Silent Hill the Movie

[Undead Cabbage]

I just saw the movie 'Silent Hill' last night and let me say, WOW!

To be honest, I have never played the game, so I couldn't tell whether the movie is true to it. I have heard from some people that it is.

Regardless, does this movie not scream Ravenloft? There is not a single 'screamer' or cheap thrill in the entire movie, not one. Most of the time in this age of Computer Graphics, thinking about a horror movie will only ruin it for you. In Silent Hill's case, its thinking about it that kills you.

Strange enough, I look at this movie and I kind of see a different interpretation of Necropolis.

Any thoughts on the movie people?

[Joël of the FoS]

I've never played the game either, but I'm a fan of the comics. Nightmare Lands was another area where this atmosphere would fit ...

Joël

[nowonmai]

The games are way good, trust me. Even the first which is PS1. The first one set the stage, the second was good, the third continues where the first left off, and the fourth was pretty creepy but very difficult.

The movie was........ good despite poor acting. Much better than the RE movies. The only thing was that there were some really misplaced things in the movies. One was Pyramid Head (the big guy with the huge knife). In Silent Hill 2 he was suppost to be a demon of judement and retribution instead of a manifestation of the "bad side" of the girl demon. In the 2nd game he went around tormenting some of the characters in SH2 because they were guilty of horrible things, even the character you play though you dont know it immediately. Another was the nurse at the end who was crying blood. In the first game she played a big role in the story, so she really fit. In the movie she was just something they threw in, kinda like Pyramid Head. The whole effect and story of her in the game was lost in the movie.

They tried to base it off the first game and kept the beginning very similar, but they changed around the background story completely. I would go over how its so different, but then I would ruin the games The new story wasnt bad, just different. I do feel they tried to bring in to much though; they tried to combine stories of the different games. One thing I will say thats different in the games is that the main character is not dead, unlike what they were implying in the movie. In the movie the woman and the girl were still in the fog reality which sort of implies they are dead and have been the whole time. I do think the ending was weak though; the part with the woman rising out of the pit with barbed wire.

A very nice touch was how they used a bunch of the game soundtrack in the movie. Its too bad they didnt do more with the hospital, thats one of the creepiest parts of the games, especially SH1 and SH3! I have got my bro to start playing the games; he is currently playing SH1 and is about to enter the hospital. The cult of Silent Hill grows

I plan on buying the DVD when it comes out.

[Jack of Tears]

Better than Resident Evil? Not certain what movie you watched, but it was nowhere near as good as the first RE film.

That said, the second Resident Evil film was Terrible! The nemesis looking like Toxic Avenger! Then, rather than make Alice simply well trained and compitent, as she was in the first film, they had to give her super powers! Gah! I hate sequels.

As for Silent Hill ... the movie dripped atmosphere. The set constrution and scene work was superb. The entire film was ripe will beautiful and creepy imagery. I didn't even balk at the computer effects, which typically turn me off of a film. The way the FX were done, however, fit the sureal atmosphere they were attempting to generate. This is an example of a well directed movie, with a tallented set crew, fx department and overall experienced technical staff.

All that said; the movie was terribly mediocre. The acting was never quite awful, but never very good either. The script, on the other hand, was loathsome. The material here, particularly the last half hour, was some of the worst I have seen in a long time. (mind you, not THE worst, but dreadful nonetheless) There were inconsistancies everywhere, incongruities at every turn, and poor planning on a vast scale. While these things might fly in a video game, they make for poor cohesion in a movie.

I would recommend people see the film, at economy prices ... but don't let your expectations get too high before going in.

[nowonmai]

I guess I am biased because I love the SH games. The reason I said SH was better than RE was capturing the mood of what it was suppost to be. RE didnt really give me the same sense as the game as much as SH did. But, like you said, its hard to capture the same things in a movie as a game.

[Tobias Blackburn]

I have some ideas to adapt it. The town itself exists on the Near Ethereal, and is controlled by the remaining essence of a powerful fiend that was improperly deastroyed/sealed. The fiend connected to the suffering of a particular outcast and was able to draw the people into its world.

This town exists laid over the normal town, but the resonance is so strong that you cannot step back onto the Material Plane without the Fiend's permission. This also prevents anything on the near ethereal from seeing creatures and things on the Material. They can only see and interact with creatures on the Near Ethereal and items that have enough resonance to exist there.

The Darkening occurs every once in a while, when the fiend gathers up enough power to extend its reality wrinkle to engulf the entire town. It snuffs out all light and, since the resonance town is now in a sinkhole of evil, it corrupts and decays in a matter of seconds. When the reality wrinkle shrinks back, it takes all the evil it spread with it and the town returns to normal. Until the next time.

[NykylaiHellray]

Hmmmm nice idea, though the way the 3 dimensions are described in the game is much different.

The light: is the good area, this is where that little girl from SH2 existed in. She either did not see the monsters, or saw them as normal people. It is the good part of silent hill. Only the truely innocent are safe here.

The fog: This fits best in raveloft, as this is purgatory. It is the place which is neither good nor evil. Though the people trapped within, have sinned enough to not be able to exist on the light realtiy. This is the place most encounter.


The Dark: This world is shaped by the charecters sins, like the girl in sh2 who saw only fire. This is the darkest place. Twisted by your sins, and the powers of the town.




I suggested this before. Though not many noticed. That this would function as a nice cluster that exists within the demiplane of dread, but also seperate. Like a miny reality deep within.


How one would do this, is create an event which signals dimensions changing. This is to do with the sirens. Or in 3 by vatiel turning the pipes.

The monsters in fog world, could be average creatures.

In the dark world, the same monsters would be present, but more darker monsters would exist as well.


I personally thought it was a great movie.....and I am sorry RE was crap.

One had good points, but disregarded the games so much, that I share little respect for it.....i mean come on a damn licker for the main boss????


Silent hill was rough around the edges but at least it captured the games well.

[Jack of Tears]

Well, I had the benefit of never actually having played the game, so I could take the movie at face value without drawing parellels. I can see how it might have been disappointing for those who went in expecting a more literal adaption - but direct video game adaptions never work on the big screen - the mediums are simply too different.

[Tobias Blackburn]

Good points, NykylaiHellray, though I wasn't clear on what I was saying. My ideas are for taking the general feel of Silent Hill and basing a game on that. The improperly locked away demon, the Reality Wrinkle expanding to bring about the Dark, those aren't my take on the movie, it is how I would take some of the elements and use them in Ravenloft without making a direct conversion.

Another idea I had was to make the area an Obliette of Homlock, based around what remains of Ragda. It would need much more work to flesh out, since, for example, Homlock lacked the large buildings that mark Silent Hill, but it would be unique to wander through a fallen domain and interact with whatever is left of the Lord.

[Undead Cabbage]

Silent Hill is very Ravenloftian, but I don't think a direct conversion (such as that seen in Barovia or Lamordia) would work. When I say this, I refer to the movie (I couldn't tell you anything about the games).

My thoughts on the Necropolis interpretation were that occasionally individuals can enter old Il Aluk in a sort of 'state' that does not include the shroud. The Sirenes could symbolize the Reqiuem, and at 'night' you would get the city of Undead. That guy with the triangle head kind of reminded me of Death.

Essentially, this way you could have a means of using Necropolis without Amaranth or PCs that are undead. It's certainly not the Canon way of doing Necropolis, but looking at the canon version I sometimes am at a loss of exactly what to do with the realm. The whole fake Messiah aspect of the story also fits with Death as well. Then again, this is just my own interpretation of the realm. It's easily arguable that Necropolis also has some aspects of Resident Evil.

[Stygian Inquirer]

Silent Hill in Ravenloft has also been discussed in the following threads albeit the game as the movie had not come out yet:
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... php?t=2013
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/foru ... php?t=2426