04/20/06 Silent Hill

Silent Hill (2006), directed by Christophe Gans

watched w/ Leslie (partially); theater (Brier Creek Stadium 14 Cinema, Raleigh, NC); free screening

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat. Although this screening took place on April 20th, I feel compelled to explain that it happened well after 4:20 p.m. and it in no way has any connotations to drug culture. Well that may not be entirely true, as it seems that whomever came up with the ideas involved in this film had to be a little high during the creative process. I digress, but if you wish to learn more about the many references and nuances to the cannabis culture, check it out here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(drug_culture) ...otherwise, let's get back to the movie. Based on the spooky video game of the same name, this chilling and complex thriller delivers its own sense of spine-tingling horror. I've never seen the game, but the way that the creepy visuals and layers of storyline commingle is awesome. The tale begins with an adoptive couple who are filled with anguish about their daughter's constant sleepwalking and nightmares about a place called Silent Hill. Desperate for relief, the mother (Radha Mitchell) takes her daughter without her husband's consent on a journey to find this place. (Right there, a clear indication of the competency of this woman's mothering skills...none). Despite the poor judgement, the mother leads herself into the burned out lost city of Silent Hill...evading arrest by a police officer, swerving across rainy country highways, and crashing her SUV into a guardrail. When she comes to, her daughter is missing (shocker), the sky is raining ash, and she quickly discovers the virtual hell that is left by this twisted ghost town. It is a world full of death, darkness, and secrets. She is never quite safe during the daylight hours, where she is attacked by figures in gas masks, and burned dismembered creatures...and then the true terror comes. Air raid sirens wail, and darkness falls over the town, releasing the demonic beasts as the world melts away (literally) revealing the horrible secrets of the town's past. Helping on her search for her daughter is the same police officer who earlier tried to arrest her for child endangerment (good call), and now realizes along with the mother of how much crap they've gotten themselves into. The story delves into not only the shocking horror aspects, but moral and psychological deviancy...as the story slips slowly into a whole other level of hell, one where religious zealots have survived their Apocalypse by fighting their demons in a modern day witch-hunt. If at all this description is getting a bit confusing or erratic, it's because that's exactly what the movie does for you...it keeps twisting in every which way, and all of them are sickeningly good. There is plenty of stupid character flaws, like the mother's insistence to be dumb for the sake of "helping" her daughter, and the father who never can quite come through as the knight in shining armor. However, it's scary and gory and great; with a creepy evil little kid to boot. I have to give Leslie full credit here too, knowing too well that she can't stand disturbing cinema behavior, she probably watched a grand total of 10 minutes of the film in the theater. She stuck it out because she knew I wanted to see it, plus we brought along a crossword puzzle to keep her busy for 2 hours. That's love.

5 out of 5 stars