Movie Review: Silent Hill (2006)

The movie stars Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Tanya Allen, Kim Coates, Jodelle Ferland and Deborah Kara Unger.

I hadn’t seen this particular movie since it first came out and, because of that, didn’t remember much about it. So, when I came across it on one of our movie channels a few days ago, I decided to record it and my wife and I ended up watching it yesterday evening.

The movie wasn’t as much of a thriller/horror film as I thought it would be. However, it turned out to be very entertaining.

The thing I found I really liked about this movie was the mystery. We know very little about the adopted child, Sharon (Ferland), other than the fact she apparently came from Silent Hill. Yet, when she and her mother, Rose (Mitchell) arrive in the ghost town, everything that happens after she disappears seems to revolve around her and the people who know why won’t talk about it.

Also, while, as I mentioned, there wasn’t anything overly scary about this movie, there were quite a few intense moments, including a pretty cool scene involving a melting bathroom and some creepy looking bugs. What I really liked about a lot of those scenes was the fact they were so bizarre, it made me wonder if maybe she was hallucinating the whole thing because of the toxic air quality from all the falling ash.

I’m not sure if I liked the ending of this film or not. Granted, it was a bit unexpected and I do like films that surprise me. However, it also left me feeling a bit confused because I wasn’t sure if it meant Rose and Sharon were dead or simply in a different reality. And, having never played the video game this movie is based on, I didn’t have anything to help provide some sort of reference. However, despite being undecided about the ending, I also didn’t think it did anything to hurt my overall opinion of the film.

It’s not much of a thriller. But, it is a pretty decent mystery film and I enjoyed watching the movie as a result of that. If you haven’t seen this movie, I do recommend taking the time to watch it at least once.

My Grade: A