Sherine Sanchez
Better than such scary thrillers “The Grudge” and “The Excorcist,” the morbid film “Silent Hill” delivers a breakthrough performance with very few actors, that tempts the imagination with mind-twisting special effects and graphics of demons and witches in the earlier ages of history.
Radha Mitchell, the leading female actress from the 2004 film “Man on Fire,” plays a desperate mother, Rose Da Silva, who is seeking answers to her daughter’s nightmares.
She then embarks on a deadly quest to try to save her.
The new young actress Jodelle Ferland, plays the dual evil character, daughter Sharon and Alessa, who are both possessed by dark forces.
Traveling through dreams and time, most of the bloody scenes relapse with events are rewound to seconds before.
Like the first game the movie’s based on, with two key players, good and evil, the mother is constantly chasing after her daughter who actually appears to be sane, but her secrets bury her deeper.
One particular scene which started the suspense, Da Silva is driving to the mysterious and isolated town of Silent Hill against her husband’s wishes.
The roads are completely shrouded in fog and life appears non-existent as she races through a closed entrance to the abandoned city. She passes out when her car suddenly crashes on the hill after being chased by a police officer.
In this scene, it’s unrealistic that a sane mother would put both her and her daughter’s lives in danger by driving practically to a town of evil without a plan.
Morning comes and her daughter is missing. Scraped and bleeding, she knows exactly where to start looking.
Right after this scene, the film’s creeping plot picks up speed and takes viewers to a new dimension where pain and death lurk at every corner.
This movie depicts a time when witches were burned and brainwashing from masses of controlling alleged churchgoers seemed to be more powerful than the demons themselves.
In a desolate city where most were left murdered, trapped inside the remains of ashes–dark turns daylight into dust and no one is safe.
This movie is recommended for its amazing grim story played out by a cast of great and enticing new actors.
The R-rated film does include strong violence which will definitely make viewers jump out of their seats.
The graphics were more thrilling than the acting itself, but overall a great plot to portray the vision the director unfolds.
Grade: B