Film adaptation of Silent Hill 2 is a mixed bag

Watching “Return to Silent Hill,” the film adaptation of the acclaimed psychological survival horror game Silent Hill 2, is like watching the latter through a broken mirror. All the original elements are there, but what’s reflected back is disjointed, a tableau that’s familiar but not. The effect has “Return” feeling more like a retelling than an adaptation — one that’s frustrating and compelling in equal measure. 

For those who haven’t played the video game (please, go play it), Silent Hill 2 is a gutting examination of grief that follows James Sunderland as he battles monsters, figurative and literal, in his quest to find his wife amid the haunting grotesqueries of the lakeside town of Silent Hill. “Return to Silent Hill,” directed by Christophe Gans (who also helmed “Silent Hill,” the enjoyable if slightly schlocky 2006 film adaptation of the first Silent Hill game), follows the same basic premise — until it doesn’t. 

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Two “That never happened!” stars out of five.

Photo caption: Jeremy Irvine stars as James Sunderland in “Return to Silent Hill,” an adaptation of the video game Silent Hill 2. (Courtesy of Cineverse)