The story follows Rose de Silva (Radha Mitchell) and her desire to take her daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) to Silent Hill after she suffers from a near fatal sleepwalk.

Without consulting her husband, Christopher (Sean Bean), Rose sets off with daughter in tow, and suffers an accident on the way there. Waking up she finds her daughter gone, and herself lost in the creepy town of Silent Hill, where a battle for survival and a hunt for her daughter begins.

Silent Hill is, if you didn’t already know, based on the video games of the same name. Although Silent Hill the movie contains many of the environments and some characters from the game, the two are a different kettle of fish.

The induced a fear, and paranoia as your radio crackled and babies with rotating heads made their way towards you (or something to that extent). The move doesn’t induce that same fear, but it does express a level of creepiness that matches the game in several respects.

With the controlled pace of the film, you’re never left wondering in boredom, or finding the film is running too quick. Instead you’re going on a journey with Rose, and looking for her daughter with her. You don’t feel particularly close to Rose at the beginning as she begins a reckless journey, which screams ‘don’t do it!’, but as the film goes on you start to feel a tad of empathy for Rose and her predicament, even if she did get herself in to the jam in the first place.

What I didn’t like about the film was it’s lack of horror in being a movie based on a horror game and trying to express horror. The level of horror isn’t there, and all you’re left with is a slight creepiness. Even with the monster scenes, you don’t feel you’re watching a horror film, but a series of set pieces that neither thrill nor scare. I wasn’t expecting gore, as that is not how the games play, but I was expecting something a bit more sinister, and bit more horrific. That’s something that never arrives.

I also thought the acting was a bit stiff a times, such as the cop (Laurie Holden), who never really convinces and is never really provided with anything remotely convincing in terms of dialogue. Just a couple of scenes of bravado and a pat on the back in a sense, and nothing more. If anything her cop role is clichéd in many respects and repetitious to a fault.

Sean Bean adds some comical touches with perhaps one of the worst American accents I’ve heard a Brit put on for a film. I mean to say it’s bad is being kind, to say it is atrocious would still be understating a major fact. It’s dire beyond comprehension, and just makes you laugh out loud every time you hear it.

The story itself can feel a little simplistic at times, with the scenes mainly consisting of Rose chasing after the shadow of her daughter Sharon. Christopher’s purpose in the film is to get the background to Silent Hill, but in reality this is simply a filler as there is only so much chasing the viewer can handle.

Silent Hill has a lot going for it in terms of production qualities. The cinematography can leave a sense of loneliness with Rose’s character, and the white snow-like environment is a sharp contrast with it’s alter ego of the yellow and orange hues.

Direction by Christopher Gans is pretty solid for the most part, lagging at times, but generally keeping the pace at a steady rate and convincing the viewer of the desolate emptiness in the town of Silent Hill.

The performances are also pretty good throughout, with some obvious exceptions once you see the film, and gives a sense of urgency to the cause. It is without doubt the best video game to movie adaptation yet, and is surely an indicator of how things can work if they’re done right. It’s very much a lesson that Uwe Boll and Paul Anderson can both learn with their endless need to direct crap films, particularly of the video game to movie variety.

All in all, Silent Hill isn’t a bad film, it’s just not a particularly spectacular one. It won’t blow you away, or leave you thinking about the film months afterwards, or resonate with the viewer in anyway, but it will entertain you for about an hour and a half. At two hours long, the film does start to feel a bit too long.

It’s interesting that Sony Pictures have green lighted the making of Silent Hill 2 to be based on the second game, and that the series may turn into a mid-budget franchise for Sony if the second is as successful as the first film.

I wish I could give Silent Hill a resounding thumbs up, but I can’t. Although it’s refreshing to have a horror film from America that isn’t a remake or a spin on the Ringu formula, or on the slasher flick, and it definitely tries something that little bit different. I just wish it was a bit more powerful in it’s execution as it left me a little hollow.

VERDICT: A decent video game to movie adaptation that entertains for most of the time.