The Silent Hill movie tends to pop up on occasion when discussions about good videogame movies happen. The only problem with that is, when compared to everything else in the medium, even the best films based on games tend to be merely decent at best.
So no, I'm not some proponent of the Silent Hill flick. But if it makes you feel better, you can pretend that I am, I guess. As for the impending sequel, I'm not about to defend it. Heck no. After hearing the newest details from Shock Till You Drop, I am downright fearful of this project.
As you might recall, the screenwriter to be, Roger Avary, was sentence to a year in prison. Even so, it's sounding as if the film is still on. "We're just debating whether we can wait for him. He's writing the script for sure," says Silent Hill producer Don Carmody.
Director Christophe Gans likely won't be returning for the follow-up, but Carmody says "he's very happy to consult." According to Carmody, the story "is going to happen years later and the main character is much older and representative to the movie-going public which is in that age group."
"Silent Hill is not a blockbuster game like Resident Evil or the other games out there. It's a connoisseurs' game. It has its own, rabid fan base. You have to appeal not only to the gamers, you have to appeal to a wider audience. So we have to get some story in there that helps explain a bit more," he concludes.
There's no way this will turn out okay, is there?
Contest:
7:40 PM on 11.19.2009
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But I wasn't expecting anything different considering the amount of respect they showed towards the subject material in the first one. People say that video game movies suck, but honestly, these movies wouldn't be half bad if the writers, producers, and directors actually knew anything about the original sources and tried to protect the integrity of that story.
Yes, every fanboy or fangirl bitches and moans when even the slightest detail is changed for an adaptation, but some of the changes are actually for the better, just look at the Lord of the Rings movies - a huge amount of material was cut, but the movies arguably turned out much better because of it. However, the changes that they're making to the Silent Hill mythos for these movies just suck all the emotional impact and symbolism out of the story. :[
does it come in 1920 by 1080?
if so i want.
The treatment of Silent Hill once it feel into the hands of film-makers and western developers reminds me of the American remakes of foreign horror films. They compromise ambiguity/symbolism, emotion and effectively capturing the audience for spoon-fed storyline, overdone effects and overall dullness. This is why you see Pyramid Head thrown as a "HEY LOOK WHO WE COULD FIT IN LOLZ" tool than a monster who plays a huge role in the story, and therefore disturbs the audience even more.
BULLSHIT. Damn near ruined the end of the first film, which was otherwise decent. The games already has great stories and materials, the studio is just too contrived to make it interesting or even useful.
Forget the SH film franchise, it's already ruined, just like what Homecoming did to the game franchise.
Also, you guys are too cute!
As for the movie thing I never saw the first one. Wanted to but never did. Hell my grandmother saw it before I did or ever will. However what he said was pretty bold. I can't help but think he's just trying to make his sound like it's the horror game adaption for the "cool kidz".
And to be honest, I didn't mind the movie. I thought it could have and should have followed the game a little more closely, but I fully understand that the movie wasn't only made for fans of the game, and that some concessions need to be made when adapting something for a feature-length film.
As long as this movie has no whiny James Sunderland and plays out more like the SH3 they're hinting at, I'll be happy to watch it.
THIS IS PYRAMID HEAD.HE IS YOU AND YOU WANT A FUCK! WITH A SWORD!
Homecoming, disturbing? Oh, please. What the hell was disturbing about the Hostel-like ripoff environment in they put in at the end of the game, or the lack of the Otherworld for a lot of the main game, or the fog that looked just like a gray backdrop, removing much of the atmosphere? Origins at least had some tense moments and some familiar characters. Not to mention, some atmospheric music and a few monsters that showed some sign of creativity without going over the top. What the hell was the deal with the Siams and Smog monsters? Talk about taking a decent concept too far. It was obvious to most fans they were <u>trying too hard</u> to be deep and psychological. The plot could have used more emotion and an unsettling twist, but at least it made the effort. It's look and feel is very much in line with SH1, and SH2 in the motel. Homecoming made no effort.
The twist with Alex was entirely expected. I didn't so much as raise an eyebrow when I saw it. Now, if Alex had been a veteran who actually committed some horrible war crimes during his time, that would have caught my attention (rape, anybody? Killing children? Anything would have worked better than this SH2-rip off idea we got). Pyramid Head was used as a cameo, without building any atmosphere or story around him. And the supporting characters were weak. Did anybody really give a shit about that redneck Curtis? I didn't. And Judge Holloway and Alex's mother weren't really developed enough for us to care about them. And the way Alex and Wheeler treated it like an action mission was annoying. I was glad to see the first Black protagonist in the game, but it could have been much better when it came to getting it done. 4 was more disturbing than SH Homecoming. And I don't even consider it scary!! The ghosts had some slightly disturbing quality to them, and the hauntings were unsettling, even though the game lacked some mainstream scares. The settings were bland in Homecoming too, except for the Otherworld parts, with the prison getting the worst of it. It had none of the atmosphere of SH2's prison. Homecoming isn't a bad game. It's competently executed. I just don't think it's particularly creative or inspiring. I tried to play it with the lights off to give it a more tangible sense of atmosphere, and it still only managed to deliver only one scare (when the Siam crashed through the ceiling in the sewers), and it wasn't even atmosphere related. The problem with Origins is that Climax followed SH1 so closely, they forgot to distinguish themselves from the previous developers. The result is that it's your run-of-the-mill Silent Hill game. It's a very formulaic Silent Hill game, which makes no attempt to push the boundaries of the genre. To use another comparison, it's the "too faithful" adaptation, which we see sometimes in movies [that have been adapted from books], where nothing is new. But that's where Silent Hill: Shattered Memories comes in. Hopefully they've learned enough to realize they have to do their own thing too, not just follow Team Silent blindly. It's just a matter of realizing which concepts work and which ones don't, something Double Helix failed to do. I don't mind the concept of a soldier in Silent Hill, because it could have had some horrifying situations, had it been executed properly. It's just that the opportunity was wasted. Hell, I would have even preferred returning to Heather and taking up a more psychological story this time instead of a cult-based one (I don't hate the cult, but a psychological one would have offered a different perspective on her), rather than this tripe about Alex searching for his brother (who appeared to be nothing more than an annoying brat, thus gaining no sympathy from me. Yeah, it was because of his father, but it doesn't change the fact the boy sounded like a brat, and really showed no hint of a close relationship with Alex, except for the scene on the lake).
But that's just my opinion and you're perfectly entitled to hate Origins. I just think Homecoming is below even Origins on the scale. If Origins is mediocre (which is only average, remember, not bad as most people think), Homecoming is dangerous close to sinking into 'bad' territory. Only the competently executed gameplay saves it. That, and some occasionally interesting moments, and of course, the score by Akira Yamaoka, which managed to get in a couple of interesting songs. I like Elle, I'll admit that, and Alex *could* be interesting, but they're wasted in a ho-hum story.
As for the SH2 movie...
WHY is this man still writing the script?!? We've already seen Roger Avary is a hack, judging by the first one. Whatever talent Avary had abandoned him long ago, and Christophe Gans was no master director either. We got one of the stooges out. Why can't we get this one out too? Leave him! Go with someone else, someone who will respect the story and not deliver a crappy narrative that devolves into a Crucible-style witch hunt! Just get anyone else who respects the story and won't rival Uwe Boll for the most awful screenplay of the year award! I don't mind if they go with another cult based story, or a psychological one, but just make it SILENT HILL!!! I'm glad this guy didn't touch Phantasm, as I said in another thread, because he would have completely destroyed it. He had a good idea, but then again, Silent Hill the film had a good idea too, and look where that got it! My guess is Roger Avary is good at coming up with good ideas that start off well and then fall apart around the middle to end section, because he brings in some crazy ass concepts. Also, get someone who isn't mired in sexist overtones. Christophe Gans' comment about Harry was mystifying. I don't like Harry that much, but Gans' comment about him was idiotic.