Climbing Silent Hill "Mind the Gap on that 2nd step"
I finally got to go see Silent Hill. I have a lot to say about it but I won't talk about the plot until all my friends have seen it. For now, it was an interesting display of plot acrobatics that got a A for technique but didn't stick the landing. That being said, I was disappointed at the inability of most people to figure out the point of the movie. Critics and friends alike. The slope between lowest common denominator cash grab and the vision of the director/writers was pretty steep.
The questions and comments I heard after the movie deflated me a bit, I don't know of many horror movies that deliver subtle performances and brilliant dialog. How the hell is somebody supposed to subtlety talk about zombies and run down a crowded street? As Sybil says "What the fuck is wrong with you people?" Haha.
"The story didn't make sense"
"Bad Acting"
"Those dead guys were so dumb"
As formentioned, Silent Hill's plot has a damn steep sudden death learning curve. Lets explore the climb to the summit shall we?
Level 1: Cool CG Monsters, Bad acting, illogical story progression. (Most people get off the bus here)
Level 2: Can you follow a challenging plot that doesn't give second chances?
Level 3: Do you understand historical and visual references to Amercain and world events?
-Holocaust -Christian Myghology
-Spain (Auto de fe)
-Great Mining disasters of the early 2oth century
-World war 2
- Art History.
-Latin
-History of early American Christianity
-Gnostic Gospels
Level 4: Are you able to read between the lines and synthesize the story using subtle clues?
Level 5 (The Summit of Silent Hill): What is the real story here? What is this movie saying about people, past and present? Why did they chose this format?
When a movie forces you to ask all these questions, before you can "get it". I'd say it's not long for this world. All those plebeians stuck toiling away at level 1 will drag it down with them.
posted by Inspired Reality @ 6:06 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I don't know Eliot- Regardless of whatever may be layered into a movie, it owes it's focus towards the medium before all else: Based on it's merits as a film, Silent Hill more or less fails. It fares better as a video game based film, but still. I don't think you can really judge somethings effectiveness as, I don't know, a critique of the religious origins of America or whatever if it fails at the basic level as a film.
Anyway, I look forward to having a discussion with you about this.
The "Basic level" argument is an old one.. When looking at any art is the reason why most people have shitty prints of dogs playing poker on their walls. A focus on medium and "Basic Level" is the difference between an art historian and a pop film critic.
Silent Hill may fail on a "Basic level". But, that's fine with me. (Basic enough to generate 15 million in its first weekend)
To say a movie is a failure because of low level detail is ridiculous.
You know who tried to make movies that worked on a basic level and focused on medium?
Stalin and Mao.
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