Bob's Quick Look: Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)

This film takes place 6-7 years after the events of “Silent Hill.” Sharon is about to turn 18 and is starting a new school; the fifth school since going on the run with her father. We find out that Rose had found a way to return her to the world of the living, but she herself in still trapped in Alessa’s tangent nightmare world. But the people stuck in that world, namely the sinister cult that first burned the little girl alive and created the demon, wants her back. She comes home to find her father abducted and members of the cult chasing her down. So she returns to the nightmare to find him and find a way to get them both out.
*Spoiler Alert* Even though this movie does not stand up to the original, it still has things going for it, This is a good movie to see in 3D with blood and blades flying out of the screen. The creature design remains consistent with the first film, mixing new characters in with the favorites (yes Pyramid Head is back, he’s my favorite also.)
While there are good number of “jump scares” and a decent amount of blood in this film, it abandoned a lot of the atmosphere, ambiance, tension, and overall eeriness that made the first film so wonderful. It felt like they mixed in elements of teen slasher horror and “Saw” like torture porn and they came off as a little overpowering and slightly cheesy.
The movie did answer many questions left by the first movie; namely were Rose and Sharon dead or what? In this movie we learn they are not. They slipped into that tangent reality created by the little girl who was unjustly burned as a witch. The question now becomes how did they get into this universe? In the first movie how did the cop get in but Sean Bean’s character go into the town without leaving our world? How did Rose get Sharon out? Members of the cult could perform a ritual and go into the real world? Why not bug out and leave Alessa alone in her misery? Granted I've only seen this movie once so I might have missed something. Also, I am only somewhat familiar with the video games, so these things may make sense to those who have played through the series. But, not every movie goer is a gamer, and these things need explanation.
The ending made me feel a third movie is in the works. The father chooses to stay in the world to find Rose and Sharon and her companion ride away on an ominous truck ride, which most horror fans know always leads to bad things.
For the most part this is an enjoyable movie, but failed to live up to the original movie in terror and story factors. I’m not the hugest fan of 3D because of the gimmick and the price hike on movie tickets, but this is a good one to see in 3D.

Interesting note - This film is based on the 3rd game of the series. Sharon’s alias, Heather, is the same and she wears the same vest worn by the game’s main character.