"Silent Hill" trailer released on Yahoo Movies

[Robert Martens]

I wrestled with whether or not I should post this, for worry of my taste in films falling into question (most people don't like videogame movies, and understandably so), but I ultimately figured what the hell? We're all entitled to our opinions, there's no accounting for taste, blah blah blah. I'm among friends here anyway, so if you guys don't like it I can respect that. Anyway, the news was too exciting for me to ignore. Let me get to the point.

The official Silent Hill trailer is now available over at Yahoo Movies: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/silenthill.html

This is what I've spent the past five years trying to do (though not with so many actors, not feature length, and not directly related to the source material); this game, and the hope of creating a short film in the same vein, are the reason I picked up a camera in the first place, the reason I ultimately found this place, and all of you. And only now have I found the motivation to finish my damned script--what with the official film being released in April, I'd like to get this done with and released beforehand.

The history of projects like this has not been a good one. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Brothers, none of them have been much good (though I did fancy Tomb Raider and Resident Evil). I've always believed, though, that the material was not the problem. If anything, they've strayed too far from the games they claim to represent, and the people who played and loved the games hate the films more than any critic possibly could (you think Ebert & Roeper hated Doom, talk to somebody who's been playing the games since their initial release). This trailer, in addition to the snippets of footage on the website, give me hope that a good game based movie, if not a great one, is possible. It doesn't hurt to have Christophe Gans and Roger Avary at the helm, either.

I get the feeling most people don't like this sort of thing in their movies ("It's not scary, it's boring/stupid!"), and even most videogame fanatics dislike the series in its original medium, but I felt as such a huge fan it was my duty to inform the board of this trailer. Somebody might like it, after all.

'cept Josh Bass, of course. ;)

[Andy Graham]

I'm glad you posted that Robert, like you silent hill is a film i've been waiting a long time for someone to make. And strangely enough like you I have a feature lenghth project being scripted at the moment that has aspects that I have taken from the game.

From the trailer the film looks like its gonna be really good. Being a big fan of the game i was glad to see a small clip at the end of the trailer of the character "pyramid head".

Anyway thanks for the link.

Andy.

[Nick Weeks]

I've been waiting for this movie since I first saw it on imdb a while back

Trailer looks good... Thanks Robert

[Robert Martens]

Originally Posted by Andy Graham

Being a big fan of the game i was glad to see a small clip at the end of the trailer of the character "pyramid head".

You and me both, buddy; I swear, though the first game in the series is far and away my favorite (I mean, it defined the series, after all...the other games seem to be missing something, though I can't pinpoint what), and I do love the giant moth, I must admit that Pyramid Head is the single best enemy I've ever encountered, and the creepiest character in any film, novel, or game I've ever known. I hear tell the guy's nearly nine feet tall in this movie, once the entire costume and helmet are taken into account.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go work on my script. I've waffled long enough, and I won't let the movie beat me to release, dammit!

[Keith Wakeham]

I think its great that you shared this trailer and your thoughts. I saw the teaser over at sony pictures site a while ago. I like the stylization of the teaser a bit more actually but thats just me. It still has a nice errie style.

I'm glad that sony is doing this, even the movies that aren't great that they have done based on comics still are realitively good movies. A lot of the game based movies stray to far from the game or the game is difficult to put into the story line of a movie.

House of the dead (game) had a really simple story but the movie just botched that up with trying to create a prequel. Doom visually looked good, action felt rushed and it just wasn't what many expected (Come on, how hard is it to play the game and just copy it, its all their, that could have been the movie).

Silent Hill seems to have the errie-ness (am i making up words again?) down according to the trailers, but I'm hoping that they don't go to mainstream on us. It seemed to have some visual elements similar to Saw and Hostel.

[Robert Martens]

Originally Posted by Keith Wakeham

House of the dead (game) had a really simple story but the movie just botched that up with trying to create a prequel.

Not to mention it was somehow given to Uwe Boll, the man with the Tidy Bowl touch; how he gets funding for his films, or the likes of Ben Kingsley to star, is beyond me. As if videogame movies didn't have enough of a stigma attached to them, he's gotta go and add clumsy, unnecessary sex and friggin' robots to Alone in the Dark (the early twentieth century, H.P. Lovecraft inspired adventure/horror game). Unbelievable.

Originally Posted by Keith Wakeham

It seemed to have some visual elements similar to Saw and Hostel.

Not to mention Jacob's Ladder, as the game did, also drawing from Stephen King's "The Mist", and Dean Koontz's "Phantoms". Game number three in the series even included at least one reference to "Session 9" (the shot with the wheelchair in the hallway, where the light's falling on it from a corridor off to one side). Lots and lots of little nods and homages--and outright name dropping--in the games, hopefully the movie will have more of that for those of us with way too much time on our hands.

[James Llewellyn]

Uwe Boll got funding and such through a loop hole in the German gov that was recently corrected. So hopefully we'll see less of him in the future unless he actually decides to clean up his act.

[Robert Martens]

Yeah, I heard that as well (though it always struck me as a bit urban legendy), but it seems unlikely to affect his films, as explained in this article on game news site Shacknews: http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/39376/

Seems there are plenty of other loopholes for the guy to take advantage of. I've been thinking this whole situation would make for a perfect parody of The Producers, no? "Under the right German tax loophole, a producer could make more with a flop than with a hit!"

[Travis Maynard]

That trailer gave me a reason to be proud to live in West Virginia.

That's all I have to say.

[James Llewellyn]

Originally Posted by Travis Maynard

That trailer gave me a reason to be proud to live in West Virginia.

That's all I have to say.

Hear hear.

It kinda wants to make you wonder out to those creepy abandoned parts outside of town (or in some cases in town).

[Andy Graham]

You guys actually have those kind of ghost towns out there?. Man I could have a field day with my camera in places like that, You don't get many ghost towns in scotland apart from the dodgy parts of Glasgow where you do get the occasional zombie with a buckfast bottle and they aren't so much fun to film...always tryin to steel your kit!

Andy.

[Travis Maynard]

Originally Posted by James Llewellyn

Hear hear.

It kinda wants to make you wonder out to those creepy abandoned parts outside of town (or in some cases in town).

Yeah, there's some freaky abandoned places in WV.

In the fall at around 4am, the city I live in looks just like something from Silent Hill.

Kinda creepy.

I've never seen any zombies, but a lot of scary hillbillies. Very...scary... ;)

[James Llewellyn]

Originally Posted by Travis Maynard

Yeah, there's some freaky abandoned places in WV.

In the fall at around 4am, the city I live in looks just like something from Silent Hill.

Kinda creepy.

I've never seen any zombies, but a lot of scary hillbillies. Very...scary... ;)

They might as well be zombies, especially after all bars close.

[Robert Martens]

Originally Posted by Travis Maynard

I've never seen any zombies...

As well you shouldn't, seeing as there are no zombies in Silent Hill; a zombie is, in the classic--and as far as I know, only--definition, an undead human. Sometimes you can extend this to animals, as well, but it's mostly people we're talking about. The creatures inhabiting Silent Hill are humanoid at best, but are hardly normal, everyday people who have risen from the grave to eat brains. They are, depending on which theory you subscribe to (I've forgotten what the official word from the developers is), either simple demons straight from the great down-under, or figments of the characters' imaginations, custom formed for each individual who visits the town, and based on their own personal fears, meant to torment them in some way. Neither of those counts as "zombie" by my reckoning.

Nothing personal, of course, I'm just anal about my Silent Hill. ;)

And by the by, I must unfortunately report that the movie, like so many others these days, was shot entirely in Canada (the towns of Brampton, Brantford, Hamilton, and Toronto, Ontario to be exact). Miserable cheapskates, I say.

[Keith Loh]

Originally Posted by Robert Martens

And by the by, I must unfortunately report that the movie, like so many others these days, was shot entirely in Canada (the towns of Brampton, Brantford, Hamilton, and Toronto, Ontario to be exact). Miserable cheapskates, I say.

I realize this is a really sensitive topic to American film workers so I've edited my initial response. Just keep in mind that this board has quite a few people who work in film who are based in other countries, including Canada.