Silent... But Deadly

I spent an astonishing £12.50 to see a film in the Leicester Square Vue Cinema on Saturday. An outrageous price, especially since the film I saw was the very mediocre Silent Hill.

For me, being mediocre is a crime. I was expecting something far better given the creative talent involved. Director Christophe Gans has provided his usual visual flair but Roger Avery's script is disappointing.

Having watched the atmospheric trailer and read a very positive **** review in SFX magazine I thought I would be in for a treat but what a yawner! What was the point of having Sean Bean in it? Why did it go on for over two hours? The Pyramid head creature thing looked cool but was wasted. Where were the scares? All atmosphere and no tension. On the plus side I can say that Alice Krige steals the show as the head religious fanatic and that the female cop looked good in her leather uniform.

Fans of the video game from which it was spawned may like Silent Hill. To everybody else I say just see the trailer and then go and watch a DVD like House of Wax (2005) or even Hollow Man II - two genre movies that won't win any prizes but are at least entertaining.