I was hyped.  I was stoked. The trailer for the Silent Hill movie looked soooooo good...but would it be:

1) true to the games?

2) A good horror movie?

Well, after 15 minutes into the movie, I decided that the answers to those questions was a solid YES! :)

Let's face it, the horror movies of the past year or so have sucked.  The Ring, The Grudge, The Ring Two, The Village...if theres been a good horror movie in the past year that wasn't a remake, I can't think of it. :(  And the ones that had the budget to be good - were all PG-13! Blasphemy I say! 

Silent Hill just made me feel a lot better about the future of horror movies.  Not only was it actually rated R *gasps* - the gore, the scares, the violence were all perfectly balanced.  And what's better, it all fit in perfectly with the story as told by the SH games.  The movie pulls mostly from the first and second SH games (setting and creature-wise that is, you won't find James or his dead wife here), although I'm pretty sure there were a few cameos from the third and fourth installations as well.  Some changes were made to the story though:  "Harry" the father is now "Rose" the mother, the little girl is now named "Sharon" instead of "Cheryl". 

The settings, the visual effects, the creatures were unbelievably good - probably the best effects I've seen in a horror movie. The trasnsition from 'light' to 'dark' SH was almost beautiful, if anything in a horror movie can be called that. The music - for the most part I can't even recall it, but what I do remember fit pretty well.  Sound effects also were spot-on, ranging from Sirens to blood pattering on the floor - incredibly well done.  Some critics complained about the acting, but personally I thought it was fine.  Directing...ah, I swear whoever directed this film MUST have played the games.  The camera angles shown when our heroine first discovers the dark side of SH are almost identical to those from the original SH game when Harry makes the same discovery...and those of you who played the first SH will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about when you see it. :twisted: 

I felt that the movies only real weak point was the ending.  It was a little off from the rest of the movie, though I think they did what they did to set it up for a sequel.  It wasn't a BAD ending exactly, I just wish they hadn't left it where they did.

For those who havent played the games - I say go see it anyway because its still a good horror flick. We all enjoyed the movie - 4 of us went to see it last night, and 2 of us had played the games and 2 hadnt.  Hell, if other friends of mine want to go see it, I'll go see it again.  Even so, I know I'll be getting the DVD when it becomes available. :)

For those who have played the game, I've got 2 additional words for you:  Pyramid Head. :)  Just a cameo really, but what a cameo! :twisted:

I will add a PS on to this:  This movie is a lot like the games, gore and disturbing moments are why its rated R.  So why some douchebag would bring his kids (who couldnt have been more than 6 years old) to see this is beyond me.  Yes friends and neighbors, there were at least 3 kids under the age of 10 at the showing I went to.  Now, people can scream about censoring videogames because its 'bad for the children' until they are blue in the face, but they won't get any respect from me til they tackle ****ers like this first.  Kids that young should NOT be in movies that are rated R - I dont care if its Silent Hill or the Passion - some kids are too young for that sort of thing, I don't care how mature for their age they are!  Had they been 14, 13, even 12 I wouldn't be complaining like this, but age 6?!?!? Thats got to be like child abuse or something. :(