Silent Hill is a film which, as seems to be the current trend, works far better as a two minute trailer than it does a 2 hour feature. The trailer was put together quite well, revealing some potentially creepy monsters, while telling the viewer essentially everything they need to know about Silent Hill. It does what a good trailer is supposed to do, draw people in. However, those who were unfortunate enough to see Silent Hill in it's opening weekend, found a film with virtually no substance, numerous plot holes, and a story that just plain doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Or, maybe it did make sense, but I was just far too bored to notice.

The basic idea: A woman (Radha Mitchell in a career low) takes her daughter to Silent Hill to try and discover the connections between this abandoned (and terribly, terribly haunted) town and her daughters sleepwalking and nightmares from which she wakes, screaming the name of the titular city. Not exactly the smartest idea I've ever heard, but I guess some folks just shouldn't be parents. Her husband (Sean Bean – of course… career low) follows them, as they'd left without his knowledge. However, once they reach Silent Hill, of course, the daughter goes missing, and it's up to Radha Mitchell to find her in a town plagued by ghosts.

I'm not particularly familiar with the Silent Hill video games, so I'm not certain how true to the game Roger Avery's script is, nor am I certain whether or not all the monsters were drawn directly from the games. The monsters, however, are both the film's strongest aspect, and the scripts weakest. Director, Cristophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) handles the monsters quite well. They are very well rendered on screen, providing some creepy moments, obviously I won't give any away, but they are quite effective. The problem is that the monsters don't really serve much of a purpose in the development of the story. They appear on screen for a few minutes then disappear, never to be seen again. Maybe one or two will return once more before the movies conclusion. It's really an atrocious display of lack of storytelling technique.

The monsters disappear roughly 2/3 into the movie in favour of some last minute plot developments. Yet, rather than develop the story in a traditional fashion, it is simply explained in a third person narrative. I honestly can't find a better way for this information to be revealed, but before you think I'm issuing a compliment, no film should have backed itself so far into a corner that it has no other way to explain itself than have someone do it for you - especially when you wasted an hour and a half doing nothing to develop either plot or character.

When no plot has been developed beforehand, the film is essentially a write-off. Silent Hill is exactly that. It's a waste of the talents involved, and a waste of your time. The few scenes which were handled well and the atmosphere which Gans is capable of creating are no substitute for believable characters and actions, a credible plot, and well written dialogue. Silent Hill is a perfect example of how not to make a movie.