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You’ll think twice about turning out the light


Pyramid Head, bound nurses and fire babies. What more could you ask for in a horror movie? While the movie may not leave you screaming like a little girl, Silent Hill definitely leaves you thoroughly creeped out. Whether it’s the huge and horrifying Pyramid Head, the strange twisted creature that is somehow able to taste you or simply the Darkness itself, you won’t be able to make it without feeling a shiver or two run up your spine. The movie is just the last in a long line of flicks based on best-selling video games. However, unlike most of the video game movies we have today, this one is good and sticks to the premise of the first three Silent Hill games. Thankfully, this is one video game-turned-movie that Uwe Boll, who directed such stunning gems as House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark, didn’t get his hands on. In the movie, we are introduced to a young girl named Sharon (Jodelle Ferland), who has a sleepwalking problem. A very bad sleepwalking problem, that leads her to stand on the edge of cliffs while her parents frantically search for her. And everytime she does this, she always repeats one name over and over: Silent Hill. As it turns out, Silent Hill is a ghost town located in West Virgina. Sharon’s mother, Rose (Radha Mitchell) decides that she should take Sharon to Silent Hill, to see if her daughter can remember what it is she dreams about. Also, she reminds her husband that Sharon, who is in fact adopted, came from somewhere in West Virgina. Could Silent Hill be her home? However, there is a problem: the entire town is blocked off, due to the fact the town once caught on fire, and that there are still coal fires burning deep underground whose fumes are fatal to anyone who breathes them in for a long period of time. But that doesn’t stop Rose from taking her daughter there, despite her husband Christopher’s (Sean Bean) protests. He thinks that they should simply put Sharon back on her medication. Rose, however, insists that the medication doesn’t work, and that she’s willing to try anything to help her daughter. However, things don’t go as planned when Rose, running from Officer Sybil Bennet, wrecks her Jeep. When she wakes up, ash is falling from the sky, and Sharon is nowhere to be found. Desperate to find her daughter, Rose ventures into Silent Hill, a town that looks as though it’s just waiting for people to return at any moment. There’s a hotel, a hospital, schools, the works. And in this city, someone is running around who looks like Sharon. While Rose is chasing who she believes to be her daughter, and eerie blast of a tornado siren sounds throughout the town. It continues to go on, and a darkness covers the city entirely. This does not deter Rose. Bringing out her trusty lighter that every video game hero or heroine starts out with, she continues to search for her daughter. This is when we are first introduced to the not-so-nice inhabitants of Silent Hill. Creatures that look like toddlers, but are in fact made of lava and ash, attack her as she moves through the city in darkness. These fire babies continue to multiply and it seems as though Rose has nowhere else to go. But, when it seems as though all hope is lost, the creatures melt away, and Rose falls into a dead faint. When she awakens, it is light again. No creatures can be found, and a nearby jukebox is playing Johnny Cash. Was it all just a dream? Not sure of herself, Rose runs back to her Jeep, hoping to find some clue as to where Sharon went. After a quick phone call to her husband, and a futile effort to start her Jeep, Rose once again ecounters Officer Bennet. Now that there are two of them, the women head back into the town to find Sharon. Most people will probably go into this movie expecting to get terrified and have an excuse to cuddle with whoever they’re with. In that aspect, the movie dissapoints. However, it is decidely creepy. Every single one of the creatures, from the fire babies up to Pyramid Head himself will give you the creeps. Every time the siren blows, you will jump in your chair. And even the wicked occupents--human, that is---will leave you shivering. It’s a wonderful adaptation of a video game, but the story is easy enough to follow to people being exposed to Silent Hill for the very first time. The major downside of the movie is the ambiguity of the ending. If you’re anything like many people who’ve seen this, you’ll spend the next two hours trying to figure out what exactly happened. But no matter what, you’ll think twice before turning out the light before going to bed at night, wondering what waits in the dark.