Silent Hill

[noctuary]

Originally posted by crippler666
I actually quite like them and Alone in the Dark

:eek:

Someone liked that movie! The world really is coming to an end!

[Thorns_demon]

Originally posted by crippler666
Maybe you would have prefered another Resident Evil movie?

hmmm, I read (somewhere) that there is another resident evil, can't remember the name tho, 3movies whoohoo, well hope this one's the best.

[Macey Wuesthoff]

[i] Maybe you would have prefered another Resident Evil movie? [/B]

Nope, just would have preferred a movie with a sensible plot, characters who weren't so f-ing stupid I didn't give a crap about them, and an ending that was not a contrived, overdone duplicate of that in movies like :o THE SIXTH SENSE, THE OTHERS, and STAY. :o Both RE and SH happened to lack all of those elements, particularly SILENT HILL.

Sure the atmosphere, setting, and eye candy looked great, but to me, that's not enough to make a movie, and I'm not alone in this theory. Case in point in a different genre--WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. It had Robin Williams, whom most moviegoers loved, and settings and scenes that were drop-dead gorgeous but still flopped. Why? Like SILENT HILL, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME was, as one professional critic put it, "Beautiful to look at, but dumb as dust." To me, SH was basically WDMC the horror version.

[urgeok]

there are definately a lot of people who prefer substance over style. it's about 1/2 and 1/2.

i always found that kind of funny in the horror genre where reality often is thrown out by the very nature of the plot itself.

i dont believe in ghosts. so by that token i should see any movie with a ghost as fanciful fluff (if i was of that mind set). There are a lot of people who do feel this way.

But - because i do like stylistic movies and using my imagination - i can go with them - if they are well made.

I dont need everything explained for me .. i can enjoy a visual trip
If i expected everything to make sense there would be very few movies to chose from and definatelly nothing in the horror genre where everything is 100% bullshit to begin with.
(except fear itself.... although even thinking about that - irrational fear is bullshit too .. it's not like there is anything in a movie to be truely afraid of - it aint real)

I dont know why/where people draw their lines of 'whats acceptable' in the sand. I cant even define my own level of acceptability - other than this : if it is visually interesting, the acting is decent ... the pacing is appropriate ,,etc .. then its a good experince for me.

After seeing Silent Hill I left that theatre with some strong and lasting visual images. I cant think of many other horror films in ages that has done that for me..

[Thorns_demon]

has anyone ever seen a horror movie that was 100% perfect made and unique, no I don't think so, maybe in the 60's or something, or when they started to make movies even if they were in black and white.

I think many movies are nice to look at, i don't think things thru like the story itself or a good ending, if I have to judge all of that, I'd better don't see any movie again, man that would be bored, being disappointed everytime you see a movie :s, ok mostly that is the case lol but not with every movie, not when I just look at the effects and graphics.

[Macey Wuesthoff]

Originally posted by urgeok
there are definately a lot of people who prefer substance over style. it's about 1/2 and 1/2.

i always found that kind of funny in the horror genre where reality often is thrown out by the very nature of the plot itself.

Actually, call me too picky, but I prefer movies with both. If a movie does have substance and story but lacks style, I also don't like it. Examples: 28 DAYS LATER, which had a story, but the lighting, camera angles, and poor diction got on my last nerve; and some movie I can't remember the name of about a "Poe" serial killer killing his victims in the pattern of Poe stories. Great, original concept and story, but the acting and camera work were so bad that I couldn't get through it.

[i]i dont believe in ghosts. so by that token i should see any movie with a ghost as fanciful fluff (if i was of that mind set). There are a lot of people who do feel this way.[/B]

You should start, Dude. I believe in them, and it opens up whole new worlds. It's almost like the age-old horror genre addage (sp.?), you can't see it unless you believe. Not that I've actually ever SEEN a ghost, but in believing they do exist, I've had a few supernatural experiences myself, and know others who likewise have.

[i]I dont need everything explained for me .. i can enjoy a visual trip [/B]

I do. I think it's a sign of superior thought, creativity, and storytelling on the part of the author/screenwriter. Then again, maybe that's the writer in me. I just appreciate stuff that makes me think.

[i]If i expected everything to make sense there would be very few movies to chose from and definatelly nothing in the horror genre where everything is 100% bullshit to begin with.
(except fear itself.... although even thinking about that - irrational fear is bullshit too .. it's not like there is anything in a movie to be truely afraid of - it aint real)[/B]

Gotta butt heads with you a bit on that one. I think there are a lot of horror movies out there that do make sense and have realistic element: THE EXORCIST and THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, for starters, which are loosely based on an actual possession and deals with the Devil, which I also believe exists. AMYTIVILLE HORROR (the original), THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and THE HILLS HAVE EYES are also believable premises, demons (which I believe exist) and crazy people/cannibals (I believe their is no limit to the level of craziness other people can dish out. There are some really f-ed up folks out there.), again all loosely based on true incidents. Others that aren't based on true stories but which still had believable premises to me include SAW and SAW II, WITCHBOARD, and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS. Even HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES was believable, with perhaps exception of the zombie scene.

[i]I dont know why/where people draw their lines of 'whats acceptable' in the sand. I cant even define my own level of acceptability - other than this : if it is visually interesting, the acting is decent ... the pacing is appropriate ,,etc .. then its a good experince for me.[/B]

I think its personal differences in taste. For me, while something making sense AND having good style should both be present, I need one other element even more. When I see/read something, I need to get a chill down my spine, or at least some sort of emotional reaction. I know that may be simple/and or abstract, but that's what does it for me. If I get "my chill," I can often enjoy movies that lack in one or even both of the other elements. With SILENT HILL, as you may have guessed, no chill, and with the messy plot, I just couldn't get into it.

[i] After seeing Silent Hill I left that theatre with some strong and lasting visual images. I cant think of many other horror films in ages that has done that for me.. [/B]

That actually happened for me with THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, the new THE HILLS HAVE EYES, and HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES. With the zombie films in particular, I was seeing those images in my mind's eye for months afterward. But I also thought both of those movies had the elements of substance and style as well.

I'm glad you posted your reaction, Urgeok. Even though we disagree on this film, it has been fun debating and discussing it. :cool:

[urgeok]

thats what we're here for ..


i definately do not believe in ghosts, goblins, witches(magic), vampires, leprechauns, faeries, ents, or anything else like that.

I'm not a kid - (i'm 45) and i have a philosophy why these things exist in the minds and hearts of others but thats another lengthy discussion. So we can't go there with any success ...

it doesnt ruin the movie going experience for me .. i still enjoy the fantasy battles between good and evil, etc ..

I am able to see a film the way some of us view other visual art ..
i can dig the view even if i dont understand the personal vision of the person who created it. Some art is photorealistic bateman, others are dreamscapes by Dali, others are far more surreal and abstract than that. Some will appeal to me - some wont - based on my personal sense of taste.

there is certainly no universal right or wrong with this issue ...
its a pure and simple case of 'whatever floats your boat'


What Dreams May Come .. i saw this .. didnt think it was great but i did enjoy some of the visuals ... nothing as striking as the creatures in Silent Hill though ..

A bit of an unfair comparrison though .. on one hand - how much does one expect from a video game adaptation ... on the other .. you're dealing with the expectations that you'd get from a Richard Matheson story. you're under a microscope ..mess with that even slightly and suffer the wrath of fanboys.

one last thing to address .. re not caring about the characters in Silent Hill :

the most terrifying part of the whole movie for me (and what made me buy into it) was the daughter standing on the edge of the cliff.
this hit me on a personal level because - being a father of a 5 year old - you fear for their safety always and sometimes i have the morbid habit of picturing us in horrifying scenarios - where he's in danger and i cant help him .. and the cliff edge thing is one of them. (i'm afraid of heights)

So from there we have a conflict - a mother afraid to lose her child because of this condition (seperation, and/or the loss of sanity)

My kid is a busy kid .. ADD has been suggested many a time. In the past similar cases were dealt with with drugs .. something i would refuse to do (you never want to see your childs personality change - even if he can be a (well meaning) imp.

so on top of that you have a dad who lost both wife and daughter ...

I cant connect with devils and ghosts but i certainly can identify with loss and separation ...


(honestly - there's no such things as ghosts - Kairo suggested as a plot device ... if you think about all the people who've died .. why arent we overrun .. why is it the people i wouldnt trust with a plastic spoon the only ones who see the friggin things ?? ghosts, ufos ... keebler elves ...its all the same to me)

[Posher778]

Ghosts are just.... not real...

[crippler666]

Originally posted by Macey Wuesthoff
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. It had Robin Williams, whom most moviegoers loved, and settings and scenes that were drop-dead gorgeous but still flopped. Why? Like SILENT HILL, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME was, as one professional critic put it, "Beautiful to look at, but dumb as dust." To me, SH was basically WDMC the horror version.

So we have over a 500 page novel by Richard Matheson as background Vs 4 computer games that have been translated from Japenese as background?

My point was that out of all the computer related games that this appeared to be the best out there (considering House Of The Dead & Mortal Kombat).

If you have ever played the games through to get all the endings, you will know that you are left to your own perspective to what is the real ending.

As an example in the first it could have been A Cult, Aliens & even Drug related as to which you wanted to believe responsible for the first game.

How many films are made now that are original in the horror genere? They all borrow from each other or are remakes just now.

I look for enjoyment in what I watch and not alot else. The plot can be cheese, the actors just wrong and shot by an amateur who is drunk. But none of it matters if you enjoy the movie.

[Miss Olivia]

Was SH goofy? Yes. Was the plot a little formulaic? Yes. Did the wart in between the main characters eyebrows bother me? Definitely. Was I entertained? Absolutely. Sometimes you just have to let the little trivialities go and ride the ashy flow...For every excellent horror movie that's released there are three goofy ones, personally I can laugh at the script that was probably written by the guy who used to make those stupid old navy commercials and still enjoy the movie...