MOVIE REVIEW

POPCORN HOUR! 

Thanks To Our Super Cool & Sporty Lecturer, Mr.Charles, the FID september intake got to have a movie excursion!! But, of course it wasn't just for pleasure sake, in fact, it's a film study to help us get inspired to produce a SILHOUETTE! I'm certain you know what this word means but, just to clear the air a little, a silhouette = the outline or general shape of something against a lighter background. It's often filled with a solid color ex: black and the interesting thing about silhouette is that it can represent almost anything from human figure 

---> objects ---> anonymous shapes/sceneries...in other words, it's very flexible =D

So, let's get down & dirty...

We've managed to grab tickets to watch the newly released 'SILENT HILL: REVELATION'. 

Here's the official poster: 

To Understand the 2nd Installment of the Silent Hill Franchise, it's better for you to watch the 1st Installment to get a better understanding of the entire plot/scenario. However just a brief re-cap, the protagonist of the story, Rose is concerned about her adopted daughter's nightmarish dreams about 'Silent Hill'. She then sets out in search of this place with Sharon (her daughter) in hopes of curing Sharon. There, she unravels the mysteries of the ghost town that is rumored to be 'alive' even after the coal seam fire that destroyed the town. Rose encounters creatures and dark evils that surround the 'demon child' known as Alessa. Alessa controls Silent Hill and she's out for revenge...if you want to know why, watch the first installment =) I have no intention of being a spoiler. 

 SILENT HILL REVELATION : still maintains a mysterious quality about silent hill. 

REVIEW (MAY CONTAIN SPOILER) : In the 2nd installment, we get to meet new characters such as Vincent (Sharon's lover) & The Order & The Wolf Family. This story is the continuation of Sharon/Heather who is now all grown up (18-yrs) and her dilemma of having to move around the country & attending different schools because someone from her past wants her BACK in Silent Hill. In order to keep his step-daughter safe, Christopher did everything he could  to keep Sharon safe, as a promise to his wife, Rose who is stuck in Silent Hill. Christopher is later kidnapped by a mysterious cult group and Sharon goes on a mission (with Vincent) to save her father, and there she gets to know more about her TRUE SELF.

MY OPINION: The Silent Hill Franchise is not so much of Horror to me, as I'm a super horror junkie! And I must say that it's really hard to find a great horror movie! On a scale of 1-10, I would give Silent Hill a '5'. Silent Hill is mostly a psychological & supernatural horror movie with a hint of surrealism. It doesn't hit me with so much of a 

but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Personally, I think that the mystery shrouding the town is what keeps the viewer in suspense and glued to their seats. I admit that the curiosity of exactly what the term 'THE DARKNESS IS COMING' is what grips me and even after watching the 2nd installment, I am still puzzled about why that even happens, especially the part where the walls begin to peel away. It's as if the walls and doors are burnt and peeled away to reveal the truth & the ugliness/dark side of Silent Hill. I do prefer the2nd installment over the 1st and here's why I enjoyed the 2nd installment :

1) I never expected this creature to appear in the 2nd installment and I have to give credit to it...because in the 1st installment, the creatures that exist are mostly 'FLESHY' and perhaps bloody but, this creature is made up of mannequin arms & heads!! It's so bloody awesome & totally different! It's UNEXPECTED!

2) Also, there were the scenes of the NURSES & The Pyramid Head Monster. The aesthetics of the visual portrayed of these nurses were really unique, and the Pyramid Head Monster is only introduced in the 2nd installment, which is a little weird if you think about it...if he's Alessa's guardian, shouldn't he at least appear in the first installment?

THE NURSES

PYRAMID HEAD

3) IT'S LESS DRAGGY THAN THE FIRST...The reason is because more interesting characters were introduced and there wasn't so much running around and ambiguity as the first installment. There was a little more 'action', as in the fight between Claudia & The Pyramid Head. 

Now, Here's Why I Was Left Dissatisfied: 

Alessa plays an important role in the entire SILENT HILL FRANCHISE right? It's quite unsatisfying the see Alessa go down without a  fight with her twin 'Sharon' in REVELATION. I mean, she's portrayed to be the Greater Evil/Demon Child, making her sound formidable and fearful but, in the end, she gets absorbed by Sharon, a normal teenage human (combining the two halves into a whole, as Sharon is Alessa's good side) without as much of an interesting struggle. I think it would make the storyline better if there had been some sort of struggle be it power or inner struggle endured by Alessa/Sharon. Also, Alessa doesn't look very much like a 'ghost' that would stay in your mind for a long term because her appearance is similar to those typical ghosts you get on other horror films...to put it critically : it looks rather fake. 

Basically, psychological horror isn't my cup of horror, but it's a nice watch to pass the time, although others may not agree with my point of view because of the contextual meaning/concept of SILENT HILL. After watching SILENT HILL & REVELATION, it can leave you dazed and puzzled...it even gets you to think about it after the show...the 'How's & Why's' bombarding your head.  A similarity of both installments is, they have ambiguous or open endings...For me, I like to be a hedonist when watching horror, not something I would be likely to indulge in the mental area too often. According to RottenTomatoes, SILENT HILL REVELATION currently holds only a 7% rating but, I have to say that the one thing that keeps SILENT HILL 1 & 2 in my mind would be the audible siren signalling that the DARKNESS IS COMING. 

VINCENT & SHARON

Although I'm not overly crazy about SILENT HILL: REVELATION, the scenes depicted  in the movie were no doubt helpful in giving me inspirations for my Silhouette assignment. The dark scenes with minimum lighting really stimulates the imagination and the different views help me to understand the perspectives applied. In REVELATION, there are many inspiring scenes to help portray them in Silhouette and I think it would be a challenge & fun to work on it! =D