TheSilent Hillfranchise has been suffering in silence for around a decade now, and it’s making a grand return to both games and film. The sudden outpouring of support for a property that felt genuinely dead so recently can be shocking, but there are still elements worth looking back at with concern.
Ofall the things announced in Konami’sSilent Hill Transmission, the new movie from the director of the 2006 original is one of the most surprising. The director spoke at length about his previous effort and the upcoming film’s relationship to it, but he left the otherSilent Hillfilm unmentioned, for good reason.
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When Christophe Gans directed the2006Silent Hillfilm adaptation, it was one of the best video game movies to date. Since a few entries in that genre have managed to be genuinely good films, it isn’t as fondly remembered as it should be, but it’s a strong horror film. Gans is a hardcore fan of the game series, and he worked with Konami for five years to get the rights. After relative success with his first outing, Konami and Sony made it clear that a sequel was in progress with both Gans and screenwriter Roger Avary attached. Unfortunately, Avary went to jail on a vehicular manslaughter charge and Gans was cut from the project. Without the director that loved the source material so much and with a studio trying desperately to appeal to a wider audience,Silent Hill: Revelationwent on to be one of theworst horror films ever made.
By all accounts, the fault for this disastrous adaptation lies squarely with the studio. Producer Don Carmody, who also produced hits likeThe Boondock Saintsand theentireResident Evilfilmfranchise, insisted that the first film was just too focused on pleasing fans. This movie was meant to be more accessible. Logically, one would assume that trying to broaden the film’s appeal would result in a more straightforward horror experience. Something with fewer callbacks that lives or dies on its own merit.Revelationinstead decided to bet the farm on a terrible 3D gimmick, remove every aspect of psychological horror, and turn the franchise into a mess of jump scares and lazy cameos. Director M. J. Bassett has been clear that she didn’t want the film to go the way it did, but her concerns were largely ignored by the team that brought theworldResident Evil: Retribution.
Silent Hill: Revelationis an extremely loose adaptation ofSilent Hill 3, though only the costume design and character names give that information away. The first film was a loose adaptation of the first game, so it makes sense as a direction for the franchise, but it also ruins everything good about a fantastic game. Thestory follows Heather Mason, who travels to Silent Hill to investigate her mysterious past and learn the dark secrets it holds. Unfortunately, the town itself has been robbed of its typical haunting presence and grim atmosphere. Instead, it’s depicted here as a carnival haunted house in which monsters jump out and yell to wow the audience with the 3D effects. The script fails to find the humanity in characters that were so well-realized in their source material. The plot of the game has been hacked to pieces and inexpertly sewn together like many of the franchise’s monsters. Above all else, it’s plainly not scary. The film functions exclusively as a slapstick comedy, and in that realm, it’s fairly solid.
Critics and audiences were vicious toSilent Hill: Revelation. The film has a whopping 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the best anyone seems prepared to say about it is that it was blessedly short. Every accomplishment the film earns is quickly undone by its defining gimmicks. Bassett clearly has some love for the source material as well, but every time her directorial voice shines through, it’s swiftly interruptedby another jump scare. Beyond ruining the plot and the characters, the real crime ofSilent Hill: Revelationis that it simply can’t capture the spirit of the games. It’s one of the best examples of what can go wrong with video game movies available today.
When Christophe Gans appeared on theSilent Hill Transmission, he wisely omittedRevelationfrom the record. Interestingly, he refers to his upcomingReturn to Silent Hillas a reboot. Given that the film is an adaptation of the belovedSilent Hill 2, there’s really only one thing that a reboot could be erasing. Unfortunately for Bassett and everyone who worked onSilent Hill:Revelation, the game is better off being forgotten. Over a decade later, fans can look back at this film and laugh, but hopefully, the studios that allowed it to be created have learned their lesson and can do better next time.
