Rated R for violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity

By Patrick Sessoms
Beacon Columnist

posted Nov 2, 2012 - 2:36:56pm

For those who are fans of Silent Hill, this sequel is a far departure. Though confused, the original attempted a sincere adaptation of the video game franchise. With Revelation, however, it appears they stopped adapting and just programmed a game without any playable characters. Sloppy computer generated effects and campy 3D barely nose out of B-movie territory; it feels less a film than a montage of video game cut sequences. To make matters worse, the central mystery of the film is hardly intriguing or credible. If at all, it succeeds in its expansion upon the original film's most memorable and disturbing imagery. Maybe a little too much...

Revelation picks up a few years after the first film, with a now-teenaged Sharron (Adelaide Clemens) on the run with her father, Chris (Sean Bean), hiding out from the vicious cult that intends to kidnap them and take them back to the burning ghost town, Silent Hill. When her father gets snatched, Sharron ventures back and unlocks the mysteries of her past. Along the way, she meets a doe-eyed love interest (Kit Harington) who is determined to protect her from the horrors that await them. And there are many horrors in Silent Hill.

For the most part, Revelations is a straight-forward story with intense visuals that cater to fans of the video game series. It lacks the mystery of the first one, though the terrifying spectacle of the Darkness transforming everything in its path remains a fixture of the plot and imagery. It’s plenty creepy, but the repetitive grotesque scenes too quickly wear thin and, after a while, the creative team just seems desperate for thrills. Sequences shot at an asylum and an abandoned amusement park end up too cliché to resonate. Even a neat cameo by Malcolm McDowell fails to perk the film up.

Fans may delight in the new role that the iconic Pyramid Head plays in this film. He's still the fearsome, hulking figure he's always been, but this time around he shows up quite a bit more. Revelation introduces a few new creatures to the horde as well, but only one that's truly creepy. The other major addition looks like a rejected character from Hellraiser. In fact, a lot of this movie looks like it drew inspiration from that particular 80s horror flick. Revelations certainly knows what it wants to do, but its production team can't quite cut it.

Though Revelation is nowhere near as good as Silent Hill, and its use of 3D is painfully cheesy, there’s something fun about it. The real litmus test for most moviegoers will be whether or not they’re already a fan of the franchise. It’s more or an adventure flick than the survival horror you’d expect based on the series from which it grew, and in that respect it's entertaining and unique. It just tries so hard and misses the mark that one can’t help but feel pity.

Stars & Popcorn grade: 1 1/2 stars, 3 popcorn

— Born and raised in the sunshine state, Patrick grew up loving movies. He’s currently attending the University of Central Florida and is a Cinema Studies major. Along with being the president of Stars and Popcorn, he’s a player in the independent comics scene.

Sponsored by Liebe Entertainment Group, Marketplace 8. Click here to see showtimes for Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

Visit Stars and Popcorn at www.starsandpopcorn.com

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