Oh yeah! After my dissection of the first Silent Hill game, how could I not do a thorough dissection on the movie too? Being that the movie is based off of the game, it's that much more suiting to do so. Let's dive in, and hopefully I don't make this post as long as I made my other one. This will contain spoilers for those who have not watched, you have been warned.
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The movie starts out introducing us to the Da Silva family. Rose, Christopher and Sharon Da Silva.
In the game, the main protagonist (Harry Mason) was a man hellbent on saving his daughter from Silent Hill. His wife had died of a mysterious sickness a few years earlier, and his daughter (Cheryl Mason) was all that he had left. This was revised in the movie however, as Rose is the main protagonist, not Christopher. The gender swap was a blow to fans. I was a little upset at first, because Harry Mason was just so incredibly bad ass. It is also a shame that they switched the role to a woman, as we rarely see a more feminine, smart, and very caring father in cinema anymore. Most father figures tend to be physically/sexually abusive, or alcoholics. However, because I hold Harry in such high regard, putting him into a movie would just feel wrong. If they cast the wrong actor or something, my image of Harry would be ruined forever. The slight name change from Cheryl to Sharon never bothered me, and keeping a female child was only natural. A male character would have made no sense.
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Like in the game, it's acknowledged that Silent Hill is a special place in Sharon's life, we just don't find out why until later. Sharon suffers from sleepwalking, which often gets her into dangerous situations. She murmurs about Silent Hill while sleepwalking, and Rose thinks the only cure is to bring Sharon to Silent Hill. Chris advises against the idea, but Rose goes against her husband's word and takes Sharon to Silent Hill. On her way to Silent Hill, she stops by a gas station to ask for directions where she meets a police officer (Cybil Bennett) who suspects Rose of kidnapping Sharon after observing her behavior. From this point, the game and the movie are very similar which I like.
In the game, Harry observes a female police officer on the road with him while he is driving to Silent Hill. The officer does not pull Harry over, but is merely observed going in the same direction as Harry. In the movie, Cybil pulls Rose over on her way to Silent Hill, but Rose speeds off when she sees the Silent Hill turn off. As she crashes through the gate blocking off Silent Hill, a girl walks across the road causing Rose to crash her vehicle. This is very similar in game, Harry crashes his jeep (Rose also drives a jeep), when a girl walks in front of him in the road. Rose wakes up after falling unconscious, and when her daughter cannot be found, she starts to wander around Silent Hill. This action is identical to Harry Mason's, another uncanny similarity.
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Like in the game, a child resembling Rose/Harry's daughter appears in the fog, and Rose chases after the figure. Silent Hill is abandoned, foggy, and ash is raining from the sky. This is also replicated from the game, I love this aspect, as the atmosphere is just so perfect. It's eerie, and it screams "horror" to try and find your way through a ghost town filled with thick fog! Rose's chase brings her to an alley (as it did in the game as well), and sirens go off as the town grows darker. In the darkness, much like Harry Mason did, Rose encounters the gruesome hellish "Otherworld" and it's creatures. The enemy is even the same! The "Grey Children" that Rose encounters are the same that Harry encountered in the game, and are one of the only enemies in the movie that are from the original game. Like Harry, Rose eventually falls unconscious in the alley, and awakens in a different location/time. Unlike the game, Rose wakes up in the same location where she fell unconscious at, but awakens in the "Fog" world. Harry wakes up in a seemingly entire new location.
After Rose realizes something is amiss, she attempts to find a road out of town. She comes to the tragic realization that she's stuck in Silent Hill as all of the roads out of town are obliterated. This is also replicated in the game, and this is also about the part where the movie takes it's own form. Many occurrences will resemble the series slightly, and I'll make some comparisons, but keep in mind the movie changes drastically from the game at this point.
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As Rose realizes there is no escape, a strange woman (Dahlia Gillespie) speaks to Rose in dark riddles. Rose mentions that she is looking for her daughter, and Dahlia makes foreshadows that she too has lost her child. Dahlia claims she was "deceived," and that something terrible has happened to her daughter Alessa. When Rose shows Dahlia a picture of Sharon, Dahlia goes frantic claiming Sharon to be her daughter. After shoving Dahlia, Rose runs away in fear as Dahlia proclaims, "Into the fire she swallowed their hate."
Dahlia's appearance and character changed dramatically from game to movie. In the game, Dahlia acted as the main antagonist, and was a psychotic religious fanatic. She was the perfect villain. In the movie, Dahlia's role and character is much different in the movie, a change that I do not particularly enjoy. She appears as a very sad, defeated and lonely human being who has given up on herself, which is also shown through her appearance. I personally prefer Dahlia bat shit insane, but the story they gave her in the movie isn't all that bad. We'll get into that later.
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There is a quick flashback to the real world as Chris attempts to find his wife. Rose told Chris that she had gone to Silent Hill, but now he feels something is amiss. He gets directions from the same gas station that Rose did, and he stupidly pays for them. There's a sign that points in the direction of Silent Hill if he just kept driving. *sigh*. Chris is not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he means well. It bothers me about his character, but he will come back in at a later date.
Rose goes back to her vehicle and attempts to phone Chris. She realizes she's in trouble, and asks Chris to come and meet her, and that she's lost Sharon. This is something that's always bothered me about the movie. Although Chris doesn't pick up, she can very clearly use the phone and Chris' voice mail box message is clear. If Silent Hill is a different world, communicating to the other world through electronics shouldn't happen. To be fair, it creates a nice bridge in between worlds, and gives Chris a little more role in the story later on. One of Sharon's drawings says "school," which leads Rose to believe that Sharon is in a school somewhere. Although the drawings are found in different locations, the drawings are showcased in both the game and in movie with the word "school."
Before Rose has a chance to leave her vehicle, Cybil Bennett shows up and handcuffs Rose. She is still under the suspicion that Rose has kidnapped a child and brought her here with harmful intent. Her radio is out, and so decides to walk all the way to Brahms. I don't know why there are so many brainless characters in this movie. Walk back? Really Cybil? That'd take forever, and considering there's a little girl's life at stake it seems a strange move. I guess there's not much to do if you can't call for reinforcements though.
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Cybil Bennett's character is similar in appearance to the game's character, and I'd say her role is very similar as well. She is stubborn, and dedicated to her duties as an officer of the law. Like in the game, it's unknown to the cause of her crash, but she ends up in Silent Hill and meets the main protagonist. Rose and Cybil meet on different terms and have a different relationship then when Cybil met Harry in the game, but when it comes down to it she still wants to help. Cybil makes the realization that something is amiss MUCH earlier in the movie then she does in the game, and is more help to Rose at an much earlier date. Her role in the movie is much more major then in the game, and I've always liked Cybil so it was a plus for me. I'll talk more about Cybil as we go on, but for now let's keep on moving.
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We get another flashback to the real world, as Chris drives to Silent Hill in an attempt to find Rose. When he tries to listen to Rose's voice message, it comes out as static. I suppose it is a symbol for "messages from the dead," and just bear with it for now. As I said, I don't particularly agree with that, but it alerts Chris that Rose is in danger. Police officers are on the scene, and Rose's jeep has been found crashed, with no sign of Rose or Sharon. Officer Gucci (which is actually a small reference to the game) also notes that Cybil Bennett is missing, and that he will take Chris to Silent Hill so they can search for the three missing women.
Back in Silent Hill, Rose still tries to proclaim her innocence. Cybil has good reason to suspect Rose of foul play, as somebody kidnapped a child and shoved him into a mine shaft a few years ago. She rescued the boy, and wants to make sure that Rose doesn't have similar intentions. Cybil attempts to take Rose back to Brahms when she too realizes that the road is out. Cybil refuses to realize that anything is amiss (much like she did in the game), and walks the other direction in an attempt to find a radio tower to get in touch with her fellow officers. Rose's phone makes a horrific screeching noise, much like the radio did in the game which alerts the player of nearby enemies. They encounter an Armless Man (a creature from Silent Hill 2), and Cybil kills the creature with her gun after it spews acid at her. While Cybil is busy in combat, Rose takes this opportunity to escape.
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Rose eventually makes her way to Midwich Elementary School by looking at a town map. The same name was adopted from the game, and the inside atmosphere was also replicated in several respects. This is my personally one of my favorite parts of the movie, because I feel the school was replicated beautifully. Rose walks into the main office (just as Harry Mason did) and observes her surroundings, taking a flashlight and a key ring. A quick flashback to the real world reveals that Christopher and Officer Gucci are searching for the missing women. Officer Gucci tells Chris about the town, explaining that the fire burning in this town killed many good (and not so good) people 30 years ago. Since then, it's been long abandoned, and devoid of life.
Rose tries to find her way around the school, and while she does she finds some figures in strange suits and runs to another part of the school. She finds a desk with the word "witch" carved on it, and inside the desk is Alessa Gillespie's schoolbooks. This is the first bit of back story on Alessa since Dahlia mentioned her, and Rose gets a flashback of Alessa's life. Alessa was thought to be a witch, and was relentlessly picked on. Her classmates taunted awful statements such as "burn the witch." The young girl (Alessa) is seen running again, and Rose chases her into the girl's bathroom where a Alessa can be heard weeping.
When she opens the stall however, Rose finds only a deceased man (Colin) posed horrifically wrapped in barbed wire. On the wall are the words scrolled "Dare you, dare you, double dare you," and an arrow points to Colin's open mouth. Rose reaches in to find her next clue to Sharon's whereabouts, the hotel.
The mysterious suit wearing figures have caught up to Rose, and she locks herself in the bathroom and starts to pray hoping that they will leave. They leave almost suddenly as a bird chirps, and just when Rose thinks she is safe, she sees the world transform before her very eyes. As Colin crawls out of his stall, Rose panics and attempts to escape to somewhere safe. The suited people from earlier are being horrifically torn apart by bugs, as she keeps looking for refuge. Rose spots Alessa Gillespie drawing frantically before she falls down a hole, and it almost seems as if Alessa herself is drawing this nightmare.
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This is the Silent Hill I know and love, with gruesome characters that are manifestations in a hellish world. This is one thing that the movie really did well. "The Janitor" as this enemy is called (or simply Colin) is a manifestation of Alessa Gillespie's hate towards others. Although not revealed yet, Colin sexually assaulted Alessa when she was seeking refuge in the girl's bathroom from her classmates. The stall where Alessa is heard crying is where Colin carried out his actions, and also where he is found brutally posed. This is an enemy unique to the movie, and certainly delivers the Silent Hill freak factor. Colin is forced to crawl on his stomach/genitals, which is a suitable punishment for his deeds. Colin taints everything he touches, which is symbolism for "dirtiness" or possibly something sexually destructive like an STI. He tainted Alessa's innocence forever, hence why he now also taints everything in his hellish nightmare that he is stuck in.
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In the real world, it's revealed that Chris is now at the school searching for Rose. This is probably because Rose mentioned the school in her phone call, although no sign of his family is apparent. The two worlds collide as Chris and Rose are in the same place in different worlds. One of my favorite scenes occurs as Rose runs by Chris in her struggles in the hellish Silent Hill. The door sways behind Chris, and he feels Rose's presence immediately. The emotional effect of this scene is so overpowering in my opinion, you try to put yourself in Rose's shoes, or Chris' shoes and you just can't. Rose is trapped in a living hell, alone. Chris' family is missing, and although he knows Rose is present somewhere, there is nothing he can do about it. For this scene alone, I will let the whole phone thing slide! Christopher really wasn't given a major role in the movie, but it gives credibility to his character and also to the story that Rose is an entirely different world (although that's pretty apparent). Chris follows Rose's spirit through the door, and can smell her perfume. Although Chris knows that Rose is here, Officer Gucci convinces him to leave, leaving Rose stranded in the Otherworld when she needed somebody the most.
Meanwhile, Rose has collapsed and given up as she is being pursued by the gruesome bugs and also by Pyramid Head. Cybil appears, and drags Rose to safety, saving her life. Although the women barricade the door and save themselves from the bugs, they barely escape Pyramid Head's clutches as he swings his major blade. Once he tears through the door with his massive blade he attempts to unbar the door, and nearly succeeds, if not for Cybil's quick thinking. She shoots Pyramid Head in the hand, and he withdraws as daylight draws near. Saved by the light, girls! Although Cybil appears to be the level headed of the two, she has a mental breakdown as day breaks, but Rose assures her it's going to be okay. The two women pair up and head to the hotel, as this is where Rose believes Sharon will be.
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Pyramid Head? PYRAMID HEAD?! Pyramid Head is one of the best known symbols that people recognize Silent Hill by. But lore wise, Pyramid's placement doesn't make any sense. First of all, Pyramid Head doesn't appear until the second game, and being that he is James Sunderland's personal manifestation, I do not believe he should be featured in the movie. I understand Pyramid Head's sheer badassary, and that it added to the movie's scare factor, but come on! They could have done so much more with Pyramid Head if a movie based on the second game came out, and it would make sense! I feel Colin was perfect for the film, he was unique, and they should have left at it that. This was one of my biggest issues with the movie, hands down. Don't get me wrong, I love Pyramid Head. However, he was misplaced and thoughtlessly thrown into this movie.
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In the real world, Chris attempts to find out more about Silent Hill. His curiosity is peaked not only by the websites he found Rose looking at, but also by now seeing Silent Hill with his own eyes. He tries to get his hands on some archives to find out more about the town, but the archives are confidential. Chris is left feeling frustrated and helpless. Chris breaks into the police station and does his own research on Silent Hill. He finds a report filed by Officer Gucci, and is disturbed at the photo he finds of Alessa Gillespie. The resemblance to his daughter is almost identical. With this information, he attempts to call the orphanage where he adopted his daughter for more information.
Back in Silent Hill, Rose and Cybil find the hotel where they run into Dahlia Gillespie again. A young girl Anna is throwing stones at Dahlia, explaining that she is a sinner and that not even the darkness wants her. Anna appears to be some sort of religious fanatic, as she explains her faith and how it keeps her safe. Cybil finds another drawing in the slot for Room 111, and Rose has a sinking suspicion that Sharon will be there. Room 111 also appears on the report that Officer Gucci filed when Chris was looking at the archives. Room 111 is hidden behind a photo of a burning witch, and there is a secret sanctuary/room that Rose discovers. I'd like to think this is similar to the Antique Shop's secret shrine in the game. Cybil notes that it looks like there was a fire in here, which is foreshadowing for later. When Rose finally meets with Alessa Gillespie, she bursts into flames as the sirens sound. Anna urges them to leave, and go back to the church to seek refuge.
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As they near the church to seek refuge, Silent Hill's believers can be found flocking to the church. Dahlia is seen outside of the church protesting as people gather. Rose tries to talk to Dahlia about her daughter to get more clues about what happened to her. Dahlia claims that "darkness wants revenge," which is the only clue revealed as darkness consumes the world. Dahlia seems unaffected by the world's change, and summons Pyramid Head to take hold of Anna as she's getting ready to throw another stone at Dahlia. This implies that the possibility of Alessa being a witch may be possible, as her mother seems to possess some sort of power. Pyramid Head seizes Anna, rips off her clothes, and then quickly rips off her skin and throws it towards the church door as Rose and Cybil close the door. This was definitely one of the better scenes in the movie.
Inside the church, the site of Cybil and Rose drenched in Anna's blood scares the followers of the seemingly religious cult. The group automatically come to the assumption that both Rose and Cybil are witches. As the mob moves towards Rose, Cybil shoots off her gun to scare the followers. The cult's leader, Christabella is outraged, exclaiming that this is a sanctuary. She seems oddly unphased by the loss of Anna, and tries to confront Anna's mother before praying. After the prayer is done, the church is illuminated. It appears that this cult (although crazy) were at least telling the truth when they said that their faith keeps them safe.
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Christabella is the equivalent of Dahlia in the game, and is the main antagonist. Rather than make Dahlia the crazy religious nut job, they made Christabella have this role. It will be revealed later that Christabella and Dahlia are sisters, but they are very different. It's very apparent that Dahlia is not welcome within the cult. Although I much prefer Dahlia as the original psychotic cult leader, Christabella does a satisfactory job. The actor who played Christabella did a good job with the very devout and very manipulative role. She sells creepy a lot more then she does crazy though, which is unfortunate. We all love a good train wreck. Christabella is also the headmaster at Midwich Elementary School. This makes her that much more scary, as it seems she has control over many residents of Silent Hill, including children. Her role in her niece's life will be revealed later on, but being that she is the main antagonist, you can bet we'll be hearing more of Christabella.
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Back in the real world, Chris is still desperately searching to look for clues about Silent Hill. His search brings him to the Toluca Orphanage, where he and Rose adopted Sharon 9 years earlier. The nun, Sister Margaret is reluctant to tell Chris anything, although she seems to know about Silent Hill and Sharon's origin. Officer Gucci traces Chris' steps here, as he got sloppy with cleaning up evidence. Officer Gucci, like Sister Margaret is very reluctant to share what happened in Silent Hill. Because Chris will not stop until he gets answers, Officer Gucci tells a little about Alessa Gillespie, but ultimately does not give Chris the answers he seeks. Chris gives up, and because he is facing arrest, decides to go home.
At the church, Christabella questions Rose and Cybil's intentions and faith. Although very judgmental and clearly devout to her faith, she helps Rose and Cybil. She claims that the demon is in the heart of the hospital, sealed away. If Rose wishes to speak to the demon, Christabella will assist Rose, but does not think she will return. Just as Rose and Cybil are about to enter the elevator shaft to delve into the depths of the hospital, Christabella sees that Sharon resembles Alessa. Alessa is "the demon," and she immediately brands the women as witches. Christabella's men attempt to kidnap both women, but Cybil fends off the attackers while Rose manages to escape. Cybil is captured by the group and bludgeoned with pipes as punishment. It's worth noting that the final area of the Silent Hill game ends in Alchemillia Hospital. In the movie, Brookhaven Hospital is mentioned (which is in Silent Hill 2/3), but the movie and the game wind down in the hospital. Interesting.
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I was rather disappointed at the hospital in this movie. They did a great job with Midwich, but Brookhaven was short lived, and detail/work was minimal in my opinion. The hospital was the main focus point in the game, and Harry found out crucial story components and met important characters in the location. Here, Rose is only seen navigating through the maze like hospital with little to no action at all. I guess at this point they wanted to spend more time on making the ending of the movie good, and ending Rose's journey for her daughter. Big let down though. The group of nurses at the end of the hallway blocking Rose's way was also pretty disappointing. The nurse's design was inaccurate, and they look similar to the Bubble Head Nurses from Silent Hill 2. It was an anti climatic battle, especially with the lack of action in the film at this point. The nurses didn't lunge towards her, and certainly didn't seem very intelligent. The self mutilation and blind hacking and slashing was more comical then it was scary.
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When Rose reaches her destination, she is awarded with the truth. I like this bit of the movie, as it pieces everything together very nicely and gives truth to other information that has not yet been revealed. In the game, a lot of components had to be speculated, or researched for a better understand of the game and it's events. The movie is straight forward to understand, and the flashback effect was well done. A lot has been explained already, but let's just run through this:
Dahlia gave birth to Alessa out of wedlock. Because of this, and Dahlia's refusal to name a father, Alessa was branded as "filth" and a witch. Her sister, Christabella encouraged teasing by the students in an attempt to get Dahlia to realize that everybody accept for her thought her daughter was a witch. When Alessa was molested by the school janitor, Dahlia was called to pick up Alessa. It's not known if the sexual assault was known about, but this contributes to the "filthy" factor either way. Dahlia felt powerless to help her daughter, even though she loved her very much. Christabella manipulates Dahlia into thinking she can help, and agrees to "purify" Alessa.
Alessa is led to the secret room in the hotel, Room 111 where it's been used for centuries to burn witches. Dahlia realizes what she has done, and leaves in guilt and shame to get the police. Christabella burns Alessa alive, but the burning goes terribly wrong. One of the chains used to hold Alessa over the fire breaks, and she knocks over the coals, setting the hotel and town on fire. It is said that Alessa could have done this with her psychic powers that she already possessed, or she gained the powers through her newly grown hatred. Police help arrives, and a younger Officer Gucci can be seen trying to free Alessa from where she was binded. This is how Officer Gucci got his burn marks, but is a good man for his deeds. Dahlia is mortified at her failure to help her child, and feels remorse for her daughter's pain, and extremely guilty for her powerlessness.
Alessa is rushed to hospital with third degree burns over 100% of her body. Although there were attempts to heal the child, efforts were futile as Alessa was already filled with hatred. She was alone, and through the constant deceit in her life, was unable to trust anybody. She lashed out in anger, and split her soul into two. She, through her psychic abilities also has control over the "Fog World" and over the "Otherworld," which she has been using to try and get revenge on her Aunt and other cult members. "Dark Alessa," is the hateful and revenge seeking "demon" part of Alessa's soul, and Sharon is the pure and innocent side of her soul. Dark Alessa brought Sharon to the orphanage to be adopted, where one day the soul would return. Because Rose picked Sharon, it's only destiny that she's here.
This is similar to the movie in certain aspects as well. Alessa had split her soul into two (Alessa and Cheryl), and Harry Mason adopted the baby. The only difference being that Harry found an infant Cheryl abandoned on the side of the road. Like in the game, Cheryl was also destined to come back to Silent Hill eventually.. as was Sharon.
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Rose awakens from all the flashbacks/revelations to find the current day hospital ward where Alessa has been kept for 30 years. Dark Alessa explains that the townsfolk have been lying to their own souls for 30 years, and while they are dead, Alessa has kept them here until the day that she can get revenge. This day is now, and Dark Alessa enters Rose's body because she can't get into the church on her own. All Dark Alessa asks is for Rose to tell the truth, and to give Alessa a chance to reap revenge. Christabella plans to purify Sharon, and it's now up to Rose to stop another witch burning.
The nurse seen crying in the room could be reference to Lisa Garland from the game. Lisa Garland was Alessa Gillespie's nurse in the game, and the actress in the movie resembles Lisa in appearance. Her eyes are bleeding because of her curiosity. The nurse looked at Alessa's charred body, and Alessa lashed out and tore out her eyes. It appears she was also forced to keep taking care of Alessa for 30 years as she laid in her hospital bed. This was a slight variation in the game (as Lisa no longer looks after Alessa and her eyes are intact). This is still a great touch though, nonetheless.
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Christabella seizes Sharon where Dahlia was keeping her in safety at her old apartment. Despite Dahlia trying to protect Sharon for one final time, Christabella takes Sharon to the same spot where Alessa was burned 30 years prior. Christabella plans on burning Cybil Bennett as a witch (in her mind) as well, and when it comes time to burn Sharon, Dahlia is going to watch. She escaped watching 30 years ago, but will not do so now, and will not meddle in the cult's affairs. Before Cybil's death, she convinces Sharon that Rose will come for her. She cannot escape her fate though, and is burned to death. The sick and twisted cult members laugh and have no remorse for their actions. Considering they're burning somebody alive in front of a 9 year old innocent child.. that's pretty dark.
Before Sharon can be burned, Rose bursts in. The cult members attempt to take hold of her, and beat her down, but Rose tells the truth to the cult, just as Dark Alessa had asked. They do not listen, obviously, as they are blinded by their denials. When Rose stands up to Christabella, she is furious at her failed attempt to control Rose. She stabs her through the chest, which allows Dark Alessa to seep through the stab wound.
Alessa is then seen rising from the pits of the Otherworld, as she wrecks havoc and revenge on all of the cult members who stood by and watched her burn (nearly) to death 30 years ago. Using barbed wire, she snakes around cult members dismembering them, cutting through them and making their blood and guts rain in the church. Christabella gets the worst of it, and rightfully so. I must say that her death is extremely over exaggerated, but it suits the mood of the film. She is raped/sodomized with barbed wire which travels through her entire body, and eventually comes out of her mouth. Barbed wire rips holes in her body and eventually rips her in two halves. Dark Alessa dances in her blood as it rains down. Alessa was finally able to get her revenge.
Meanwhile, Rose has completed her goal and is saving Sharon. Rose tells Sharon to shut her eyes and when she wakes the dream will be over. Sharon however, doesn't listen, and Dark Alessa stares into Sharon's eyes. She transfers her half of her soul into Sharon's, and the soul is whole again.
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The nightmare is over when Rose and Sharon open their eyes, and they are returned to the Fog World. Only Dahlia is left, feeling saddened by what her daughter had become. Dahlia does not know why she was not taken with the rest of them, as she feels she deserves it for failing her daughter. Dahlia is unaffected by the Otherworld because she still loved her daughter, and because Dahlia was the only person who ever loved Alessa, Alessa couldn't punish her. As Rose leaves the church, she looks back at the charred Cybil Bennett and quotes her by saying, "Mother is God in the eyes of a child." Sharon looks at Dahlia darkly, as Dahlia realizes that Alessa is now Sharon. This is arguably more of a punishment than straight out ending Dahlia's nightmare, as Dahlia now has to watch her daughter walk out with another Mother who is more loving and capable.
Now that Rose has cleared the trials of Silent Hill and achieved her goal, she is able to leave Silent Hill. Unfortunately, although Rose's soul and Alessa's soul can now rest peacefully, they will never return to the world of the living. As Rose returns home, she realizes she will never return to the life she had before leaving to Silent Hill. Like in the school, Christopher and her are doomed to live in different worlds, and cannot see each other. Christopher however, is alerted to his wife's presence, and also to the door which has mysteriously opened while he slept with no trace of anybody entering.
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Overall, the movie had it's flaws, but it's still watchable and I can see that they tried to include themes from Silent Hill games while making their own unique story line as well. I personally feel the story line was lacking a little, because who the hell was burning witches in the 1970's? Burning a bastard child for that reason alone is also pretty far fetched, which makes the story a little less believable.
Pros:
- The twist of Dahlia's character.
Although I prefer her as Christabella's role, it was an interesting thought.
- Original music used from Silent Hill 1, 2 and 3.
Silent Hill has awesome game music, and I'm glad they incorporated it in.
- Midwich Elementary School.
Again, bravo to them for finding a very identical looking school.
Love the reference to the game.
- Colin the Janitor.
Each Silent Hill game has some sort of unique entity, and I'm glad the movie didn't completely rip off all the monsters from Silent Hill games.
- Rose and Chris' indirect crossings in between worlds.
I mentioned this in the post, but the emotional power was great in these scenes.
Rose and Chris' love for each other was very apparent in the movie, which made it even more emotional.
Cons:
- Pyramid Head.
Was thrown in carelessly with seemingly no thought. Bugged me.
- Timeline of the story with the events.
Again, witch burning in the 70's? That doesn't happen anymore, does it? Come on now. This isn't the 1800's.
- The lack of thought in the Hospital.
Maybe I'm just really upset about it, but such a major location in game was given next to no thought in the movie.
- Lack of monsters and other small references from Silent Hill 1.
The big picture was ripped from Silent Hill 1, sure.
But when you make a movie off of a large franchise like Silent Hill, give the fans what they want!
Ripping off the monsters from other games instead of the first one seemed very out of place.
It also bums me out that Lisa wasn't really named in the game, but she was just the "red nurse."
No mention of Kauffman or drugs is ever made either, what a shame.
Overall: 6/10.
