“Return To Silent Hill” was released on Jan. 23, and is based off of the video game “Silent Hill.” It follows the story of the main character, James Sunderland, who falls in love with a woman after an accidental encounter. However after time, dark secrets about her life are revealed and the effects are shown drastically on James’s life. This story combines storytelling with horror which in return creates a dramatic course of events that are possibly detrimental to the main character and his wellbeing. I personally think that this movie was underwhelming, and that there are many aspects that could be changed in order to improve the viewers’ understanding of the story.
The movie often split between different timelines and realities, which added context but also made the movie very confusing. I have never personally played this video game, so I did not have a preexisting understanding of the story and plot. This made it feel more difficult to understand the reality of what was happening. The movie split between characters in the past and the characters in the present. However, in the present time, the main character was either in Silent Hill or in a hospital/at home, which made it difficult to distinguish which setting or story was reality and which wasn’t real. I found that this movie gave good context to the past and its effects on the present, especially as more is revealed as time passes. But the ending is what made me confused, especially about what was happening at the present time. I think this movie displayed a lot of potential for exhibiting a good storyline; however, I believe that they could have delivered and explored the plot in a way that would make more sense to the audience, especially if you have not played the video game before.
The visuals in this movie were very impressive. Because this movie is based off of a video game, the visual effects in this film in many moments looked like it had the same graphic effects of an actual video game. This includes the quality of imagery and the way in which the camera would focus on certain objects or move around the character. This made the movie feel more interactive and appealing to the audience who is intended to watch it.
The camera effects of this movie also paired well with the sound effects. The movie used music through many different instrumentals to create a major effect in the tone of the movie and scenes that were happening. This movie is horror, and therefore also has dark and serious scenes. The music used to strengthen these themes and tones is very low in pitch and often gets louder and more chaotic at moments where there is a lot of intensity and something major is happening. And while the filming of the movie focuses on objects in a very videogame-like way, the music and sound effects also work as a factor in fabricating a very authentic video game effect and appearance.
Overall, I believe that this movie utilized music and imagery to create an authentic experience for viewers, as it correlates very closely with the appearance of a video game, which the movie is based off of. However, especially if you have not played the video game prior to watching the film, I believe the storyline and the way in which it is presented is very unclear, as the ending is confusing and left me wondering which elements of the story were real and which weren’t. I would recommend this to someone who enjoys video games and horror elements or themes. I would personally rate this movie a 5/10.
