Silent Hill film

Apologies I deleted my previous post as I'd answered my own question.

On another topic, the Silent Hill film gets released here in the UK tomorrow (as well as a SH collection of 2,3 and 4 for PS2). Has anyone seen the footage of this so far?

For anyone familiar with the first game, the film is supposed to be based on it, only they've chnaged the lead (Harry Mason) to a woman. They're also incorparating parts from SH3 (a direct sequel to SH) into the films as well as elements of SH2 (which I'm not happy about as it's not really related at all).

At first I had hoped it would get rid of the curse of game-to-move films but after seeing how they're trying to add elements of SH2 into the story I'm now quite sceptical that it will be good. It certainly looks good but I hope they haven't hashed the story and effects up too much.

Hopefully I'll get to see it soon and post some impressions of it.

 

My thoughts are that it will succeed as an sub par film. A friend and I are going to check it out tomorrow. For the record I'm a Silent Hill fanatic. (Survival Horror/Action Adventure gamer)

Favorite Silent Hill games in order:

1. SH1
2. SH2
3. SH3
4. Did not like 4.

As you can see Konami makes the experience less memorable in each installment, but that doesn't mean they aren't enjoyable in their own right I guess.

 

Cool. In order of games I put my preferences as,

1. SH2
2. SH4
3. SH
4. SH3

SH3 was just too similar to SH2 to me, even tho the story was obviously different. For me, SH4 has the best story by far, I really got caught up in it and there's so much depth and darkness to it, it's just awesome in my eyes.

I really do like SH as well, I just prefer 2 and 4 but would say there is a large gap between 3rd and 4th place as SH3 seemed almost conventional as a SH game.

Having seen some footage of the film...at first I was impressed but now I'm just worried as some of the stuff looks quite tacky and below par and other things (such as Pyramid Head) shouldn't really be in the film as they have nothing to do with the 1st or 3rd parts of the story.

Like in RE: Apocalypse (those brave few who watched it) where they ripped off a section from the intro of RE:CV and put it in the film (supposed to be set at the same time as RE2/RE3), just cos it looked "cool".

 

I'm defo gonna watch it,but I think it will be cack and I will be walking out of it going 'tut this and tut that', although I am praying it's at LEAST sub par and not worth wasting £6.50.

Gotta love the SH series loads, number 5 is looking great, as fast as I'm aware the lead character is a mental patient and it starts in a hospital. Sounds fairly standard but can't wait.

1 is still my fave and I love the poetic'ness' of 2 with James Sunderland. 3 was the equilavent of RE:Nemesis and was action based. 4's story was great (as well as the first person stuff which I loved shenmue style) but I hated that you couldn't kill stuff without leaving swords in baddies, that put me off loads personally.

Still, fingers crossed, the film will be halfway decent.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Like in RE: Apocalypse (those brave few who watched it) where they ripped off a section from the intro of RE:CV and put it in the film (supposed to be set at the same time as RE2/RE3), just cos it looked "cool".

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Heh, they used a couple of intro sequences iirc. (RE3 intro when the zombies finally overtake the police on the streets)

 

Oh yeah, I realise there were some sequences from RE3 taken straight from the game, the things that annoyed me was that they ripped off a CV scene "because it was cool". CV happened months after RE3. They just put it in because it was an action set piece (it was originally Claire in Umbrella Europe's base IIRC).

In fact, no one seems to have realised there there is a big gap in the timeline from RE to RE2/3.

RE0 starts things which leads straight into RE. But there is a substantial gap of about 1 or 2 months or so between RE and RE2. RE3 is set before, during and after RE2. In the film it's like the prequel bit to RE finishes and leads straight into RE2. Also hated the fact they kept some stuff exactly right and then changed stupid parts (Mikail is now Uri, Nicholai is good, Jill's hair is black, NEW S.T.A.R.S. team etc).

Keep seeing loads of ads for SH on tv now and every time I do the effects look worse and worse. Some of the monsters look almost as bad as mid nineties SFX, they look really detached from the backgrounds they're suppose to be in.

I'm dreading to see what they've done with the original story and to see how they're going to try and explain what the hell is going on.

Praying they can at least put in a good Hospital section tho!

 

happy birthday you crazy *enter europen country here*

 

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LM_Akira said:

Oh yeah, I realise there were some sequences from RE3 taken straight from the game, the things that annoyed me was that they ripped off a CV scene "because it was cool". CV happened months after RE3. They just put it in because it was an action set piece (it was originally Claire in Umbrella Europe's base IIRC).

In fact, no one seems to have realised there there is a big gap in the timeline from RE to RE2/3.

RE0 starts things which leads straight into RE. But there is a substantial gap of about 1 or 2 months or so between RE and RE2. RE3 is set before, during and after RE2. In the film it's like the prequel bit to RE finishes and leads straight into RE2. Also hated the fact they kept some stuff exactly right and then changed stupid parts (Mikail is now Uri, Nicholai is good, Jill's hair is black, NEW S.T.A.R.S. team etc).

Keep seeing loads of ads for SH on tv now and every time I do the effects look worse and worse. Some of the monsters look almost as bad as mid nineties SFX, they look really detached from the backgrounds they're suppose to be in.

I'm dreading to see what they've done with the original story and to see how they're going to try and explain what the hell is going on.

Praying they can at least put in a good Hospital section tho!

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I just saw this movie today. It surprised the hell out of me. They recreated the game soooo well. This is probably the top game to movie adaptation thus far in film history. The effects are really crazy and fitting. It's one messed up movie thematically just like the games. Just go watch it if you like the series. It's a bit slow at time, but it recreates the game in many ways. You'll recognize certain parts almost exactly from the game.

 

Awesome, its atmosphere in previews definitely looks more like the SH games than the RE movies looked like the RE games. It's just too bad they replaced Harry, he was a cool square white dude, but now they've replaced him with a soccer mom with a perky hair cut.

Appearently, though, some people "don't get it".

 

Just watched it. Overall OK movie. I agree that it was quite faithful to the game in many respects--little things like the characters running from location to location, finding clues, jumping across stuff, pay tribute to the game in subtle ways--but sometimes I thought that the gaming perspective was a liability in the sense that not all things translate well over. For example, some of the monsters were a little ridiculous on screen even though they were great in game. But it was an entertaining movie nonetheless, and I quite liked the ending.

There is not much character arc however in the movie. The only one came pretty early I think when the protagonist survived the second darkness. But that's probably about it. No other character really changed in any fundamental way.

 

Yeah, being too true to the source material was also the movie's weakness. It's simply too slow at time and really doesn't have any point to the plot. As a fan of the game though, I feel that it was time well spent.

 

Yeah, I've still not had to chance to see the film yet but have actually heard some good feedback from fans of the series.

However I've also heard that the story has been hashed up a little and the ending is made to accomodate the modified story and doesn't really reflect any of the endings of the games.

I've also heard several people say it's the best game-to-film adapation yet. Looking forward to watching it now.

Vith: Domo arigato! But if I'm being true, I'll never really feel part of Europe, I'll always be English! lol

 

I thought this movie was very well done, and without ruining anything in the movie, will say this, sure if you are the type to get madd because "OMG, HE DIDN'T HAVE A HEAD THERE WHEN I SAW THAT IN 3", then you will enjoy the film thoroughly.

 

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LM_Akira said:

Cool. In order of games I put my preferences as,

1. SH2
2. SH4
3. SH
4. SH3



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Damn, you got the same order as I do.

Well, it's probably off topic but, here's my RE preferences:

1. RE2
2. RE3
3. RE
4. RE4
5. RE CV

As for the Outbreak series, I just consider them to be a whole other league as I really didn't enjoy them much in terms of storywise.

Ciao!

 

I keep hearing good things about this film, should be seeing it during the week with some peeps.

As for RE, where's RE0? My RE list would go...

1. RE2 (without a doubt)
2. RE remake
3. RE4
4. RE0
5. RE:CV
6. RE original
7. RE3

I put RE3 so low as it's simply a regurgitation of RE2...in fact I was quite disapointed in a way with RE3 as it's basically just the B scenarios of RE2 played again. It has some nice touches but is more like an action game than a survival horror game. Plus you can unlock extra weapons on The Mercs which isn't really as skillful or as hard as time attacking the game under required conditions.

The RE remake is just awesome on so many levels it surpasses the original for me and I'd place RE4 and RE0 very close together.

I'm currently trying to get a 10 big star rank on SH4: That's doing it on Hard, in less than 2 hours, kill over 150 baddies, get all 52 memos. It's bloody hard!

Think I'll replay thru SH a bit before I catch the film, remember how it all started.

 

Believe it or not I still haven't played RE0. I just never got around to and now that you have reminded me it is starting to itch me to play it. I think I will go to my local GS tomorrow and get it.

 

While I'm here, my RE4 prefences are:

1. RE2
2. RE4
3. RE 1 Remake
4. RE Code Veronica
5. RE 0
6. RE3

RE2 is the best story wise and which the B scenario's had a Pulp fiction style to it where other elements to character's were introduced in the b scenario's and the story had a great double meaning, plus hunk and tofu bonus games.

RE4 I am still playing now, a year after I first played it. OK, it's 99% action, but it's just set piece after set piece of genius. And when you play the game as much as me, when you get to the lift before salazaar on Pro with No merchant and just pistol and grenades, you can feel like a man! LOL. Perhaps too easy in the long run (IMHO) but it's sign's of Capcom taking a risk and suceeding.

LM has already talked about this but for me it is great graphics, expanded story and the bonus modes of real survivor and invisible mode than increase the already sick replay value to bursting.

RE:CV has IMHO the most 'adult' storyline and has a great 'dark' feeling to it, although the mercaneries does feel rushed in my eyes, but the story feels v sinister.

RE0 was so hard and I would love it to be higher in my list, but I haven't had the time to play this as much as the others. I don't why to be honest, but if you like a challenge, THIS is the one to buy, no question. Gotta love leech hunter as well, one day I will get all 100!

Oh and I promise I will 10 star SH1 in ASAP! It's has to happen!

 

Res Evil/Silent Hill

Res Evil 4 is by far the best of the series (in terms of an actual game). It has such awsome gameplay that every other survival horror game looks like the walls from the prison in Silent Hill 4.

Res Evil 2 was a good game, but it was still so limited in comparison to the much better control system that the Silent Hill games had. The annoyance, of having to stand still and turn slowly around and then move forward was too frustrating, where as the Silent Hill games had a much more fluid control system. Silent Hill also made more sense (I know that is seems almost impossible that Silent Hill can 'make more sense') when it came to fighting, because you would make much more use of melee weapons, as there wasn't shit loads of bullets just lying around in random places, like sewers and graveyards, so you had to largely rely on using a rusty pipe to beat your enemies to death, so that you could save ammo for the bosses.
It was only when Res Evil 4 came out that it could really claim to be a better game than Silent Hill.

Think about it; of the two, resident Evil is the one which is more action based, and more about solving puzzles and whooping ass, where as Silent Hill has always been about ambience and atmosphere, freaking you out with subtle noises and sound effects, yet it was always Silent Hill which had the more challenging puzzles, and the better battle system (due to the more fluid control over the character).

This is something which boils down purely to personal preference, and what people think makes a better game.
To me, Silent Hill has (until Res Evil 4 came out, hence my reason for rating it the best) always been able to offer better gameplay, more entertaining puzzles, and many more scares, though Res Evil easily wins when it comes to storyline, I don't think it is enough to place it as the better series (though again, Res Evil 4 supercedes all of the other Res Evil and Silent Hill games)...

Just my opinions, take them how you will.

Ev2

 

Re: Res Evil/Silent Hill

Some interesting ponts from both of you.

I think you're right with some of your comments about comparing RE and SH.

RE is very much a "Hollwood" type game in comparison to the SH "cult/alternative" type game.

RE pretty much defined survival horror (yes I know there were actually other games before it that did survival horror but they never broke thru), wherby you're playing a crack police officer/S.T.A.R.S. member/army officer etc trapped in a situation you have to "survive".

SH moved away from this concept and gave you control of an "Average Joe" who's maybe not particularly bright, gets worn out after running for a but, can't fire a gun etc. Survival is still the key to the game but the whole of SH is based more on traditional Japanese horror than on American horror.

Said another way, If RE is represented by Romero's Night of the living dead, Dawn of the dead, Day of the dead, Land of the dead, SH would be represented by the Ring series or Dark Water or Ju-On (The Grudge).

They both present survival horror utilising the core basic elements but RE presents it with a pumped up stylised action, big guns, and huge plot arc involving a whole host of inter connected characters, with a more traditional stance on zombie horror films wheras SH presents it with the "eveyday average person" trapped within a bizarre, surreal world with a stance on Japanese ghost stories/horror and more pyschological horror than visible: After all it's scarier to be walking down a corridor and hear a host of bizarre sounds and NOT know what the hell is going on rather than walk down a corridor to blast the head off an ambling zombie with a shotgun. That said, some of these pyschological elements have been added into RE and RE0 to some extent.

Overall I enjoy both series equally, I don't think I could pick a clear winner.

(Shaun also bear in mind that SH came after RE2...it's quite possible the control system in SH was developed the way it was as there are quite a few gamers who dislike the RE series soley because of the static backdrops and control system).

 

Re: Res Evil/Silent Hill

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LM_Akira said:


(Shaun also bear in mind that SH came after RE2...it's quite possible the control system in SH was developed the way it was as there are quite a few gamers who dislike the RE series soley because of the static backdrops and control system).

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Ah, I see. For some reason, I was under the impression that the first SH came out at roughly the same time as the first Res Evil.