Return to Silent Hill

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by joshsquash729

The ironic part is that almost all the creatures in the first movie were done practically- all the monsters, including the children, were played by people, but they touched them up with so much CGI that it's hard to tell. I think the Gray Children were played by a single actress and then just multiplied, but still. They specifically hired dancers and people who were trained to move their bodies, but so much of their performance was undoubtedly lost with the CGI touch-ups (not to mention just the sheer size of the roles- each monster, save for Pyramid Head, only has a single quick scene).

Thanks Josh. I forgot about the babies being people in a costume due to the severe use of CGI with the cinders of fire on them as you mentioned. I kept thinking they didn't look threatening for that reason. Now if they grabbed her, and then it showed her skin burning, much better but they didn't show any harm to her when they grabbed her, like the stabbing babies in the first game on PS1. Those demon babies in the first game were everywhere in the halls. I dreaded them, because they'd keep after the player and once they latched on, start stabbing the player's legs till it was over. Horrible creatures. In the film, that opening scene was the only scene they used them for.

In Silent Hill 1, when the babies stabbed the player, the controller shook badly, to really drive home the horror of it. The movie can't do that, unless it's one of those 4D theater seats with the rumble feature.

[rewak]

Best feature of the French Blu release was the option to watch the whole movie as raw footage, getting to see what was actually done practically is pretty damn cool.

[eselv73]

There's almost no chance this movie will capture the subtleties of the story of Silent Hill 2. It is one of the top stories in any game, IMO. I won't go into spoiler territory because everyone should experience it fresh, but based on the fact that they shoehorned Pyramid Head into the first movie, I don't have a lot of hope for a faithful adaptation.

[Agent Bond]

I'll watch it, but I wish it was Part 3. I enjoyed watching Radha Mitchell and Sean Bean in those visually stunning films.

[snipemonkey]

Absolutely looking forward to this. The first one is a very underrated visual marvel. Having Gans back after the lifeless second movie is good news.

[mwynn]

https://www.joblo.com/return-to-sile...ristophe-gans/

Return to Silent Hill: Christophe Gans movie has secured funding, begins filming soon
Silent Hill director Christophe Gans’ Return to Silent Hill has secured funding and is expected to begin filming soon

[White Dang]

I couldn't believe they used the glossy red camera and didn't dirty the image at all on the 2nd film.

[joshsquash729]

Don't muck this up, Gans, I'm begging you.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Mikezilla3k

Gans? No thanks, his Silent Hill movie was ass sorry.

But HALLELUJAH ACTUAL UPCOMING SILENT HILL GAMES. F***ING FINALLY AND A HD REMAKE OF SH2?!

Director Gans got the visuals right, but the Silent Hill 1 movie just wasn't scary IMO, at all. The Silent Hill 1 and 2 games on the other hand, even with PS1 graphics,

Silent Hill Revelation wasn't frightening either. The main actress, I'm not sure what happened, but her acting struggled a bit in the film. It's possible she was trying to capture the acting of the games...

[johnlennon696]

Originally Posted by rewak

Best feature of the French Blu release was the option to watch the whole movie as raw footage, getting to see what was actually done practically is pretty damn cool.

I've never heard of this 😳 Which one of the French BD's should I pick up?

[Zivouhr]

Rahda Mitchell and Sean Bean are good actors, but if they don't return in Return to Silent Hill, I'll have a little more hope that they're really trying to make this more of a horror film.

A creepy Horror music score is really important to a horror film. I heard a few too many lighter moments in the score for Silent Hill the movie, like when that more cheerful music box tune is playing. That's not dreadful or scary at all. Compare that to the horror score of the Silent Hill PS1 game when the hero is going through the fog after his daughter, Cheryl, and stumbles into the gates with the demon babies?

The time taken with the camera shots and timing also very important to horror.
Mystery is also very important to a horror film. Not knowing much about the villain can make things scarier. Don't explain it much at all. Just that they're there and they're evil.

With Silent Hill 1, which I like, it just spent a huge chunk of the film focused on explaining the story more than the horror aspect of the film.

SPOILER:
Like the flashbacks of the girl being mistreated by her peers in school, then treated as a witch and burned, then in a hospital, being treated by a nurse, who is then infected by the girl's rage, and then the whole realm becomes poisoned by her anger, trapping the cult with her. That's interesting, but it's not scary in the way the film presents it as a basic explanation.
Why not take that whole story and take a lot of time to build the horror of that growing dread, showing it happen in the actual movie, rather than explaining it in flashbacks? Flashbacks, at least in Silent Hill the movie, weren't scary, as it's like someone telling you through narration what happened to make the girl turn so evil.
And then you find out she's not really evil, just angry, and the cult are the evil ones.

Or what if they didn't explain why the girl was evil, and just showed her causing havoc? I don't know about that either, because the evil girl, Alyssa, is just not scary at all IMO. She's floating down the middle of the street, with her arms out, as the world breaks apart into rust. A cool image more than a scary one.

It's been years since I played the game, but the game was way more effective at conveying horror, since for much of the game, I was wondering what was going on.

That mystery is a major key to effective horror IMO. I'm just thinking of really effective, slow building horror films, and how Silent Hill 1 isn't really one of them. A neat video game adaptation, but not scary.

What can make Silent Hill a seriously scary movie for most of the audience?
And am I alone in saying the first movie wasn't scary at all?
Are most people scared by the way Silent Hill the movie unfolded, and the sequel?

[Verisimilitude1984]

I love Silent Hill, particularly Silent Hill 2, so this new film is something I'm closely watching.

To be honest, I treat Silent Hill 2 as high art so to see it in Gans's hands makes me happy in one way but not another. I think visually and audibly the film will be what fans want. However, from a direction and script point of view I am not as confident. I liked the first Silent Hill film, but I didn't love it. Why? Because I found the monsters to be loud piercingly annoying, it should have been a straight adaptation of the first movie but wasn't so we get a gender swap in the lead (i.e. main focus should have been Harry) - I thought Radha Mitchell did a great job though, then the story was changed unnecessarily and the role and fate of Cybil Bennett and the last 20 minutes was an unnecessarily over the top bloodbath with that crass moment involving the antagonist and some barbed wire.

Silent Hill 2 deserves a great adaptation, much like I hear The Last of Us has on TV. The closest film for me is Jacob's Ladder, less straight out horror and more psychological horror. I never found the game scary in the sense of jump scares, but more to do with the heavy intense atmosphere, melancholy and sense of otherworldliness.

Also, video games are notoriously difficult to adapt. I think game logic is different to film logic, with games it's usually go to X to find Y and then reach Z. Videogame narratives have changed a lot since. The reason I mention it is because in the first game, I remember Harry finds his child's notebook that says 'To School' and that led him there. In the Silent Hill film they shot a similar scene I seem to remember, and it just seemed to show its videogame roots to me. It wasn't particularly interesting motivation for Rose to reach her next destination.

[rewak]

Originally Posted by johnlennon696

I've never heard of this 😳 Which one of the French BD's should I pick up?

This one has it, there's also a 2 disc edition that's been out of print for a while but there are a few used copies on Amazon if they'll ship to you. It has a lengthier making of documentary on the second disc that hasn't been released elsewhere.

[Zivouhr]

Silent Hill first scene - Harry's Nightmare (high quality HD NTSC) - YouTube

PS1 Silent Hill Intro, in short time is very creepy while playing the game. The music is very effective once Harry passes through the bloody gate area down the fog alley. I was glad the film tried to capture it, but missed the sense of dread a bit, and misfired on the scenes with the demon babies. Those shouldn't have been screeching, but giggling, and then stabbing her legs. Then she would be overwhelmed, and wake up in the Diner. Instead, the babies only grab for her legs and then she gets into the diner. No big deal, but it wasn't scary either in the film.

Atmosphere is crucial though, along with the music tone. The horror aspect of the music being critical. It shouldn't be about melody at all, but tension building and horrific themes to complement the onscreen nightmare unfolding. The score to The Shining movie being a perfect example of outstanding horror music that is actually scarier than the visuals.

Originally Posted by Verisimilitude1984

I love Silent Hill, particularly Silent Hill 2, so this new film is something I'm closely watching.

To be honest, I treat Silent Hill 2 as high art so to see it in Gans's hands makes me happy in one way but not another. I think visually and audibly the film will be what fans want. However, from a direction and script point of view I am not as confident. I liked the first Silent Hill film, but I didn't love it. Why? Because I found the monsters to be loud piercingly annoying, it should have been a straight adaptation of the first movie but wasn't so we get a gender swap in the lead (i.e. main focus should have been Harry) - I thought Radha Mitchell did a great job though, then the story was changed unnecessarily and the role and fate of Cybil Bennett and the last 20 minutes was an unnecessarily over the top bloodbath with that crass moment involving the antagonist and some barbed wire.

Silent Hill 2 deserves a great adaptation, much like I hear The Last of Us has on TV. The closest film for me is Jacob's Ladder, less straight out horror and more psychological horror. I never found the game scary in the sense of jump scares, but more to do with the heavy intense atmosphere, melancholy and sense of otherworldliness.

Also, video games are notoriously difficult to adapt. I think game logic is different to film logic, with games it's usually go to X to find Y and then reach Z. Videogame narratives have changed a lot since. The reason I mention it is because in the first game, I remember Harry finds his child's notebook that says 'To School' and that led him there. In the Silent Hill film they shot a similar scene I seem to remember, and it just seemed to show its videogame roots to me. It wasn't particularly interesting motivation for Rose to reach her next destination.

Good point about the challenge of adapting a video game, which can take 10's of hours to dive into the depths of a video game, versus a movie of 90 minutes. A huge challenge there.

[prkchopexpress]

that first movie is super underrated. would totally check this out. but this probably won’t come out until late 2024, early 2025?

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by prkchopexpress

that first movie is super underrated. would totally check this out. but this probably won’t come out until late 2024, early 2025?

Dunno about "super" under rated. But, it is better than anyone probably expected it to be. Still a tad light in several areas as far as character development goes. Sean bean felt wasted. It was OK though, overall. Did have some terrific scenes & set design though. No question.

Id give a third film a shot though. Why not? I like horror.

[prkchopexpress]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Dunno about "super" under rated. But, it is better than anyone probably expected it to be. Still a tad light in several areas as far as character development goes. Sean bean felt wasted. It was OK though, overall. Did have some terrific scenes & set design though. No question.

Id give a third film a shot though. Why not? I like horror.

it’s probably top five at the worst best horror movie the year it came out. it’s probably the best video game adaption (other than maybe the original resident evil).

go ahead and look back and what came out that year. omen remake, pulse remake, stay alive, pumpkinhead dtv sequel, texas chainsaw prequel….

there was a lot of terrible movies. (some bangers too. saw III, the hills have eyes remake)

when you look at how much movie all the resident evil sequels have made, it’s insane to think it didn’t even make as much as the least success one of the mills jovovich movies.

[Verisimilitude1984]

Originally Posted by prkchopexpress

it’s probably top five at the worst best horror movie the year it came out. it’s probably the best video game adaption (other than maybe the original resident evil).

go ahead and look back and what came out that year. omen remake, pulse remake, stay alive, pumpkinhead dtv sequel, texas chainsaw prequel….

there was a lot of terrible movies. (some bangers too. saw III, the hills have eyes remake)

when you look at how much movie all the resident evil sequels have made, it’s insane to think it didn’t even make as much as the least success one of the mills jovovich movies.

Resident Evil/Biohazard has always been more popular than Silent Hill, which is to be expected given the amount of games that have been created and how it then lent into action horror.

Maybe it's a bit like Alien and Aliens, eventually the mainstream will dictate that you move into 'action' to gain the most fans or viewers.

I remember seeing Resident Evil at the cinema and I wasn't that impressed by it, it rarely follows the aesthetic of the RE games of the time. The thumping electronic music for the action scenes for instance. I do have a soft spot for it though given the amount of times it's been repeated on TV and for what it is, it's an enjoyable film. I can't argue with how much money that series made as well!

[prkchopexpress]

Originally Posted by Verisimilitude1984

I remember seeing Resident Evil at the cinema and I wasn't that impressed by it, it rarely follows the aesthetic of the RE games of the time. The thumping electronic music for the action scenes for instance. I do have a soft spot for it though given the amount of times it's been repeated on TV and for what it is, it's an enjoyable film. I can't argue with how much money that series made as well!

while this a valid criticism one could have, i think it important to note that way more people have seen the movies than played the games. i knew of the games when they came out, but didn’t have a playstation. so i hadn’t played any of them when i saw the first movie i just went and saw it because i love event horizon.

again, i have never played the silent hill games. i’ve only seen the two movies. and while the second is largely forgettable, the first had a lot really great imagery that has always been memorable.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by prkchopexpress

it’s probably top five at the worst best horror movie the year it came out. it’s probably the best video game adaption (other than maybe the original resident evil).

go ahead and look back and what came out that year. omen remake, pulse remake, stay alive, pumpkinhead dtv sequel, texas chainsaw prequel….

there was a lot of terrible movies. (some bangers too. saw III, the hills have eyes remake)

when you look at how much movie all the resident evil sequels have made, it’s insane to think it didn’t even make as much as the least success one of the mills jovovich movies.

I agree - best video game flick ever, LOL. I never played it. Not much of a gamer these days, outside of some online CCGs.