With the abandoned streets filled with fog and the faceless nurses in place, the latest adaption of Silent Hill descends on theaters, primarily as a reminder of why so many videogame franchises adapt rather poorly to film.
Much like 2004’s Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Silent Hill: Revelation captures the settings and names of a videogame while struggling to carry the baggage of the original film, and attempting to weave its own story from that mixed bag of details.
Rather than taking the opportunity of the license to tell a unique story with the rich visual aesthetics Silent Hill offers, Revelation stitches the plot of the third Silent Hill videogame together with the story established by the first film adaption of the series.
Unlike the original 2006 film release, the attempt to cram all the details into a singular film leaves audiences with a muddled mess, where characters have little time to make any connection with each other or viewers while rushing through obligatory dialogue and sequences in order to check every box on the list.
I’m skeptical about whether I can even sum all the details up for you, but let’s give it a shot.