Critics are overwhelmingly dismissive of the latest installment in the Silent Hill franchise, "Return to Silent Hill". The film, directed by Christophe Gans and based on the 2001 video game "Silent Hill 2", has been panned for its lazy storytelling and lackluster atmosphere.
Many reviewers have called out the film's inability to recapture the eerie uncertainty of the original game. Beatrice Loayza of the New York Times writes, "Return to Silent Hill aims for a similar uncanniness, but the result is less phantom realm, more jumbled assembly of cutscenes." Similarly, Jesse Hassenger of The Guardian notes that the hero's casual curiosity and obliviousness to danger makes for a tricky proposition.
The film has been criticized for its poor pacing and lack of tension. Jacob Oller of the AV Club bluntly states that it is "goofy and low-rent", while Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com writes that it delivers more of the same, but with little surprise or excitement.
On the other hand, Dominic Baez of The Seattle Times finds some redeeming qualities in the film's themes and visuals. He notes that despite its flaws, there is something compelling about how the story wraps up and justifies the characters' decisions.
Despite the overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, audiences have responded with a lukewarm reception, awarding the film a 32% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 100 user reviews.
Many reviewers have called out the film's inability to recapture the eerie uncertainty of the original game. Beatrice Loayza of the New York Times writes, "Return to Silent Hill aims for a similar uncanniness, but the result is less phantom realm, more jumbled assembly of cutscenes." Similarly, Jesse Hassenger of The Guardian notes that the hero's casual curiosity and obliviousness to danger makes for a tricky proposition.
The film has been criticized for its poor pacing and lack of tension. Jacob Oller of the AV Club bluntly states that it is "goofy and low-rent", while Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com writes that it delivers more of the same, but with little surprise or excitement.
On the other hand, Dominic Baez of The Seattle Times finds some redeeming qualities in the film's themes and visuals. He notes that despite its flaws, there is something compelling about how the story wraps up and justifies the characters' decisions.
Despite the overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, audiences have responded with a lukewarm reception, awarding the film a 32% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 100 user reviews.
this movie's tone is all off, feels like they took every good part of the game and mashed it into a mess, makes me wanna scream when that dude walks into the room for the first time lol 
and i mean 32% isnt bad, right? it's still getting people to talk about it and watch it, which is more than i can say for a lot of movies 
so lets just say its a quiet success or something 
maybe the critics just needed a little time to warm up to it after watching those other blockbuster flicks this year 
. It's not like they can replicate the exact experience of playing the game, but maybe that's the point? The atmosphere and tension are still there, even if it's not as "uncanny" as some people want 
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. And yeah, maybe the story isn't as twisty-turny as some of the games, but that's just not my cup of tea 
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. It's all about perspective, right? Maybe it's not perfect, but I think it's still worth watching 
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I mean come on, it's Silent Hill we're talking about here! all that eerie stuff is supposed to be creepy and whatnot 
it seems like they took all the creepiness and uncertainty of the original game, threw it in a blender, and hit puree... what happened to that eerie atmosphere? I mean, I've seen some lazy storytelling in my time but this is on another level 
. i mean, yes it's not perfect, but come on, its still scaring the crap out of people! 
the pacing could be better, and some parts are a bit meh, but the atmosphere is still super creepy and unsettling 
. also, beatrice loayza's review kinda sounds like she was expecting something that it's not trying to be 
. i think dominic baez has a point though, those themes and visuals are pretty compelling 
. maybe critics need to chill out a bit and just enjoy the ride 
instead of analyzing every little detail?
like what's next? anyway, i guess some ppl love the themes and visuals in Return to Silent Hill 
& thought they were getting something new. 32% rotten on RT is wild, maybe audiences are just trying to be nice? 
[SILENT HILL 2: THE MOVIE Sucks](https://imgur.com/a/N4vT3jF) 
](https://media.giphy.com/media/KKq9jDnCtBk5G/giphy.gif) 
[just like the reviewers said, it lacks tension and surprises 
I'm still gonna watch it though, just for nostalgia purposes lol 
the atmospheere is def not as eerie as i remembered from playing the game back in the day 
. it feels like they just phoned it in and didn't put enough effort into makin a compelling story 
. don't get me wrong, i love silenht hill 2, but this movie tries to recapture that magic and just falls flat 
On the other hand, I do think some of the themes are pretty interesting - like how the main character's motivations start to unravel towards the end 
those scenes where they just kinda hang out w/ monsters or what feel so forced i mean i get that the game was already kinda weird, but cmon can't they just play it straight for once? 