Silent Hill Movie Pics

[2099net]

Thanks to IGN!
http://media.filmforce.ign.com/media/48 ... mgs_1.html

Wow! What can I say. I'm staggered at how closely these pics capture the feel of the games. Especially the - in my opinion - unsurpassed Silent Hill 2. I love the picture of the road covered in fog, its just like the approach to the Museum in SH2! The shot of the blue girl by the door invokes feelings of the original Silent Hill.

Please, please, please, don't disappoint me.

[Loomis]

I didn't realize Radha Mitchell was going to be in the film, which might lift it up a few notches.

(For anyone who doesn't know, she is an Aussie actress who has recently been in Woody Allen's Melinda & Melinda).

I'm not sure how anyone else felt about the Resident Evil movies, but I think they showed how you can get a pretty decent film out of a computer game. From what Netty has told me, SH has a lot more atmosphere and story so this could be a potentially awesome film.

[brownie]

I'll be sure to see that film. I bought the first game, but it didn't play on my computer.

[2099net]

Here's the trailer
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/silenthillqt.html

WOW! WOW! WOW!

It has the music from Silent Hill 2 (and the main Silent Hill theme). It has the snow from Silent Hill, it has the look of the town perfected! And look what else... Midwitch Elementary School! The fire! Officer Sybil!

The only downside is it seems to be a retelling of Silent Hill 1, but for some reason with different character names? And it also looks like it may take up threads from Silent Hill 2 when the main character's husband begins to look for her (I know the pyramid heads from Silent Hill 2 are in the movie).

Boy am I psyched. This is by far my most anticipated movie of 2006... perhaps of the decade!

[Maerj]

I just saw this trailer yesterday at the cinema and it does look really cool. I never played the game but I'd go see the movie based on the preview.

[Hogi Bear]

Here's the trailer
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/silenthillqt.html

Downloadable (I wonder if they're going to add that to the dictionary) links for the trailer:
http://mp3content02.bcst.yahoo.com/pub0 ... 763135.mov (Small - 5.4 MB)
http://mp3content03.bcst.yahoo.com/pub0 ... 763461.mov (medium - 9.8 MB)
http://mp3content01.bcst.yahoo.com/pub0 ... 763902.mov (Large - 20 MB)
http://mp3content02.bcst.yahoo.com/proo ... 764261.mov (Full Screen (according to Yahoo!) - 33.9 MB)

I've never played the game, so I can't comment, but it looks interesting, it explains more of the origins knowing it's a game adaption.

[Mushu2083]

This is the kind of thing that would make my friend Megan have a "Homer Simpson sees a donut" moment. You know where his eye roll to the back of his head and he starts drooling

[umbreongirl]

I'd love to see this. I was always scared to play the game (I'm still too scared to go to that stupid school...>>), so I hope this is just as scary.
I can't wait for this to come. =O

[yanya]

I'm eagerly awaiting the Silent Hill Movie, and have seen some interesting things on YouTube that are keeping me amused in the meantime. I will now share some of these interesting things.

The Loneliness of Pyramid Head (Somebody flagged this, you'll have to log in to OK viewing it.)
http://youtube.com/watch?search=pyramid ... BI8J6tdWZo

The Coffee Shoppe (Or... Pyramid Head gets a job.)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DMQeVRtm778& ... ent%20Hill

Silent Hill Movie Clip (Spoilers! About two minutes of the Movie. Quite a shock at the end.)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5hTp_2vFYUw& ... ent%20Hill

Silent Hill 3 Revenge Ending (Big Silent Hill 3 Spoilers... also, how I would like the movie to end.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP1TK3GD ... 20hill%203

[Luke]

Looks like Netty wasn't the only one anticipating this! #1 movie in America, with $20 M over the weekend...

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

Of course, being a horror film, that's probably a third of its final gross right there, but that's still pretty decent as far as this year's crop goes!

[2099net]

Well its had uniformly bad reviews, but I can't help thinking people just aren't investing thought or effort into the film. The complaints I here reviewers make are exactly the same complaints as one hears about the games from people who just rush through in an effort to complete the each game in the fastest time possible.

Silent Hill is all about the atmosphere. As for plot, yes, in the games the plot is there and it is clear enough to form a narrative, even if some aspects are left ambiguous and up to the player to fill in. I expect the film to take the same approach. Sometimes not everything has to be spoonfed to people.

(That said the games have been spoonfeeding more and more as they aspire to become more and more "mainstream" and thus destroying what made them so unique and special in the first place. )

I suspect most people go to the film expecting a traditional horror movie and are somewhat perplexed by the film they do get.

After all, The Ring has the same response from most people.

[Maerj]

I enjoyed the film. Freaky effects, good atmosphere, decent horror movie. I must admit that I did have a few questions, especially since I never played the game...



Spoiler Alert!


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Don't contniue reading unless you want to spoil the end of the movie!


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Okay, if I have any complaint it would be concerning the ending. The audience is kept in the dark about the plot until the end, which felt like playing a video game. Thats okay, at least they let you know what is going on, so then I understood the movie. Until the very end. Why didn't she return to our world at the very end? Is she dead? Trapped in their world? Was she always in that world or in the dream?

[I Am Clark Kent]

I haven't played through the games yet, but as I've come to understand there are three levels of reality when it comes to Silent hill.

Check out the write up at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Hill

Throughout the series, it becomes clearer that there may be three levels of reality in Silent Hill.

The 'top level' is where people live out their lives as normal, bearing hardly any difference to any other town of its kind.

The next level could be called 'Foggy' Silent Hill (or the 'Alternate' Silent Hill), where an all-pervading fog obscures visibility to a matter of feet, similar to Stephen King's The Mist (a favorite story of one of the series' developers). Some monsters are apparent at this point, but the town environs are practically unchanged.

The third layer down, where the real corruption of the reality lies, can be called Otherworld. This darkness is not just a physical darkness, which is used to put the player on edge, but also corresponds to the kinds of monsters found here. This Otherworld is the rotten core of the town.

However, the recent comic book adaptations only have two layers, with Silent Hill being in fact an abandoned and monster-infested ghost town.

So in a way, Rose and Sharon have not found their way to the top level of Silent Hill's reality. Even though they are in the same place, the mvoie's ending may also suggest they are in fact dead.

Their car is not found, so they might be run off the cliff, and the whole silent hill experience is their dying illusion.

[2099net]

Now, its been a long time since I played the first game, so some of my recollections may be poor. The bits in square brackets are what I am not sure about, and I have no idea how many of these elements are in the film (I've yet to see it). Don't read if you want to avoid potential spoilers. And yes, it is complicated.

Firstly the "foggy" Silent Hill and "dark" Silent Hill are "artificial/dream" realities created by Samael (the demon the cult worships) and Alessa (who was created by the cult to give birth to Sameal in our dimension [she was a test tube baby created by Dr Kaufmann and a cult ritual, meaning she has special powers]). Sameal will "clense all our sins", but in the process will destroy mankind, and create new life on Earth. The cult considers this a price worth paying, as they see mankind as corrupt and greedy.

When Alessa refuses to comply with the cult's wishes and actively begins to resist them, the cult tries to force her to comply (starting the fire), but Alessa is able to cling to life and remain in a coma, while part of her "essence" manifests itself as a baby, [as the cult expected]. However, this baby is smuggled out of Silent Hill by Nurse Lisa and adopted. [The fire started by the cult was only intended to affect one house, bit it is probably the one that burnt down most of the town. The fire is mentioned in all of the Silent Hill games.]

Lisa is tasked with looking after the sleeping Alessa for the cult [who may decide to use Alessa again when/if she recovers]. [This is probably a punishment, as the hidiously burnt body makes people in its proximity feel ill and sick]. During this time Alessa has mentally retreated into nightmarish dreams [hiding her continued presence from Sameal?]. When you enter the 'dark' Silent Hill, you are entering Alessa's dreams. The foggy Silent Hill is the dimension Sameal controls. [I believe, but can't remember for sure, that you only ever meet Dahlia, the cult's leader, in 'normal' or 'alternate/foggy' Silent Hill.]

Lisa was forced to become addicted to White Claudia, a drug the cult manufactuers and sells to tourists [to ensure her loyalty to the cult. It is possible the cult finds out about her betrayal and this is another punishment or a means of ensuring her loyalty] Dr Kaufmann, who is a member of the cult has no interest in the rebirth and reshaping of man, but is only concerned with profiting from the White Claudia drug. Lisa finds out and is killed by him when she theatens to inform the cult of his motives (you can see the argument in the attract movie before you start the game). This means the Lisa who appears later in the game [always in the 'dark' Silent Hill] is not Lisa, but Alessa's memories of Lisa. Lisa is not a monster, [because Lisa is the only human Alessa has good memories of, as the cult members abused and repressed her all her life.]

8 or 10 years later, Harry Mason is driving through Silent Hill with his adopted child, Cheryl. Cheryl is the physical manifestation of Alessa who was physically created by Alessa. Her proximity to Alessa gives her strength and Alessa begins to awaken. [The cult notice Alessa is stirring, and guess what has happened.] Harry sees a shadowy doppleganger of his daughter in the road and crashes the car. When he comes around his daughter is missing and he goes looking for her. Alessa has taken Cheryl and trapped her in 'dark' Silent Hill, [so that the cult cannot get their hands on her, for she has the same powers and attributes and would be used by the cult in the same way Alessa was]. Dahlia knows what has happened [and also knows Alessa will never give the child to her or the cult] and tricks Harry into going to look for his daughter, giving him enigmatic clues every so often [because she wants Cheryl for the cult and thinks Alessa may let Harry regain his daughter].

As for the ending, its hard, because there are so many different ones. I can't remember the exact details of them (I've seen two) but in one Alessa and Cheryl are unified and become a baby again (and Lisa climbs up from the pits of hell to claim Dr Kaufmann's soul [although this could once again be Alessa's faux Lisa]).

In another (the 'Bad' ending) it simply goes back to the car crash, and we see Harry's head resting on the steering wheel, the horn sounding. He blinks a couple of times, and then dies. Which indicates the whole of Silent Hill could have been the delusions and dreams of a dying man trying to find his daughter before he passes on.

Obviously, this is the 'wrong' ending considering the sequels.

In Silent Hill 2, James and others are drawn to the town because they have spent time in the town before [and have been tainted by White Claudia?] The town seems to 'call' people when they are consumed by their own guilt, with the intent of pushing them over the edge. 'Dark' Silent Hill still exists, [which indicates some Alessa's influence is still present.] However, 'Dark' Silent Hill is not all bad, as many subtle clues are present to help the individual come to terms with their guilt. [again, this could be Alessa's influence]. Sameal seems to feed on feelings of guilt and dispair. James is called because he recieves a letter from his dead wife, Mary. However, at the end of the game, the letter is blank, meaning no such letter was written. When in Silent Hill, James meats Maria, a sexier, more attractive version of James' dead wife [the wife he always wanted Mary to be?] and he sees her killed a number of times. This is done to inflame James' guilt and sadness, need and desire. At the end, James confronts his guilt head-on by confronting Maria, who turns into a demon and attacks him. Although James "wins", the others are not so lucky, and one assumes many more are destroyed by the town, making Sameal stronger so that 16 or so year later...

In Silent Hill 3, Cheryl is a teenager, called Heather to protect her identity. The cult track her down and kill her father, after first using a private detective to locate her. She travels to Silent Hill to get revenge on the cult and its new leader Claudia. But is this what Sameal and the cult want her to do? Silent Hill 3 is mainly a retread of Silent Hill 1, but it does give more background to the events of the first game, including revisits to several key areas.

Silent Hill 4: The Room deals with Walter Sullivan (who was mentioned in Silent Hill 2). He is sort of like a "Plan B" in case Alessa failed, who was an orphan brainwashed as a child by the cult at the same time Alessa was growing up. He has been taught another method of bringing Sameal into our dimension, and carries it out (turning on the cult as he does so). You have to stop him from finishing the ritual. He doesn't know he is summoning Sameal, he has been led to believe he is going to bring back his mother (who died at childbirth, in the room of the title)

[Isidour]

So the movie take place at the very first game?

I wonder if they`ll do the other three, because a movie of the fourth game would be just awesome

[Maerj]

After reading the explanations there I have to say... Holy Crap! That's pretty darn complicated. I am going to have to read them again, actually. Also, who was the pyramid head guy?

[2099net]

So the movie take place at the very first game?

I wonder if they`ll do the other three, because a movie of the fourth game would be just awesome

Well, from what I understand (remember I have not seen the film) it takes inspiration from all of the games, but the bulk of the plot is a retelling of the first game (with different character names and genders).

Being as Rose ends the film missing and with an abiguous ending, I wouldn't be surprised if the second film starts with her husband receiving a letter from his dead/missing wife...

After reading the explanations there I have to say... Holy Crap! That's pretty darn complicated. I am going to have to read them again, actually. Also, who was the pyramid head guy?

Yes it is pretty complicated, but I'm sure I've made it a little more complicated because I've forgotten some key points or something. It may also not be 100% accurate! Some of the points are open to individual interperatation, which I one of the reasons I love the games so much. (But it does not, repeat not, mean they are full of plot holes, they just encourage the player to think).

If you want to explore further, there's several story FAQs on gamefaqs. I'm sure their plot analysis is much better (and comprehensible!) then mine.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/game/198641.html

Personally though, I question the use of the Silent Hill backstory for the basis of a film. If I was doing a film, I would do it based on Silent Hill 2, which is much simpler, understandable and universal touching as it does on themes of love, guilt, sadness, betrayal, anger, loneliness and desire.

As for Pyramid Head (also known as the Red Pyramid or the Executioner) they appeared in Silent Hill 2.

Their main purpose in the game was to kill Maria, which I think they do three times. But they also kill your player if you're not careful. But storywise, they are there to increase James' feelings of guilt and despair.

Later in the game, when you visit the Silent Hill Historical Society's Museum you learn that during the American Civil War, prisoners of Toluca Prison who were judged to be traitors were tried and executed. You see a picture which shows an executioner and his victims. The executioners wear long bloodstained leather aprons (rather like old time butchers) and red pointed hoods. Their victims are hanging in wire box/frames. Earlier in the game you are seemingly attacked by a number of the victims in an abandoned room in Brookhaven Hospital. At the very end of the game, when James challenges Mary/Maria's existance, she turns into a demon, and her sick bed turns into the frame which attaches itself around her, making the demon look like one of the executioner's victims.

>> http://www.geocities.com/th765/mistydays.jpg - The Picture
>> http://www.silenthillheaven.com/Site/SH ... NAL011.jpg - Final Maria

So Samael and/or Alessa is obviously influenced by the history of the town when they create the monsters, even if only unconciously. They are parodies of actual historical events. This is why I don't follow the theory that all of the monsters in Silent Hill 2 are from James' own psyche, as he encounters an Executioner before he is aware of their existance.

Massive Silent Hill 2 Spoiler
They are also parodies of James himself, as he murdered his wife Mary when her couldn't bear to see her suffer any more but also because he resented her as she was beginning to become burden upon him. This is something he is in denial of at the start of the game, but the Executioners to some extent, help him to realise and accept his actions, rather then give into them and break as Sameal obviously intended.