“Silent Hill: Revelation” is one of those films that asks way too much from its audience to be successful. The original film came out six years ago. That’s a long time for regular moviegoers to remember what the first one was about without doing some sort of research.
Basically, it asks all its viewers to invest an extra 90 minutes of their life in seeing the first movie before taking in the new one. That’s a lot to expect from people who may not feel like catching up with a film released in 2006 that critics flamed and many audience members were on the fence over. In a nutshell, “Silent Hill: Revelation” takes a whole lot for granted.
Another thing filmmakers expect from viewers of “Silent Hill: Revelation” is a knowledge of the video game. If you haven’t played it, chances are you’re going to be completely lost as far as plot or characters go. The uneducated will likely feel as if they’ve been thrown to the proverbial wolves.
It feels like script and dialogue writers tried to put together a sensible explanation of what’s happening in the film, but somehow everything got jumbled up in front of the camera and when actual actors had to recite their lines. The whole movie just feels like someone is telling a joke and everyone around is in on it except you.
For a movie that is 90 percent CGI, producers sure didn’t feel the need to up the budget enough to keep “Silent Hill: Revelation” from letting everyone in on the very apparent secret that it was entirely shot in front of a piece of green cloth. I can’t believe a mining town in the middle of nowhere covered in soot and dust could look so shiny and glistening. I will say that the interior sets were rather impressive and did emanate a sense of grime and claustrophobia.
The only extra feature included in the DVD edition of the movie is a “Behind-the-Scenes” featurette entitled “A Look Inside ‘Silent Hill: Revelation.'” That’s not much for fans of this franchise to get excited about. The Blu-ray version doesn’t give consumers any more incentive to spring for it because it basically contains the same bonus material.
“Silent Hill: Revelation” might be attractive to gamers who are familiar with its world. However, if you walk into it blindly with no prior knowledge of its characters or the first film, you’ll be lost in a sea of confusing dialogue and convoluted storytelling that rests on the laurels of its gore. If you have a limited amount of time to dedicate for movie watching, you might want to take a pass on this one.
“Silent Hill: Revelation” is available now on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital Download.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
Movie Review: “The Awakening”
Blu-ray Review: “TerrorVision / the Video Dead” Scream! Factory Double Feature
Blu-ray Review: “Mimesis: Night of the Living Dead”
