until it got all dirty.

Where to begin with the rest... Firstly, this silly thing is based on a GAME; this leads me to believe that it was written by Gamers. And, frankly, I don't think they're the most well-socialised crayons in the box - the most obvious evidence of my argument being lady cop, Cybil, who is like a gun show advertisement in general and who, when splashed by acid from lurching creature (these are never explained), starts this action I could have sworn was about to turn into a pole dance (naturally, like all Gamer-fantasies, she is hotter than hot and in a uniform that is tighter than tight.). Happily, there was no pole dance. But I did like her boots.

Well, the mother is a typical, ridiculous thriller character with the dumbest dialogue. So, she's trembling around in an absolutely neurotic state through the first third of the film, shrieking periodically when there is nothing else to do. (cunningly enough, when she's descended into this darkened maze of whatever, she just happens to have a Zippo in her pocket -- even though there is no evidence that she smokes. this annoyed me.) Then, after she and the HLC (hot lady cop) decide to be ghost-fighting buddies, mother turns into The Strong One... WHAT?

The Jeep Liberty apparently has no airbag (right).
If you are in a burned-out town, wouldn't more buildings be, oh, burned?
There is a tiring amount of gratuitous flailing about as well as various and sundry liquids on walls and windows.
Mutant cockroaches are never a good idea (except to gamers).
Why are there always empty stretchers randomly placed around in deserted hospitals?
How is there electricity in an elevator in a deserted hospital (but only the elevator, mind), in a deserted and electricity-less town that has been erased from the map?
Mother appears suddenly in different top at end (so, was there just an extra one in her handbag for after she lost her fresh Downy softness?).

The ending is a blatant attempt to be as twisty and clever as The Sixth Sense and The Others. It is neither twisty nor clever.

There is, however, some city in Pennsylvania that is on fire underground and some such similarity to the film. Although, it pains me to give any credibility to the film by relating it to anything in reality.

Maybe the Mother character can go to the Zippo Swap Meet 2006.

******
Hiroko has some sushi left from her friends' coming for dinner. Must go and feed my annoyance.