Being a fan of the games, but knowing how bad game-to-film adaptations can be, it came as a surprise to me when the first Silent Hill actually turned out to be a good movie. Director Christophe Gans really captured the look and feel of the games and for once a game adaptation seemed to stay true to its source material. A sequel had been in development for some time, but the studio couldn't lock Gans again due to scheduling conflicts, so they eventually moved on and brought Michael J. Bassett on board to write and direct. This turned out to be a bad choice, because the movie ended up a huge disappointment for me due to its NUMEROUS problems.

Following the events of the first film (and borrowing from the 3rd game) the story sees Sharon (Adelaide Clemens) and her father Christopher (Sean Bean) many years later under the false identities of Heather and Harry Mason, in their attempt to hide from the cult of lunatics bent on bringing Heather back to Silent Hill. After some drawn-out and misplaced story and character introductions, Heather finally decides to go back when her father is kidnapped and supposedly being held in the eerie town.

It's pretty clear that writer/director Michael J. Bassett had his work cut out for him and it definitely shows in the final result. For one, the story is just completely nonsensical and muddled together, along with the editing, which offers scenes that seem either random or unnecessary. One example is when Vincent offers a big reveal to Heather almost completely out of nowhere, on top of his over-the-top delivery. This brings me to my next problem--the acting. For whatever reason a lot of the acting around the beginning (specifically from Sean Bean) just seemed exaggerated to the point of being almost soap opera-ish.

Then we have these characters that just seemed to be put into the movie just so fans can say "hey! it's that person from the game!" and that's about it. Vincent shows up pretty early as a "new guy" who creeps and follows Heather everywhere she goes. Could he have been any more obvious? It would've made more sense if he just told her the truth from the start instead of wasting everyone's time. Instead, the filmmakers opted to show how Heather is a school outcast and likes to walk around the new town all confused and mopey.

While the first Silent Hill had some really great atmosphere and genuinely creepy scenes, this sequel had none of those things. Sure, they captured the look down quite well and even offered some music that seemed straight out've the games, but aside from that, everything else was just there to offer nothing more than a visual interpretation of a story and outcome we already know. Even the creatures we encounter in the movie were a letdown. The only ones I liked were the ones that were already shown in the first film! Though, it was nice to see more action from the creepy nurses, which ironically delivered the best scene in the movie.

It was also disheartening to experience really bad 3D. Aside from certain aspects in the town itself, a majority of the 3D was wasted. Not to mention there were some scenes that were blurry and the entire film seemed overly dark. It was as if my glasses had tint on them or something, which I found distracting, as I kept having to remove them in order to see some scenes better. I'm not sure if it was just my theater, but I've heard others experience similar issues.

Lastly, as if things couldn't get any worse, we're given a seriously rushed and lackluster climax. It's just sad to see such a potentially great and scary game-to-movie franchise become so poor after just one sequel. My only hope is that IF a third adaptation is made, it's by a more experienced and talented writer/director, but considering how poorly this did at the box office it may never happen.

If you're a fan of the first installment then chances are you're not going to like the sequel, as it's almost nothing like its predecessor. There are numerous issues with the flick right from the start, from the overacting, bad pacing and sloppy editing, to the poor script, missing atmosphere, and lackluster finale. Save your time and money and rewatch the first, or better yet, just replay the games!