Usually when people say a plot is complex, my response is, there is no such thing as a “complex” plot just a poorly written script. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, the sequel to the 2006 film (Was anyone screaming for this?) that is based on a popular videogame series, is a confused mess for most of its 94 minute run time.
Writer/Director Michael J. Bassett seems more concerned with setting a mood and providing cheap scares than actually telling a coherent story. Fans of the game series should be ok with this installment. Bassett nails most of the creepy look and feel of the classic PS2 and early PS3 installments. The theme song from The Addams Family comes to mind “They are creepy and spooky, wonderful and cooky…” None of these monsters nor the hyper real dream scape make much sense. So after awhile you have to decide to just go with it or all the surreal weirdness will drive you nuts.
There are many times, early on, when you wonder if Heather (played by Adelaide Clemens who is in the upcoming Gatsby film) is imagining the monsters she sees around every corner or if they are actually real. When they kidnap her dad, Harry (Sean Bean) she has to return to the one place on earth she doesn’t want to go. To help her in the quest is the mysterious new student Vincent (played by Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington). Vincent has his own agenda. Is he friend, foe, or potential lover?
While the script really is a mess, the strangeness of the entire affair has a train wreck quality to it that keeps you interested. There are some truly strange moments with unique creature work that is both frightening in design but comical in execution. There’s a silly moment where they enter a room with deformed nurse dummies in high heels. They randomly start stabbing at things every time someone in the room moves. It is an unintentionally funny moment but also kind of cool. The world sucks you in, but eventually all of the constant jumps (false and real) get a bit tiring.
Clemens and Harington both do an nice job with what they are given and they are clearly future stars – but this movie is more about jumps and scares than acting. There are some truly nice 3D sequences in this movie. The opening shot with the iconic snowscape from the game is beautifully rendered in 3D, you really feel like you’ve just stepped into this unique world. The 3D fog when she first steps outside of Silent Hill also looks weirdly beautiful.
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D may be worth watching on the big screen, save your money, unless you are a real fan of the previous installments or the game series.
Final Grade C+
this is NOT the 3rd film in the franchise, it is the 2nd. please get some facts correct when attempting a movie review
It is only the second movie…but LOVE the review!
Reviewer’s quote: ‘Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, the sequel to the 2006 film (Was anyone screaming for this?)’ – Nowhere did she state this was the 3rd film of the franchise (sequel means ‘second installment’)…This movie is probably based on the ‘Silent Hill: 3’ video-game…I do think you may need to read the review again to see your comment is incorrect in stating the reviewer is quoting this is a 3rd installment.
She definitely changed her review from last night. It did, in fact, say that this was the third movie in the franchise.
Just wanted to say that this is a poorly written review. Please make more effort next time.
Just to clarify, please read the final paragraph to yourself and tell me it makes sense.
You guys are stupid this movie and the first one is awesome they stuck to the game story line not like resident evil so if you are a fan of the game you’ll like this movie
” save your money,” gets a fresh Tomato???
“Fans of the game series should be ok with this installment. Bassett
nails most of the creepy look and feel of the classic PS2 and early PS3
installments.” FYI, the original Silent Hill was on the PS1, and most of the other Silent Hill games have been on both the PS2/3 and the XBox/360 as well as the PC. …Basically, there’s just no point in trying to make an offhanded reference to what console the games are on. Just say video games, move on.
But just so you know, fans of Silent Hill games are tremendously mercurial and unpleasable. (I say that as one of them.) The first Silent Hill movie was vastly more popular with people who had never played the games; people who had mostly just complained about the deviations from widely-agreed upon but unofficial items of game canon.
(P.S., “unless you are a real fan of the previous installmentS” <–the plural still implies that SH:3D Revelation is the third rather than second film.)