The sequel to the 2006 film “Silent Hill,” “Silent Hill: Revelation” returns viewers to the eponymous town. Based on the video game “Silent Hill 3” the plot revolves around Heather Mason, a girl who has moved to a new town with her father. The pair has a history of moving and changing names, along with being cautious of others. Heather and her father have a connection to Silent Hill however, and Heather must travel there to rescue her father when occultists capture him.

The film is bogged down by a confusing plot that attempts to be more complex than it is. In terms of scares for horror fans, this film fails to deliver. Many of the creatures featured are unimaginative and forgettable. The transitions to the “dark world” presented happen too frequently and thus do not feel important the longer the characters spend in them. Set pieces including a nightmare circus, feel out of place with the rest of the film. Creatures are defeated within seconds of being introduced, rendering them pointless.

The film has a problem with pacing. It is an hour before the main characters reach Silent Hill. The preceding half of the film is Heather constantly stating she does not trust anyone but her father. Aside from that, several jump scares appear in her nightmares and daydreams. There are also several scenes that occur that do not contribute to the main plot and are never mentioned again.

Viewers coming into this film will be lost as several concepts and characters from the first appear with little to no explanation. Fans of the video game will be pleased, however, that characters maintain their names, and the plot starts off being a fairly faithful adaptation. This does not last long though, as the film changes the plot to make it fit the universe created by the previous film, though unsuccessfully.

Heather, (Adelaide Clemens “Vampire”) is an unlikeable protagonist. Early in the movie she gives a speech telling others to leave her alone. Her words and actions make it difficult for audiences to connect with her. The character Vincent (Kit Harrington TV’s “Game of Thrones”) is completely inconsequential to the plot. He is simply another new student at Heather’s school and attempts to befriend her eventually becoming her love interest. Often he disappears for long periods of time, which makes him forgettable. Overall he makes a minimal contribution to the film, as any action he makes is pointless or ends as a failure. Sean Bean (“Mirror Mirror”) reprises his role from the first film, though under the alias of Harry Mason. As Heather’s father, he is the driving force of the plot as she attempts to rescue him. Bean proves to be a stand out role in this film; he portrays a father trying to protect his child from a dark past well. Rounding out the cast is Carrie-Anne Moss (TV’s “Vegas”), as the main villain, Claudia Wolf. Her character’s motivation made little to no sense and she barely appears in the film.

Overall “Silent Hill: Revelation” fails to live up to its videogame roots. It is a movie with little in the way of scares and has a near incomprehensible. Unless viewers have seen the first film, they will not know what is happening. The characters appear lifeless and wander from one place to the next with little motivation. Audiences looking for a good horror film may wish to look elsewhere.