A lot of aimless wandering and running about occurs in Christophe Gans' would-be thriller Silent Hill, yet another misguided effort to translate a popular video game to the big screen. The opaque plot finds a mother taking her adopted daughter—who is suffering from terrible bouts of sleepwalking—to the titular West Virginia burg (a ghost town whose name the girl mutters during her somnambulatory episodes). After mother and daughter become separated, the former teams up with a hard-bitten female cop to search for the girl in Silent Hill, which is apparently haunted by the malevolent spirits of a crazed religious cult that had once disfigured another girl who looked exactly like the daughter. Of course, if you're unfamiliar with the game, nothing that happens will make the slightest bit of sense: in fact, the movie is such a hopeless jumble of bad effects (including creatures that look suspiciously like people encased in rubber suits and instructed to jiggle like bad exotic dancers), plot ellipses, and confusing switches from reality to some spectral state, that when the closing credits roll, you'll likely either be dozing or scratching your head. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include the six-part behind-the-scenes “making-of” documentary “Path of Darkness” (59 min.), which features segments on “Origins,” “Casting,” “Set Design,” “Stars and Stunts,” “Creatures Unleashed,” and “Creature Choreography.” Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lame horror flick.] (F. Swietek)
Silent Hill
Sony, 127 min., R, DVD: $28.95, Aug. 22 Volume 21, Issue 5
Silent Hill
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