The 1999 release of video game Silent Hill was a breakthrough in the gaming world and a defining moment in the genre called "survival horror": its strange atmosphere, spooky imagery and deliberately slow pace entranced the world's joypad jockeys. So it's a surprise that this film adaptation seems to have learned little from the success of the game. The plot sees a young mother (Radha Mitchell) fleeing with her sick child to the mysterious, deserted town of Silent Hill, to prevent the girl from being placed in an institution. Director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) conveys some of the game's odd ambience, particularly in the opening act and the film's look is satisfyingly weird. But then the curse of the modern horror movie kicks in and we're treated to the usual repetitive jolts and threadbare monster effects. There are worse adaptations of video games out there (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Doom, to name but two) but this one will probably leave the PlayStation generation itching for their consoles.

Rose, a desperate mother takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose begins a desperate search to get her back. She descends into the center of the twisted reality of a town's terrible secret. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years earlier.