NYCC 2012: Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (2012)- All Monsters, No Mash

NYCC held a press screening for Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, and I was there to get the scoop. The Silent Hill video games have some of the most terrifying creatures ever dreamed up by the human brain, and now you can watch them on the big screen with Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. This flick roughly follows the story of the third Silent Hill video game, and picks up many years after the first Silent Hill movie. Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) has been plagued by nightmares since she was little, but doesn’t know the truth behind them: that she’s actually Sharon, the little girl from the first movie. She and her father, the glorious Sean Bean, have been running from Silent Hill since the events of hte first movie, but, when daddy Boromir goes missing, it looks like Heather’s coming back home to Hilly Dearest.

Aesthetically, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is stunning. The monsters, created mostly through practical effects, but with a few CG, and the town of Silent Hill itself were all lush with terrifying details. And, for once, I actually wasn’t annoyed with the 3D— it looked great, and was used appropriately, resulting in a few jumps and head dives to the side from the audience. The sounds of the monsters themselves were appropriately freaky, and the music makes use of several of the video game series’ signature tunes.

While the aesthetic aspect of the film was fantastic, it falters when it comes to the human element. It was beautiful to look at, but it didn’t strike the emotional nerve that the first one does, to invest you, to tense you up and keep you frightened of what might be coming. Also, the story is a hazy mish-mash of ideas, with several problematic plot holes, and the climactic showdown between Heather and Evil Heather is one of the biggest let-downs I’ve seen in a while. The action was nice, when there was any, but this is a horror film so I can forgive it for not being a action packed ride through Silent Hill. The final showdown between Red Pyramid and Carrie-Anne Moss was impressive but viewers will have long-since been mentally checked out.

The first film is by far the superior film. This installment was a good try, but the story fails to make you invested in the characters, which in turn fails to make you scared of what might happen to them or scared of what’s around the corner.

Action Rating: 1 Red Pyramid, out of 5!

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!