SILENT HILL - Film Review 7/5/06

Having seen the trailer for this and finding out that it was by the Director of "Crying Freeman" and "The Brotherhood Of The Wolf" - Christophe Gans, I was looking forward to something pretty special - What I actually got was Radha Mitchell from "Phone Booth" screaming SHARON at the top of her voice for an hour and a half while traipsing through basements running into puddles of water, as ash rained down in a netherworld beyond our own as demons and other assorted nasties off the bad-guy list chase the character's around then followed by a 20 minute explanation of the film by the little girl character. Sean Bean pops in and out as the lonely father and from "Crash" Deborah Kara Unger crops up against the Borg Queen Alice Krige from "Star Trek: First Contact". If the film had actually consisted of what the last really good 20 minutes was like I'm sure I would have been adding this to my DVD to buy list - As it is, I think I'll give this one a miss. Not only was it not at all scary it was also let down by a pretty cruddy ending over the tortuous soundtrack of wailing sirens, screeches, et al. One thing it did have going for it was a good presence of creating a different reality in mood and atmosphere - But unfortunately too little, too late.