@The Forgetful Brain: She is a good actress, I agree. She looks a lot like Heather too... I entirely approve of that casting decision, but yeah, I really doubt it will happen. Now, let's just hope one of us wins the lottery soon and buys the film rights, hires the fans' dream cast (lol dreamcast?) and make an epic movie.
I wouldn't do that if I won the lottery though, I'm too intent on getting the rights/cast for Firefly season 2.
First movie was pretty good. It was scary. They didnt think gore = scary. I liked that about the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. I never played Silent Hill games, which is why I enjoyed the movie.
I approve this sequel, I just hope they dont water it down too much, and keep the tone and atmosphere of the first movie.
@TheOmnitron: This sequel needs to definitely keep the feel of the first movie. I was hoping the production team would stay the same, but I'm trying to take this one with a grain of salt.
Hmmm, very interesting. You almost never see older people as the lead in anything game related and I'm looking forward to seeing how they do it. I'm looking forward to the next Max Payne game for similar reasons.
I wonder what could have been done differently to avoid this being the route that these films have ended up going down.
I know the first film had major studio distribution in the US (Tristar, I believe, which is owned by Sony), but the production company, Davis Films, has a track record of releasing some decent, fairly non-commercial pictures. They backed True Romance and Good Night and Good Luck (although they've made plenty of crap - Resident Evil, Domino, Lassie, etc. - as well) so I was optimistic when they were announced for the project, even if they didn't have much of a horror CV. Plus Konami were involved in a production capacity.
But it seems that the first movie, despite some good intentions, was pitched at the wrong level. I got the feeling when I was watching it that some people fairly high up the chain of command didn't really have any idea what kind of an intellectual property they were dealing with, and it seems that that problem has only got worse.
The thing is, it doesn't take a huge budget to make a great horror film. Silent Hill is a story that takes place in a regular town, with regular people, and although it has some monsters and other supernatural phenomena, by far the most dominant special effect is fog, and you can get that for free if you know where to look. And there is no need whatsoever to cast big name actors in a picture like this.
So when Carmody says "They're not cheap, these things.", he's talking out of his arse. Rosemary's Baby, The Descent, 28 Days Later, The Orphanage, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, REC, Suspiria - these films all have two things in common; they're great horror films, and they were made on small budgets (by Hollywood standards, at least).
If this film was put in the hands of the right people - people who actually knew how to make sophisticated psychological horror - and they were allowed sufficient creative freedom, then the results could end up being worthwhile. But that hasn't happened, so it will probably be terrible.
Silent Hill has every potential to be a decent movie, it won't win any oscar but critics won't bash it. The game "has" a plot and the entire premise is not as cheesy as RE. The thing about it is that although set in America Silent Hill is very much a Japanese horror genre, which is why the game is so unique. The movie completely lacks this.
@starscar.exe: Reading that made me both laugh and cry on the inside for the idea that it's a real possibility that some, if not all of those would happen.
"I think we need to make it a little more accessible to the movie-going public"
translates into
"Videogame Movie"
And to keep with the theme set by other "Genre Movie" films, Superhero Movie, Scary Movie, Epic Movie, Date Movie etc etc, Its most likely going to be a big pile of steaming turd.
MrBounce promoted this comment
Edited by mikeck is too orangey for crows at 11/20/09 3:50 AM
mikeck is too orangey for crows was starred
mikeck is too orangey for crows was unstarred
"I think we need to make it a little more stupid and watered down to the movie-going focus groups", he told STYD. "Silent Hill is not a simple game we can toss the storyline out the window like most other games out there. It's a game that if we attempt to try, will make us look like morons. It has lots of smart people who like the series. They're not stupid and they'd smell a stink bomb a mile away. You have to appeal not to the fans, you have to appeal to a wider audience who consider 'Harold and Kumar' and 'Transformers 2' to be the best films of the past 10 years. So we have to spell things out to the point that it would make children's puppet theater look nuanced. I think that's all happening. Of course, [the story] is going to be my own personal fanfic without any respect to the canon and the main character - without giving too much away - is a young teenager who says all kinds of internet slogans, representatives to the idiotic public who will just buy a ticket on the name alone."
I thought the main issue (apart from the 'stellar' acting) with the film was that it tried to explain too much - and it wasn't satisfying.
A loose narrative thread, hitting a couple of, 'Ohhh - I gotcha' points, like the film the entire series was based on - Jacob's Ladder - or even a David Lynch film - would bring the film a heck of a lot more success.
But... ah. At this point, the magic eight ball would say: Outlook. Foggy at best. Bring knives.
@The Forgetful Brain: I think the problem with the first movie was the casting and partially the writer. The writer wanted to make his own twists (which sucked). I mean I understand putting your flavor into it, but come on- 80% of the dialogue is the main character yelling Sharon. Also with switching the male lead with the female lead, alot of the imagery/monsters didn't really fit with her view points.
@The Forgetful Brain: For real, I just wrote about Lyne (Jacobs Ladder) and Lynch in a previous comment mixed with a little bit of Argento for suspense (and not fluorescent lighting).
The fun of Silent Hill is figuring it out and drawing interpretations for yourself. Take away the ambiguity and "what the fuck" moments, and it's not Silent Hill anymore.
The first film did a good job at capturing the game's tone. It faltered in the second half, but this is the chance to fix it, not make the whole movie that way. Don't turn it into "Friday the 13th Part 11: Jason Has A Pyramid On His Head".
Making a movie "Accesible to the movie-going public" will, y'know, RUIN IT. Idiot.
The first movie appeals to anybody who likes semi-scary horror thrillers. Just because it's very, very loosely based on a game doesn't change that.
There's no reason to change anything. If you DO want to change anything to "appeal" to more people, you're just in it for the money, and should quit before you even start. The point of a movie is to tell a story. If your main worry is whether or not it's going to appeal to a lot of people, then you're obviously not in it to tell the story and nobody should give you any support...
@WhiteMåge: Also, was not the plot of this one going to be based on SH3? I seem to recall being WILDLY EXCITED about that, but now knowing this jackass is in it just for the money and not to make a good movie, I'm depressed.
@WhiteMåge: Actually, everything and everyone is for the money. To think otherwise (especially from movie biz) is just.. stupid.. very stupid...
People in general try to sell their smelly dingleberries to the highest bidders in the highest amount.. A general rule is if your dingleberries smell less putrid then the rest you might make more but in the end, it is still dried feces.
Now if you would excuse me, I must go back to my dark castle and ponder *poof*
@MrBrau: Yes, people do things for money. Thank you for that amazing revalation.
But people WRITE movies to tell a story. And if your focus when writing it is to make sure it appeals to mindless masses instead of telling a good story...then you're a moron and nobody should give you the time of day.
The "writer" wouldn't have a job if he didn't keep its audience in mind.
Specifically you are arguing that they should write a "good" story in your view.. well ok.. that "good story" in your opinion might not make a single dent even though it is held to your standards. It would seem
Apparently the people producing this product feel that the story in its current form is not up to snuff to what people would like to see in a MOVIE. It might be garbage, but if thats what people want to thrown at them and are willing to pay for it, what can you do?
I think you should turn your criticism towards the movie goers instead and hold them accountable for their taste..
12:25 PM
If they decided to go with Silent Hill 3, the girl from the signal would be the perfect Heather.
Not to mention she's a really good actress.
Shame there's no chance in hell that will happen.
12:56 PM
I wouldn't do that if I won the lottery though, I'm too intent on getting the rights/cast for Firefly season 2.
11:21 AM
I approve this sequel, I just hope they dont water it down too much, and keep the tone and atmosphere of the first movie.
01:05 PM
08:25 AM
Yeah... despite all the critics, I liked the first movie.
And it's important to stress that I didn't play any Silent Hill game.
I had to read some wiki entries to understand the whole thing a bit, but the movie was good the way it was.
06:33 AM
05:07 AM
I know the first film had major studio distribution in the US (Tristar, I believe, which is owned by Sony), but the production company, Davis Films, has a track record of releasing some decent, fairly non-commercial pictures. They backed True Romance and Good Night and Good Luck (although they've made plenty of crap - Resident Evil, Domino, Lassie, etc. - as well) so I was optimistic when they were announced for the project, even if they didn't have much of a horror CV. Plus Konami were involved in a production capacity.
But it seems that the first movie, despite some good intentions, was pitched at the wrong level. I got the feeling when I was watching it that some people fairly high up the chain of command didn't really have any idea what kind of an intellectual property they were dealing with, and it seems that that problem has only got worse.
The thing is, it doesn't take a huge budget to make a great horror film. Silent Hill is a story that takes place in a regular town, with regular people, and although it has some monsters and other supernatural phenomena, by far the most dominant special effect is fog, and you can get that for free if you know where to look. And there is no need whatsoever to cast big name actors in a picture like this.
So when Carmody says "They're not cheap, these things.", he's talking out of his arse. Rosemary's Baby, The Descent, 28 Days Later, The Orphanage, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, REC, Suspiria - these films all have two things in common; they're great horror films, and they were made on small budgets (by Hollywood standards, at least).
If this film was put in the hands of the right people - people who actually knew how to make sophisticated psychological horror - and they were allowed sufficient creative freedom, then the results could end up being worthwhile. But that hasn't happened, so it will probably be terrible.
04:44 AM
03:10 AM
-Toilet humor like farts and shit to appeal to all the kids.
-Megan Fox because she's such a phenomenal actress much like Jessica Alba to appeal to all the desperate fanboys.
-50 Cent so we can appeal to the hip, urban crowd.
-Pyramid Head will take off his mask and be played by [insert incredibly lame boy-actor who happens to be famous this week].
-And Milla Jovovich to make things that much more predictable.
OH! Did I mention Paul W.S. Anderson is the new director? Guess you didn't get THAT memo.
03:45 AM
You know, I was thinking the same thing. Afterall, "Wider Audience" is a euphemism for "Shit Sandwhich".
04:30 AM
12:21 PM
12:37 PM
01:08 PM
01:49 AM
translates into
"Videogame Movie"
And to keep with the theme set by other "Genre Movie" films, Superhero Movie, Scary Movie, Epic Movie, Date Movie etc etc, Its most likely going to be a big pile of steaming turd.
You heard it here first.
02:21 AM
03:47 AM
10:10 AM
And that movie had nothing else going for it. Poor plot, poor acting, poor characters, etc.
12:35 AM
"I think we need to make it a little more stupid and watered down to the movie-going focus groups", he told STYD. "Silent Hill is not a simple game we can toss the storyline out the window like most other games out there. It's a game that if we attempt to try, will make us look like morons. It has lots of smart people who like the series. They're not stupid and they'd smell a stink bomb a mile away. You have to appeal not to the fans, you have to appeal to a wider audience who consider 'Harold and Kumar' and 'Transformers 2' to be the best films of the past 10 years. So we have to spell things out to the point that it would make children's puppet theater look nuanced. I think that's all happening. Of course, [the story] is going to be my own personal fanfic without any respect to the canon and the main character - without giving too much away - is a young teenager who says all kinds of internet slogans, representatives to the idiotic public who will just buy a ticket on the name alone."
12:14 AM
I thought the main issue (apart from the 'stellar' acting) with the film was that it tried to explain too much - and it wasn't satisfying.
A loose narrative thread, hitting a couple of, 'Ohhh - I gotcha' points, like the film the entire series was based on - Jacob's Ladder - or even a David Lynch film - would bring the film a heck of a lot more success.
But... ah. At this point, the magic eight ball would say: Outlook. Foggy at best. Bring knives.
12:42 AM
11:58 AM
Such a waste of good resources.
12:20 PM
Exactly. It hurts because they were so close.
Sigh. And about to get further, it would seem.
12:06 AM
The first film did a good job at capturing the game's tone. It faltered in the second half, but this is the chance to fix it, not make the whole movie that way. Don't turn it into "Friday the 13th Part 11: Jason Has A Pyramid On His Head".
11/19/09
Making a movie "Accesible to the movie-going public" will, y'know, RUIN IT. Idiot.
The first movie appeals to anybody who likes semi-scary horror thrillers. Just because it's very, very loosely based on a game doesn't change that.
There's no reason to change anything. If you DO want to change anything to "appeal" to more people, you're just in it for the money, and should quit before you even start. The point of a movie is to tell a story. If your main worry is whether or not it's going to appeal to a lot of people, then you're obviously not in it to tell the story and nobody should give you any support...
11/19/09
12:08 AM
People in general try to sell their smelly dingleberries to the highest bidders in the highest amount.. A general rule is if your dingleberries smell less putrid then the rest you might make more but in the end, it is still dried feces.
Now if you would excuse me, I must go back to my dark castle and ponder *poof*
12:26 AM
But people WRITE movies to tell a story. And if your focus when writing it is to make sure it appeals to mindless masses instead of telling a good story...then you're a moron and nobody should give you the time of day.
12:40 AM
The "writer" wouldn't have a job if he didn't keep its audience in mind.
Specifically you are arguing that they should write a "good" story in your view.. well ok.. that "good story" in your opinion might not make a single dent even though it is held to your standards. It would seem
Apparently the people producing this product feel that the story in its current form is not up to snuff to what people would like to see in a MOVIE. It might be garbage, but if thats what people want to thrown at them and are willing to pay for it, what can you do?
I think you should turn your criticism towards the movie goers instead and hold them accountable for their taste..
12:47 AM
Movie makers do not have to appeal to everyone.
11/19/09
11/19/09
I'm not asking for one of my favorite movies, but maybe one of my favorite game-movies?
11/18/09
They might have copyright issues with Kojima!
Johnny Sasaki looks a helluva lot like Ghost without the bowel issues.
11/18/09
11/18/09
At least Ghosts has a semi hint of him being US Navy SEALs due to the skull design on his balaclava.
Where as Johnny well is just another soldier with a balaclava.