A film that, for the first act at least, tricks you into thinking it’s going to be a faithful adaptation of the game. Instead, Gans uses the Silent Hill 2 remake game as a basis for his own, weird, warped story that combines elements from the second game and his first film. Some of the environments are faithful to the game, but there are plenty that just aren’t. The screenplay by Christophe Gans (who also returns to direct after his 2006 Silent Hill film adaptation), William Josef Schneider (The Crow 2024), and Sandra Vo-Anh is scattershot and weak. Most of the side characters (Maria, Laura, Eddie, Angela) serve zero purpose and are here only because they were in the game. It’s nice that Evie Templeton reprises her role of Laura from the game, but Laura in the film is very different.
The CGI and visual effects are ugly. Every creature is fully CGI except for the nurses. Pyramid Head acts much like he does in the game, but there’s a reveal involving him that is stupid and insulting. The cinematography by Pablo Rosso and editing by Sébastien Prangère are bad (so many baffling first person pov shots). Whereas the game was unafraid to leave things unexplained and allow players to come up with interpretations on their own, this film explains most things (except the cult), spelling it all out in blunt and uninteresting ways. At least Jeremy Irvine as James turns in a good, compelling performance.
Unfortunately, there is very little to recommend here for both fans of the games and newcomers. Gans doesn’t appear to have much of a vision for the film. If you’re morbidly curious, wait for VoD. If you want my honest advice: Just play the game instead.
2 STARS
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