Silent Hill Homecoming

Survival Horror video games like Silent Hill Homecoming have really grown on me. During my tenure here at IndieGala, grew to love and admire this particular genre. You might say I love it, even. However, in this particular post, I’ll explore a rather familiar game. Silent Hill Homecoming. Indeed, I already mentioned Silent Hill Homecoming in my previous Silent Hill post, but now I’ll divert my focus on another movie. The 2012 sequel called Silent Hill Revelation.

Silent Hill Homecoming With A Long-Awaited Sequel For The Franchise

Yup. Same video game, different movie. And a brand new post. Why? Because I feel that it’s too good of an opportunity to ignore. Furthermore, you can’t write about the 2006 movie without mentioning the sequel. And boy what a sequel it is. But I have a confession to make about this movie as well. Unlike the first Silent Hill movie, I have not seen the sequel until just now. Nor I have played the Silent Hill 3 game by Konami. My only previous experience with the Silent Hill franchise is the Silent Hill 2 game. But it was an enjoyable experience overall. So, I’m not complaining. Every opportunity to write about the franchise is an excitement I can’t even begin to explain. As you can imagine I really relished writing about Silent Hill.

Silent Hill Homecoming

Silent Hill Homecoming: A Mix Of Old And New Faces

Unlike the first Silent Hill movie, Silent Hill Revelation was a different experience for me. Unlike the first movie, I didn’t even know that the sequel existed, but I was pleasantly surprised. Until I actually tried to watch the movie, but I figured… Hey, not all sequels are Godfather II. I thought I give it a shot.

The sequel has even a brand new director behind the camera. Indeed. M.J. Bassett (formerly known as Michael J. Bassett) took over the directorial job in the 2012 sequel. And he also got the job of writing the script as well. Here’s an interesting fact about Bassett. She’s set to direct a TV adaptation of the cult video game Halo. Yes. The Halo TV series is due to be released in 2021 and so far 9 episodes are confirmed. Will you watch it? Frankly I will if this pandemic keeps up the pace. I mean what else am I going to do? Go to the movies?

But back to the Silent Hill Revelation. Is it a good movie? No. A hard and solid NO. Is it an improvement on the previous movie? Hardly. It’s definitely not worth revisiting, but hey. Personally I love a good challenge. Or in this case, a bad challenge. And an excuse to watch a movie, regardless of how bad it is. But despite the terrible reviews from most of the critics, the sequel was still a moderate success at the Box Office. However, at the start of this year, the Silent Hill director Christophe Gans expressed an interest in working on a new film. He’s is developing a script for the movie which will be set in a small American town ruled over by Puritanism. So there’s hope Silent Hill fans!

Silent Hill Homecoming

The „Starks“ Are Together Again

But Silent Hill Revelation is truly a mix of old and new faces in front of the camera. First and foremost, Sean Bean is back. And in a slightly bigger role than in the previous movie. Emphasys on the slightly, but let’s not nitpick here. He’s finally Harry Mason here, but he’s not the only returning actor. Deborah Kara Unger returns as Dahlia Gillespie, while Adelaide Clemens plays the older Heather Mason. The second Game Of Throne’s alum (aside from Sean Bean) Kit Harington is in the role of Vincent Smith. While Carrie-Anne Moss plays his mother Claudia Wolf. Radha Mitchell has a cameo-like role, and last but not least, Malcolm McDowell is wasted here. But that happens more than you think, so we’re used to it by now.

Production Problems And Regrets

Let me just state that even the director is openly dissatisfied with how with the final version of the movie. Moreover, there are multiple retcons and continuity mistakes concerning the original Silent Hill. Many of the errors are due to Bassett’s efforts to force the film to match the essence of the games. While others seem to have no real reason for being there whatsoever. What do you think? However, Bassett also stated that he would not change anything in the first film’s continuity. The movie is a “sequel first, adaptation second”.

Azura's wisdom to you, friend — Imagine: Pyramid head taking an interest in  you

If you recall Sean Bean and Kit Harington played father and son in the cult TV series Game of Thrones but this was Kit’s film debut. And he wasn’t holding a much promise. His accent was dicey at best, and his devilish dual intentions were prosaic from the get go. But, the casting of Adelaide Clemens is a fascinating story to tell. The director asked the fans (through a blog) to suggest the names of actresses that could play the role of Heather in the movie. The only requirements were to have an IMDB page and to have previous acting experience. Hence Adelaide was eventually chosen for the role.

However, I’m not entirely sure that she’s the right actress for the job. Her outfit had more layers than her acting in this movie. I understand that she was a rather rookie actress, but the child actor Erin Pitt did a much better job in a triple role back in the first movie. And speaking of great actors, Malcom McDowell is in the sequel.

Great Actors But Wasted Potential

The poor man had to wear such uncomfortable lenses that it caused problems with his eyesight later. However it was to no avail. his screen time clocks in at measly 3 minutes in the movie, and I thought that he deserves so much better. I mean, this is one of the greatest actors of his generation, and he’s not given a change to show a 10th of his range. But I must admit, his talent shined through even in this blink and you’ll miss it role. Seriously, if he was brought to elevate the cast, he did not did a good job. But it wasn’t even his fault. You can blame it on pretty much everyone but him. Mostly the director/screenwriter but I digress.

Again. Why bother getting him in the cast in you’re not going to use him wisely? The sames goes for Carrie Ann Moss. She’s was outstanding in this one-dimensional villain role that didn’t really paid off artistically. And was a little disappointed to learn that Kit didn’t play the Silent Hill games (any of them) before doing this film. He cites fear as the main reason for that but I think it’s just laziness. It’s like not reading Anna Karenina before you agree to play the titular role. I mean come on! At least play a little bit of the game man. At the very least it will give you an insight into the atmosphere, the characters and so much more.

  •  Silent Hill Homecoming

High Hopes For The Future

Earlier this year, Christophe Gans confirmed (on Twitter) that he’s working on a new Silent Hill movie. Likewise, he’s working on an adaptation of the terrifying Fatal Frame (aka Project Zero) franchise. And despite calling the response to Revelation „brutal“ it turns out that Bassett is not a fan of Gans’s 2006 movie as well. So, the feeling is mutual I suppose. However the release date of the new Silent Hill movie is still a mystery though, but I doubt that it will happen in 2021. Not while this pandemic is in full attack mode.

And compared between the two movies, 2006 is definitely the superior one. Both in terms of visual quality and structural quality. The script, the direction and the acting are abysmal here despite having a top-notch list of actors,. Oh and the cinematography from Maxime Alexandre is not doing the movie any favors either. The plot is very much all over the place, and the horror that’s very much in demand is severely lacking here. Seriously the first movie feels like a Citizen Kane compared to the sequel. But hey… It’s a new experience for me nonetheless.

Your Thoughts on Silent Hill Homecoming

What are your thoughts and impressions on Silent Hill Homecoming? Did you like it? Or not so much? Tell us in the comment section. We’d love to know all about it.

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