Silent Hill: Revelation – A Review

The first Silent Hill is an underrated gem. Lumped in with the rest of the video game adaptations, it is instead an incredibly effective horror film. Visually stunning, with some good performances, Silent Hill had two big strengths: it created a terrifying atmosphere, and it refused to treat its target demographic like idiots.

Silent Hill: Revelation cannot quite live up to the promise of its predecessor. It continues the story several years down the line, with Heather (played by Adelaide Clemens) near eighteen years of age and living with her father, Harry (Sean Bean). She is being plagued by horrible dreams of a town called Silent Hill. She knows nothing of her real past, and the events of the first film. Unfortunately for her, the town itself is coming to take her back.

From the off, it seems as though the filmmakers were concerned with how ‘hard’ to decipher the original film was. The entire movie, in particular the first half hour, is full of expositional dialogue. The back story from the first film is clumsily explained through a series of clunky scenes, and even Heather’s immediate situation (being near-18 and going for her first day at school) is awkwardly explained in an early bit of dialogue with Harry.

There is, quite frankly, too much speech and not enough done with it. It is used to make the plot that much easier to understand – from discussing the history of the town of Silent Hill, to Heather’s origins, and even the mysteries of Silent Hill’s sect, the Order of Valtiel. Characters spend so much time explaining what is going on that there is no real chemistry between them. You do not feel Harry’s yearning for his lost wife, or the growing relationship between Heather and Vincent (played by Kit Harington, better known as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones).

An even worse problem is created, though: the characters do not appear all that phased by what they see. Whether it’s a sword-armed demon, the walls rotting around them, or a fairground made out of human remains, the characters barely react. Then, with each further moment of expositional dialogue, tension and fear are eradicated. It has to be said, though, that this is not a bad movie.

Silent Hill: Revelation does saunter along, disappointing, for about half of its run time. But, the moment Heather actually enters the town of Silent Hill, that all changes. Instead of the fleeting and relatively safe settings of the first half – a high school, a shopping mall, a motel – the atmosphere of Silent Hill is immediately oppressive.

The film, at that point, hits strong with a succession of fantastic horror set pieces. A twisted version of a mannequin warehouse gives us the most terrifying part of the film, and the fear continues well into Silent Hill’s mental asylum and dark carnival. The original visuals, such a triumph of the first film, come back to the fore to great success. A dangerous world of rust and decay, constantly shifting, is created. Not only that, but the monster designs are fantastic as well. Falling somewhere between David Lynch and Hellraiser, they are the kind of body-horror monstrosities that will slowly seep into your nightmares.

Given all of these stylistic positives – the art style, the monster design, and the sets –it seems a little strange that a decision was made to make it in 3D. Although there are moments where the 3D works quite well (during the snow storms and fairground scenes, for instance), there are large portions of Silent Hill: Revelation where it feels out of place. It takes away from the unique feel that the film has, and makes it feel a hell of a lot cheaper than the first Silent Hill. It also suffers from the usual problem with dark 3D movies – it is sometimes very hard to work out exactly what is going on.

Silent Hill: Revelation, unfortunately, doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Although the film is sometimes stunning – and terrifying – to look at, and although it contains some genuinely scary moments, it feels a little like a wasted opportunity. It falls down in the same places that the first one was strong: an unnecessary desire to explain every detail. It is good for a video game adaptation, but really that’s just a case of damning with faint praise.

In Defence of Disney’s Lucasfilm Buyout

By now I am sure you’ve heard the news about Disney’s spectacular Lucasfilm acquisition. Immediately after it broke, the internet was exploding with rage. One of the phrases banded about online was “this is the death of Star Wars”.

Is it really, though? This post is an attempt to give a rational, reasoned and positive argument about the takeover. I am cautiously optimistic about Star Wars: Episode VII. I am not saying that it will be a fantastic movie. It may well still end up being terrible. There are, however, reasons to be positive.

First, let’s look at Disney’s recent films. We all know their long-term history of consistently making absolutely fantastic movies. But in the last decade, there have been a number of more action-focused live-action features. We’ve had the Pirates of the Caribbean series, National Treasure, Tron: Legacy, and of course The Avengers.

“What’s that?” “Oh, it looks like another Disney buyout. Brace yourself.”

Marvel’s flagship is the main reason to be optimistic. Disney knows how to treat a franchise with a rabid fanbase. With The Avengers, they were careful not to deviate too far from the canon. They made not only one of the biggest films of this summer, but a film that achieved general acceptance from the original fanbase.

It’s more than just The Avengers, though. Disney has, over the years, shown that they are not afraid to broach adult subject matter in their films. Of course you have the subtleties of the Pixar animations – Finding Nemo, Wall-E, and Brave for instance – but even the more ‘meat-headed’ films in their catalogue sometimes move into darker territory. Tron: Legacy appears at first to be nothing more than a neon-coloured thrill-fest, until you realise that the story of the film revolves around the genocide of an entire race.

Merciless slaughter goes well with a techno beat and day-glo onesies.

Speaking briefly of Pixar, they’ve managed to create some brilliant films over the years. One in particular to point out is The Incredibles. Personally, I feel it’s one of the best superhero movies of all time, quite amazing considering that it is an animated children’s film. What is interesting is the way that Disney treats Pixar – and Marvel, for that matter. Pixar have been able to keep their own unique feel, in spite of being taken over. Disney knows that the best way to make money is to create excellent movies. Even John Carter, a huge box-office bomb, was not a bad film – it just happened to do poorly, be it because of a failure to reach a target demographic or simply hitting the market at the wrong time.

Having a consistently good end product is not something that can be said about Lucasfilm, however. Let’s face it: the Star Wars prequels are bad movies. There were strange changes made to the overall feel of the franchise, there was bizarre cinematography in every film, and awkward character tie-ins to the previous trilogy throughout. That’s without even getting into the awful acting and terrible scripts.

The rest of the original Star Wars content is not much better. The Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars series was passable, but the following CGI series and feature film were sub-par. The upcoming series Star Wars Detours looks absolutely abysmal. There hasn’t been a decent Star Wars videogame since the end of the Jedi Outcast trilogy.

After being forced to do a dance routine, Han was happy to be encased in carbonite.

At least all of the above was original content. Star Wars fans have, alongside new releases, also been subject to constant re-releases of the original trilogy. Each and every time, these ‘remastered editions’ shift more and more from the first three Star Wars films, chopping and changing one of the most loved film series of all time.

So, I’ll be blunt. What exactly can Disney do to make the Star Wars franchise plunge to new depths? Will they add annoying, furry creatures? They’ve been with Star Wars since Return of the Jedi. How about unnecessary CGI that adds nothing to the films? Say hello to Jar Jar Binks and the remastered editions of the original trilogy. Wooden acting and bad scripts? Rewatch any of the prequels. Terrible musical numbers? Have another look at Jabba’s palace in the remasted Return of the Jedi. Ridiculous cash-ins in other media? Try a couple of the Star Wars video games, like Masters of Teras Kasi, Super Bombad Racing or Star Wars: Demolition.

Lucasarts have already made Han Solo take part in a dance number. I don’t think there is much Disney can do to make the Star Wars name seem any shallower.

Skyfall: A Review – Plus News!

2012 has been a year of much-anticipated movies. The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit – all of them would have been the most hyped-about film in any other year. Then, of course, there’s Skyfall. The trailers have had people salivating for months. Early reviews called it the best Bond film ever made. And it ever-so-nearly lives up to the hype.

Sam Mendes has done an absolutely tremendous job in bringing Bond back to the fore after the disappointing Quantum of Solace. It’s full of great performances, has a water-tight script, and best of all is absolutely stunning to look at. The direction is vibrant, varied, powerful, and even a little emotional at times. Even if it’s not the best 007 venture ever, it’s certainly the best-looking one.

Skyfall takes a lot of risks, too. It’s a serious film with a surprising level of depth for a franchise built on the foundation of “man kills man, man sleeps with woman, man makes pun”. Without going into spoiler territory, it touches a little on the aftermath of a service agent’s life after missions, and what happens to an agent left behind by his agency. Not only that, but (whisper it) Skyfall briefly delves into James Bond’s personal history, and even M’s back story.

It’s also very interesting in terms of scale. The finale is not a villain’s volcano lair; in fact, the film drops in size steadily. In the first half of the film, Bond is in his natural habitat: jet-setting across the world, killing people and getting frequent flyer miles at the same time. But slowly, the scale shortens. We go to London, and then to a plot of land in Scotland. The end, in contrast to most Bond films, is incredibly small-scale and introspective. In spite of this – or perhaps because of it – it packs an incredibly powerful punch.

It’s rounded off with some great performances too. Judy Dench gives us another look at the stoic, witty M she so successfully portrays, and Daniel Craig simmers with pent up aggression throughout. Newcomers to the series Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris and Ben Whishaw deserve plenty of credit as well: particularly Whishaw, who brings Q bang up to date.

Javier Bardem steals the show, though. His performance as Raoul Silva is absolutely terrifying. A Bond villain to be proud of, he is dangerous, charming, seductive, funny, and completely and utterly insane. His plot doesn’t revolve around world domination, or wealth – he is not the greedy Bond villain archetype in the style of Goldfinger. Instead, Silva is entirely focused on the destruction of M and the MI6. He’s not a Blofeld. In fact, if he’s to be compared to anyone, it’s quite possibly The Joker from The Dark Knight.

It’s not the only comparison this film bears to Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, either. There are certain directorial similarities – in particular an abundance of breathtaking location shots, and a grounded sense of realism. The most important similarity, though, is the desire to build a film around themes instead of set-pieces. Skyfall has a message beyond “watch things get blown up”, and as a result, it is a much stronger movie than your regular popcorn-munching blockbuster.

There are a few quibbles to be had, of course. There are a few more light-hearted moments that jar a little with the overall tone, and there’s a particularly silly scene with Komodo dragons that doesn’t quite work. Thankfully, the film only has these few, minor problems.

In short, Skyfall is fantastic. It sits happily in the top tier of Bond movies alongside the likes of Goldeneye, Diamonds Are Forever and You Only Live Twice, continues 2012’s magnificent run of excellent major releases, and most importantly does something new – and positive – with one of the most beloved movie franchises of all time.

Apologies for the lack of new posts in the last couple of weeks. There have been a few exciting developments recently, one of which I can talk about. A number of my film fanatic friends, along with yours truly, have formed a brand new site called Geek Clique. We’re going to bring fantastic reviews and opinion pieces on film, including both new releases and retrospectives. If you head over to the site now you’ll see a wealth of other James Bond content.

So, if you fancy having a gander it would be much appreciated!

You can also see my awkward attempts at 8-bit sprites.

More new content here, and at Geek Clique, soon.

Video Game Franchises That Need to Come Back

Reboots aren’t only for movies. In the last few years we’ve seen new versions, or HD editions, of a number of classic games: Bionic Commando Rearmed, Twisted Metal, and Rocket Knight Adventures are only three examples. Coming up we’ve got Tomb Raider, XCOM, and DMC: Devil May Cry. Thanks to the ever-increasing love of digital distribution systems like Steam, Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network, reboots and remakes with similar game-play to their originals are easy to distribute and can be sold at a lesser price. Sure, some of them have failed – 2009’s Bionic Commando was a bit of a mess, equally so Golden Axe: Beast Rider – but there is hope out there for the forgotten franchises of gaming. Here’s a rundown of the series I would love to see return.

 

Road Rash

For years, the Road Rash games were my favourite racing games. Brutal, fast, exciting, and with a killer soundtrack, they were everything that a nineties racer needed to be. But, we’ve not had a Road Rash game since 2003, when Road Rash: Jail Break was ported to the Game Boy Advance. The original games are still a hell of a lot of fun to play, and have a real timeless quality. So, isn’t it time we had a bit of motorbike-based, road-racing, baton-smashing fun?

 

Streets of Rage

Speaking of brutal games, Streets of Rage was one of the best series on the original Mega Drive/Genesis. Taking on gangs of street thugs, Streets of Rage was part of that now-forgotten genre of the side-scrolling beat ‘em up. We had a sequel-of-sorts in Fighting Force on the original Playstation, a Streets of Rage update in all but name, but no actual update to the series. Given the recent resurgence of side-scrolling fighting games, such as Scott Pilgrim and the Final Fight rerelease, this is the perfect time to see a return for Streets of Rage.

 

Wizards & Warriors

Remember Rare? They were those totally awesome dudes who made titles such as Goldeneye, Donkey Kong 64, Killer Instinct, and Perfect Dark. Well, like I said in my last retro games review, they got started out on the NES. Wizards & Warriors was a series of very fun yet incredibly infuriating action-adventure games. Three were released on the NES, and one of the Game Boy. Since Acclaim’s demise, the rights now sit with Throwback games, but unfortunately they have no plans for a remake right now.

“Have at thee, evil moth creature!”

 

Flashback

Flashback is still one of the most stunning, immersive games around. A platformer with plenty of puzzle and action elements, it was one of the classics of the 16-bit era. Known for its absolutely fantastic, motion-captured visuals, people often forget just how brilliant this game is. We’ve seen a release of Another World, Flashback’s sister game, for iOS and Android, but it would be absolutely fantastic to see Flashback return to come consoles, either as a HD update or as a brand new game.

 

Heart of Darkness

Another platformer from the maker of Another World, Heart of Darkness was one of the best games on the Playstation. After your dog is kidnapped (or should that be dog-napped) by dark shadow beings, you go hunting after them. A simple, linear game, but plenty of fun and with a few gory moments, Heart of Darkness made big steps for cinematic storytelling on home consoles. Unfortunately, because of the in-fighting and fallout from the bankruptcy of Amazing Studios, it’s probably unlikely that Heart of Darkness will ever see another release.

 

Strider

Oh Capcom. You know I love you really. You’ve given us such wonders as Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Bionic Commando, and all those totally fucking awesome NES-era Disney games. But you should stop being such an incredible tease. Strider Hiryu is a playable character in the Marvel vs. Capcom games, so I know you haven’t forgotten about him.  Why not get him out of your intellectual property draw, dust him off, and let him run free with a new game? Oh, and while you’re at it, a modernised Mega Man game would be lovely, too.

Only total badasses are allowed in pictures as cool as this.

 

Arcanum

Sometimes I think I am the only person who played this. Published by Sierra, Arcanum is a steampunk isometric role-playing game released in 2001. Playing in a style similar to the Forgotten Realms RPGs or the original Fallout games, you play as the lone survivor of a zeppelin crash, forced to survive in a harsh world. The best thing about the game, though, is the magic vs. technology dynamic that vastly changes the game world. Given that steampunk is still seen as very cool by video game and geek communities (unless I am completely out of the loop), now would be a perfect time to bring back this universe.

 

Planescape: Torment

Speaking of isometric RPGs, Planescape: Torment is one of the best. Developed by Black Isle and using the same engine as Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale, it gives the player a strange, dark world quite different from the other Dungeons & Dragons universes. In spite of great critical acclaim at the time, Planescape: Torment has been forgotten about in the years since its 1999 release. However, Overhaul Games, the creators of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition, have said that if that HD remake is successful, then other games from Black Isle’s back catalogue could get the same enhanced treatment. Here’s hoping.

 

Alfred Chicken

Originally released on the Game Boy, and then ported to the NES, Amiga, and Super Nintendo, Alfred Chicken is a puzzle-platformer where you need to release a number of balloons before being allowed into the next stage. Was there a plot? Damned if I remember. But it had surreal visuals, strange characters, and completely absorbing game-play. The last game released was in 2001 on the Playstation, but I think the world needs more bright red chickens solving puzzles.

You look as confused as I am, Al.

 

Toe Jam & Earl

Finally, two of the most hip and happening characters of the nineties. They’re all the way live! They’re the bomb! They’re out of this world! If you don’t agree, talk to the hand, dude! The first two Toe Jam & Earl games were brilliant. Both were co-op games but were incredibly different: the first being a top-down collection game, the other a platformer. What did they have in common? A sense of humour lampooning nineties culture and brilliant visuals and game-play. There was a third game released on the original Xbox, but surely it’s time for a bit of colour and a bit of humour to return to video games.

 

That’s all for now. Finally, you may have noticed a wee bit of a gap between this post and my last one. Let me just say that there are some interesting things afoot that will hopefully come to fruition soon.

Next time: another retro games review.