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Reviews
The Tooth Fairy (2006)
Uneven storyline defies logic of the situations
I tried to finish this film three times, but it's god awful. Case in point: mom and daughter drive up to the bed and breakfast,mom stops for gas, crazy gas station weirdos mad at her hubby whose running the B&B try to rape her. She escapes, heads to B&B and instead of hubby going ballistic and she wanting to call the cops, story just continues with lukewarm behavior on both their parts. Wow.
Other action logic deficits abound. Acting is also lukewarm, and the next door neighbor's warning is delivered in a really corny, badly acted moment.
Moments of intense gore/death unevenly interwoven with lukewarm scenes of time-filler interplay between characters.
Less focus on gore, more focus on mood and story would have been appreciated.
Dellamorte dellamore (1994)
Wonderful cinematography, acting, gore effects and story
Rupert Everett plays Francesco Dellamorte, the forlorn, laconic caretaker of the Buffalora Cemetery, aided by a Curly-esquire, dim-bulb--but frenetic--sort of individual called Gnaghi. One slight annoyance, or nightly chore--if you will--is that they have to keep the newly buried dead underground. For reasons never mentioned, the dead keep wanting to stay undead. (Mr. Soavi, as noted in the IMDb trivia for the film, explains that these 'returners' are brought back to life by the mandragola roots that permeate the grounds of the cemetery. But that really doesn't tell us why, does it?) So Francesco and Gnaghi are kept rather busy returning the dead to where they belong--in the ground. To assist with this endeavor, Francesco keeps a revolver, which he uses liberally to shoot the dead, well, dead again. To complicate matters, Francesco refuses to let the town authorities know what is happening in the cemetery for fear he may lose his job, along with having to fill out all that bureaucratic paperwork. One aspect of all this bizarre supernatural activity that provides a bit of tension is that we never know, as Francesco and Gnaghi never know, which returners are going to take a few bites out of them, and which returners are just anxious to get back to their daily living routine (but really shouldn't, considering hygiene and all).
Francesco's night life, shooting and reburying dead people, is more interesting than anything else he does during the day, and that is a sad commentary on his existentialistic existence. For a man whose favorite pastime is reading the phone book, and who observes one day that "At a certain point in life you realize you know more dead people then living," things are not going all that well. But how can he get out of his doldrums? It is at this point that the voluptuous She enters his life. The woman, as played by Anna Falchi. He meets her during her husband's funeral. He is captivated by her beauty. How she could be married to such an old man surprises him, but she tells him that it was the sex. Her dead husband was indefatigable in bed. Hmmm...this is an Italian film, after all. Francesco does what he can to get closer to her, but it is when he shows her his ossuary--interesting double-entendre here--that she begins to fall passionately in love with him. It is here that the use of billowing cloth becomes most apparent as they embrace and kiss through the cloth. Billowing cloth appears throughout the film, and combined with the cinematography of long perspectives and close-ups, lends an impressionistic feel to the odd events surrounding Francesco. The ossuary itself is a wonderfully eerie and claustrophobic tomb filled with intertwined skulls, bones, earth and huge mandragola roots, suffused in a brownish-gold light. In the documentary, it is explained that the set was constructed in layers, then put together to create the finished look. It is quite a work of horrific art indeed.
As daylight fades and the night comes, blue ghost lights dance around Francesco and the woman. Soon both he and the woman are making love over her dead husbands' grave. Her husband, of course, is not pleased, and attacks them, killing his wife before Francesco can stop him. This being Buffalora Cemetery, however, she soon returns in her billowing death shroud to make passionate love again with Francesco. A little decomposition doesn't get in the way of his ardor, but her biting a rather large chunk out of his neck does. He makes sure she does not return this time.
Adding insult to injury, a busload of scouts, the mayor's fun-loving daughter, and fun-loving but careless motorcyclists, get mashed up on the roadway in a nasty accident, and soon fill up the cemetery, providing both Francesco and Gnaghi with much work to keep the mangled returners sedentary. Gnaghi, who does have some personal issues, takes a fancy to the mayor's daughter's head, and he soon has it out of the grave and into his apartment. She also takes a fancy to Gnaghi, and soon the two are singing and chatting up a storm.
The film shifts from absurdity to surrealism as Francesco begins to see the woman he loves in other women. Oh, and the meeting he has with Death I suppose I should mention also. Death is rather miffed that he keeps sending the dead back to the grave, so Death tells him it would be better if he just killed the living instead.
Francesco's existentialist angst spirals out of control, and he finally seeks escape from it all. Packing a few belongings, and Gnaghi, into the car, he heads out of the town, through a long tunnel, and into the outside world. Or does he? Has he found a resolution to his problems by trying to escape them? I dare you to watch this film only once.
IL Zombos Closet of Horror Blog
See No Evil (2006)
Generic but well acted, directed, scripted horror entry.
Perhaps it was my frame of mind, but it seems to me that 'dirty' and 'decrepit' in horror films are becoming, well, dirtier and more decrepit. When the police enter Jacob Goodnight's home they enter your now typical 'horror movie home for psycho, axe-wielder types'--smoky, dark, and bloody marks splashed across the walls. A girl's screams force them to move in without backup, and this being a horror movie with an axe and hook equipped--and really really big psycho--they might as well have carried their own body bags to save time. The scene is brutal, gory, and ends as to be expected.
Cut to a few years later, and we are briefly introduced to a group of so-old-it's-new-again-styled delinquents from the County Detention Center that would have made Sal Mineo and James Dean proud. As we meet each tough-to-be-cool kid, a text description pops-up on screen describing his or her crime against society, as if this were a video game and we are going to choose the character to play. Okay, I'll take the computer hacker delinquent for 500 life-points. I like computers. The computer hacker types usually last the longest in body count films, too. Not sure why, though.
As each body bag, oh, sorry--delinquent-- stepped on the bus, along with the police officer who had firsthand experience (really, no pun intended here if you see the film) with Mr. Goodnight, I imagined them in the order of elimination. He's going first, she's going second, etc. I am getting rather good at this sort of thing, but I must admit the director, Gregory Dark and writer Dan Madigan did manage to add a few twists that fooled me. They threw my count off. Damn.
The bus drops them off at the old Blackwell Hotel , which is appropriately 'horror film dirty and decrepit', so much so, I wondered why a handful of young delinquents are brought in for what is obviously a professional hazmat team's job. The hotel's rooms and hallways are dimly lit and saturated in grimy browns, blacks and dark colors. Roaches impudently crawl around and rats defiantly wiggle their tails in the open. There is garbage and stains of unknown origin everywhere, on the floors, the walls, the furniture, the bedding--in one word, disgusting. So, of course, the delinquents make themselves right at home, defiantly romping on the bedding and mattresses as if they were fresh linen, and nonchalantly sitting on just about anything they pleased. Meanwhile, I shifted uneasily in my seat, wondering what I was sitting on.
We are quickly treated to the obligatory naked girl in shower scene. To be fair, it is relevant to the story this time. Then the smackdown action begins, with Mr. Goodnight whipping out the old axe and hook. I must say I did enjoy Kane's performance. His acting in the WWF pays off here. There is also a nifty effect wherein when he's close and ready to attack, flies start buzzing around. You will know why when you see the movie. It reminded me of Candyman with his bees. What a revolting but oddly homey touch.
All through the mayhem, black and white flashbacks take us to Mr. Goodnight's upbringing, a sordid affair to be sure. The scenes are disturbing and well-handled, providing a backstory for why his fetish for eye-plucking and pickling is his number one hobby. (Eye-plucking seems to be one of those phases horror movies are going through these days.) The slaughter-action pacing is intense, fairly non-stop, and well choreographed (perhaps owing a little to Mr. Madigan's writing for WWF Smackdown!). It is by the numbers (or body count), but executed with verve and attention to gory detail. One scene that stands out is the terminal insult to injury when one unlucky girl pleads with Mr. Goodnight to let her go. Of course, not the best thing to ask when dangling out a high window with him holding the linen you are clinging to, but you cannot say he didn't listen. And if the long fall through the skylight doesn't kill you, well, that nice homeless dog you petted before, starved out of his mind--oh, and look, he's brought his cute but vicious buddies--might.
Eventually, the survivors wind up in the typically over the top 'horror film den of slaughter', otherwise known as Mr. Goodnight's apartment. What, no maid service? Dead bodies, parts of bodies, and lots of eyes, jars and ichor dress up the room. Again we are treated to flashbacks as he tries to communicate with his caged victim, showing his ill-treatment as a boy by his psychotically religious mom, who also kept him in a cage. As noted in other reviews, the room bells are tied to various beds throughout the hotel, tinkling when anyone may get an inkling, if you catch my drift.
The tinkling sends him off to find the culprits, and leads to a wonderful scene involving a two-way mirror, his ominous silhouette, and lots of crashing glass. The hunt is on once again, and the survivors start to fight back. A novel plot twist (at least I didn't see it coming) leads to a retribution and a non-sequel antic ending that is rather satisfying. While the film may be your typical romp in a deserted hotel with a bunch of smart-ass delinquents and a psychotic--got something in your eye?--brick wall of a killer, it does have its endearingly horrific moments. The acting, including Kane's turn as the murder machine, is good, and all in all, the film is worth seeing at a cleaner theatre, or on DVD (when available).
Zombos Closet of Horror Blog
Scarecrows (1988)
Creepy but script logic, acting could be better
Scarecrows is one of those films that, with a little more acting, a little more direction, and a lot more story logic, would have been quite compelling as a horror entry. As it stands, it is still a creepy film that has solid make-up and gore effects, and a premise that sustains the mood of terror in spite of itself. And hey, there are no teenagers getting killed one by one--just dumb adults, so that is a refreshing change of pace. And the plot line is amazingly similar to Dead Birds, with a precipitating robbery, an abandoned spooky house in the middle of nowhere, and demonic monsters. But just like Dead Birds, the adults are still witless, they run around cluelessly before getting slaughtered one by one, and they ignore the obvious danger.
In Scarecrows, though, we never really find out the supernatural why, and that sustains the atmosphere of creepiness. And like clowns, scarecrows can be very creepy; unless they look like Ray Bolger, of course. Escaping in a hijacked plane with the pilot and his daughter, after a robbery netting millions, a para-military bunch is double-crossed by one of their own; a very nervous guy named Burt. He jumps out of the plane with the big, and heavy, box that holds the money with apparently no plans as to how to move it around once he is on the ground. Being the dumbest of the bunch, he is murdered first. But not before he happens upon the Fowler residence, nestled snuggly amid lots of really creepy-looking scarecrows, and surrounded with a wooden fence encircled with barbed-wire and lots of warnings to stay away. And the weird weathervane on the roof, with the pitchfork and pterodactyl, should have been a warning sign, too. The inside of the house is also quite foreboding (to us in the audience, anyway).
Annoyingly, we must listen to Burt's thoughts in voice-over, as he walks around and mysteriously comes across the key to the decrepit truck in the yard. The way the key pops up would be enough to have my pants--with me in them--flying out the door. Perhaps it's just me, but I really enjoy watching people's lips move on screen, even when they are just thinking out loud. It helps to intensify the action, and gives the actor more to do than just look like what the voice-over is saying. Burt hoists the box onto the truck and makes his getaway. Sure why not? decrepit trucks always have lots of gas in them, especially with today's prices, and the battery? no problem. Now, I did mention that Burt was the dumbest of the bunch, and here is why (in addition to the above, of course). Wearing night-vision goggles to walk through the foliage and find the house, he takes them off to drive the truck away, and instead, turns on the headlights to see where he is going. Of course, the crooks still in the plane spot the headlights of his truck, and know where he is headed. Brilliant. He deserves to die. Definitely. I am not sure why he needed night vision goggles in the first place, as every scene is brightly lit, from the interior of the plane, to the night-time outside scenery, and the house. The cinematographer was either a. myopic, b. just out of school, or c. dealing with really cheap filmstock.
Burt meets his demise when the truck dies in the middle of nowhere. Go figure. One very nice touch, and there are, I must admit, a few in the film, is the fact that when he opens the truck's lid, there is no engine. Creepy, to be sure (and insert pants comment again here). The story logic fails when dead, now-stuffed-like-a-flounder-with-money-and-straw-Burt returns to the house. The rest of the bunch are there, rough him up, then realize that he is indeed dead, and was gutted and stuffed like a flounder with money and straw. Dead Burt does manage to put up quite a fight, though, and grabs one fellow by the mouth, pushing him through a window, causing him to bite off more than he could chew in a gorylicious scene. At this point, you would think they'd would be racing out of the house and back to the plane--but noooo, they decide to stay and look for the rest of the money. In fact, the whole Burt is dead episode is treated rather matter-of-factly, although one bright bulb in the bunch does argue, "Burt was walking around dead, for chrissakes!"
The stolen money suddenly appears on the grounds outside the house, and the crooks blithely go for the bait. Soon, another one of them, Jack, is dispatched, and again the scene is well done and horrific, involving a dull handsaw and no anethesia. Now there are three scarecrows going about wreaking mayhem, and one of them needs a hand, literally.
When one of the crooks sees the scarecrows and Jack getting scarecrow-ized, he starts screaming, running away like hell, and shooting off his gun in typical para-military fashion. So much for all that training under pressure crap. He meets up with the others and stops in his tracks to explain why he is screaming, running away like hell, and shooting off his gun, even though the scarecrows appear to be chasing him. Again, that script logic thing... Dead and gutted, Jack returns to the house, and goes after the screamer with the usual results. If you listen to Jack's demonic growl, by the way, you may notice, depending on your age, that it is the same monster-growling sound heard often in the Lost In Space TV episodes.
The last two survivors race away from the house and back to the plane, barely escaping. But do they? You will have to see the film to find out.
The Boneyard (1991)
Story good, execution so-so, pacing off
The Boneyard is an odd, uneven mix from director and writer, James Cummins. There are elements to the script, however, that make it an interesting and almost creepy story, but poor pacing, monotonous dialog scenes, and somewhat laughable special effects get in the way.
The original idea, to take a world-weary, burned-out and overweight psychic investigator, toss in a background story about child demons that spend most of their time devouring anything that moves, and mix them together in an understaffed, and soon to be closed coroner's building late one night, would seem to be a solid one, and one ripe with horrific possibilities suitable for any gore-hound or horror-head. But...by the time we get to the demonized and giganticized poodle terrorizing everyone toward the end, well, you can see where best intentions may have gone astray.
The film opens with a drawn-out scene wherein our two stalwart detectives, well-played by Ed Nelson and James Eusterman, enter the psychic's house (Alley, played with little energy by Deborah Rose) looking for her help on a baffling case involving a mortician and what appear to be three dead children. After trying to convince her to help them, they leave, and later that night, she has a disturbing psychic vision involving a very putrescent little girl with lots of long, stringy blond hair-- it always amazes me how the hair never seems to be affected in these films--that wants very much to hug her and thank her for her help in a previous case. Since this promising and effective scene has nothing to do with the story per se, except to change Alley's mind about helping the detectives, it seems out of place.
Back in the police station, Alley and the detectives listen to the interrogation of the mortician, and hear how the mortician's family has, for three centuries, kept the three child-sized demons he refers to as Kyonshi, from devouring living people by feeding them body parts garnered from the funeral home's attendees.
The coroner's building is where the story kicks into gear with veteran performers Phyllis Diller and Norman Fell, but not before we are subjected to a confusing flashback experienced by Alley, and an interminable dialog sequence between the two detectives where nothing happens. Show me, don't tell me, and if you must tell me, at least make it interesting. Luckily, the script is included as an extra on the DVD, and reading the flashback scene explained how the family tried to resurrect their children three hundred years ago with disastrous results. But how the dialog sequence was kept in still eludes me. It reads just as boringly as it was to watch, and provided nothing to further the story along. Alley snaps back from the flashback into a a vision of the three little demons awakening downstairs in the morgue, putting the detectives and morgue attendants in imminent danger. Due to poor direction, little tension is generated as Alley hurriedly makes her way downstairs to warn them.
The scene she comes upon, with dead bodies strewn everywhere, gobs of blood across the floor, and the little hellions eating away (especially one gustily attacking an open rib-cage) is suddenly gory, horrific and exciting.
Yummy, don't you think? A great scene that stands out in an otherwise so-so endeavor. Its very gruesomeness is a sudden and unexpected jolt that brings us back to the story. Mayhem ensues as the survivors try to escape the onslaught. They trap and kill one little bugger, but he manages to stuff part of his skin down Poopinplatz's throat (yes, that's the name of Phyllis Diller's character). She, of course, turns into a very tall and pop-eyed puppet demon, that really needed more money and better lighting. But we admire the effort.
More mayhem as they dispatch the tall, pop-eyed demon puppet. But then Floosoms, Poopinplatz's dog (yes, you read it right), licks up some deliciously bubbling yellow ichor oozing from a dispatched demon, and, of course, turns into the man-in-a-suit Floosoms' demon. One of the characters even lets out a laugh upon seeing the poodle demon, which I grant you, is a difficult subject to make horrific. Perhaps the director was anticipating the audience resistance to the concept, and had this character reflect our own disbelief.
In the midst of all this carnage, once again the story stops to allow a dialog exchange between two characters that does nothing to move the story along. Instead, we hear whys and wherefores, and the action grinds to a halt as we get unneeded background information. Alley and Floosoms finally square off, and the ending contains no sequelization-antics to spoil it.
The Funhouse (1981)
Zombos Closet Review: Good, atmospheric, creature-feature
The Funhouse presents a not so pretty picture of carnival life, and a somewhat pathetic-albeit homicidal-monster with a decidedly unhandsome visage, and penchant for mayhem.
The opening of the film is a nod to Halloween and Psycho, two other masterworks of the genre, and from there builds into a creepy story revolving around teen lust, sleazy carnival characters, and a 'man-made' monster that has needs like everyone else, but simply cannot satisfy them in more socially acceptable ways. A fascinating subtext running through the story is that it is a variation on the tragedy of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. In Tobe Hooper's tale, the monster is one born of genetic mutation, cleverly foreshadowed by the Freak Animals Alive tent exhibit, where the fetal brother of the monster floats in a jar as an abominable attraction for the hoi polloi.
Indeed, in the film's opening sequence, the Frankenstein monster is shown, first as a poster showing the Glenn Strange characterization (my favorite!), and then as a Mego dolloh sorry, action figurecarried by the young boy, Joey, whose sister soon curses him because of his bizarre prank that scares the wits out of her. Joey's actions are also another subtext running through the film: he dons a mask to become a monster that frightens his sister, and the actual monster wears a Frankenstein mask to become less of a monster, and therefore less frightening to others. It is interesting to note that, unlike the current spate of horror films that feature eye (popping)-candy and little else, in this film, the characters are presented with choices, yet consistently make the wrong ones. And as we all know, in a horror film, when you make the wrong choices, someone, or more likely today everyone, winds up dead. Amy, Buzz, Liz, Ritchie, and Joey consistently make the wrong choices, and suffer the dire consequences. In the tale of Dr. Frankenstein and his monstrous creation, wrong choices also led to death and disaster, but at least here we have the Funhouse!
The funhouse is surrounded by the carnival, a seedy, grimy affair filled with seedy and grimy denizens. There is a bag lady that looks very much like Grandmama from the Addams Family spouting "god is watching you!" a homeless man that wonders around like a zombie, a few bums, the past her prime fortune teller and palm reader (well played by Sylvia Miles), the not so magnificent Marco the Magician, and the barkers (three of them superbly played by Kevin Conway as if he were a natural). Properly toned by John Beal's score and Andrew Lazlo's cinematography, the loud and brightly lit carnival facade hides a darker, more primitive underbelly of murderous anarchy, and its nexus is the funhouse, established by Mr. Hooper's use of two tracking crane shots, one at the beginning and one at the ending of the mayhem, that emanate from the funhouse to encompass its surroundings.
Our hapless group of monster fodder soon regrets their decision to stay the night in the funhouse, and Joey soon regrets sneaking out from his bedroomdown the trusty-trellis-by-the-windowto visit the carnival. We also learn that the father of the monster has regrets about letting it live, in a scene that contains a wealth of hinted at backstory, but must share responsibility for its actions because of choices he has made. Dean Koontz, in his novelization of the film, includes this back story.
The climactic confrontation in the mechanical belly of the funhouse is suitably horrific, yet uses little gore, and, unlike the requisite sequelization antics of many fright films today, provides a definitive and satisfying closure. Unlike the mindless snuff horror approach to today's films, The Funhouse explores themes and provides a story depth that is worth viewing, along with the thrills and chills.
Slither (2006)
Zombos Closet Review: Great Monsterfest, witty dialog, fun script
Slither is a wonderful mix of CGI, puppetry, animation, tried-and-true special effects and horrific makeup artistry that, combined with a witty, fast-paced script and bread and butter cinematography, is a fun and terrifying romp at the same time. The story breezes along with colorful small-town characters that experience the horror of an alien slug invasion in classic 1950s/80s alien slug invasion horror movie style.
What sets this horror film apart from so many of the half-baked, 'hey, let's snuff those teenagers again in all sorts of gruesome, but oddly enjoyable ways' films that have inundated the theatres lately, is its skillful approach to the classic elements that make a horror movie, well, horrific. And, of course, wisely leaving out those annoying dull-witted teenagers. For a refreshing change, we have a cast of seasoned actors chewing up the scenery just as the scenery starts chewing them up.
What a concept! To actually focus on the characters and have the story unfold with them instead of at them. And it is rather refreshing to have a memorable alien MONSTER for a change, instead of the usual anti-social inbred pychotic guy prowling the outback, or torture-club circuit. A horror movie with a 'real' monster! Wow. The gradual evolution of Grant "it's just a bee sting" Grant to amorphous, Lovecraftianesque-tentacled slug is wonderful (in that horror movie wonderful sort of way, of course). The tongue-in-cheek dialog between the characters is filled with snappy one-liners and wry observations (see IMDb's movie quotes for some hilarious reading).
From the opening scene with Nathan Fillion sitting in the police car, to the climactic battle between him and the ubiquitous alien Grant Grant, tension and mayhem builds to a fever pitch. I held my breadth toward the end: I did not want the film to be spoiled by the rote sequelization-antic type ending that spoiled The Hills Have Eyes, and so many, otherwise, good horror films. I was rewarded with no bogus, 'hey, I'm still going to get you' ending.
Gore is used with wicked attention to plot placement and effect. Instead of the redder the better and splash it to the walls approach all too common these days, key scenes are made more intense by using gore to move the storyline action ahead. One particular scene of note involves an unfortunate run in with Grant "that looks like something that fell off my dick in the war" Grant and a claw-tipped tentacle that leaves one person beside himself--literally. The barn scene involving the birth of the slugs is also well constructed and quite digusting (but in that horror wonderful way again). This scene stands out as a well constructed balance between CGI, traditional special effects and moody lighting. I am eager to pick up the Cinefex issue on this film's effects, as they combine so many classical elements with a 2006 sensibility.
And there are Zombies! Just when you think it cannot possibly get any better, meat devouring zombies with insatiable appetites start popping up, or should I say, lurching along. So much for Family Fun Day in the small town of Wheelsy. Mike Syzmanski, in his review of Slither, aptly describes Slither as a drive-in movie. If you like classic, B-Movie, 50s style horror, this movie is for you. Writer and director James Gunn, along with a very talented crew of horror-heads, has fashioned an honest to gosh monster horror film. Not a slasher, torture, snuff horror, psychotic bogeyman retread, but an honest to gosh monster horror film.
There may yet be hope for the genre after all.
Silent Hill (2006)
Zombos Closet Review: Great Visuals, poor acting, lame dialog
To begin with, I must give kudos to the art direction for this film. It is a wonderful creaturefest of make-up, CGI and costuming that is quite a treat indeed. The creatures are nightmarish and the coloration of the film, when the mom goes deeper into the cursed town--especially when the siren blares as a warning that the town is going 'into the darkness'--is superb, and evokes a truly horrific mood; those embers that glow on the damned creatures' bodies, and the falling ash and pall over the town--again, quite well done.
The dialog needed much more work, however, as most of the lines were poorly written. The acting also needed more verve, especially the climactic Barker-esquire Hellraiser- styled confrontation in the church between the mom and the evil religious cult. She manages to easily walk through a congregation of crazed, girl-roasting individuals with amazing ease. And the black leather uniform on the female motorcycle police officer. Really! You couldn't get it much tighter. How DOES she get on the motorcycle dressed in those tight pants? Weak acting here, too.
Oh, yes, the plot.
Alessa, the poor girl born out of wed-lock that is roasted like a turkey by the evil religious cult, while her mom stands by helplessly, takes revenge on the titular town of Silent Hill. Though
I am not sure if this occurred before the fires broke out in the mines, or afterwards. I am also not sure how the witch burning thirty years beforehand fits into the events with Alessa.
Anyway, from her hospital bed, the badly scarred and immobile Alessa, either through sheer malevolent will power, or by the assistance of a hellish demon (hey, maybe it's the witches familiar?) destroys the town and it's citizens, forcing their dead spirits to 'live' in a nightmare world that puts Dante's Inferno to shame. The undead citizens of the town must endure not only the hellish Limbo they have been caught in, but also must avoid the Darkness that brings Pyramid Head (see the game) and his agonies (give or take a few) to torture them.
Alessa, for some reason sends off a good version of herself as a baby, now known as Sharon, then summons it back to the town after nine years. Sharon sleep walks and blurts out Silent Hill in her sleep, so her mom, casting prudence to the wind, takes her to Silent Hill. Yes, that Silent Hill, the one with all the well-known evil cursed stuff attached to it. A place so bad, Sharon's father reads about it on the web at a famous ghosttowns.com site. This is the ABANDONED place that has had toxic fires burning beneath it for years, so much so that ash continually falls from the sky. So her mom takes her there at NIGHT, hoping to find out why her daughter keeps sleep walking and saying "Silent Hill." Along the way, they are almost stopped by a female motorcycle police officer who dresses in impossibly tight leather motorcycle garb, but her mom makes a frantic attempt to head straight into the unknown at the last minute.
Reaching Silent Hill, her mom also promptly manages to crash the car in a convenient plot-ism to keep the story rolling. She wakes up, sees that her daughter Sharon is missing, and heads into the town. The police officer eventually makes her way to the town, too, even after crashing her motorcycle on the roadway (probably couldn't reach the brake because of those tight pants).
As far as I can gather, Sharon, her mom and the police officer are actually dead, but they do not realize it. They died in their respective vehicular crashes. This is the only way I can explain why they can be affected by the creatures and hellish darkness of Silent Hill, while her husband and the others searching for them walk through the town unaffected and unaware.
Alessa has Sharon's mom go through quite a few trials and tribulations to find her (Alessa, that is), and uses her to bring the darkness into the church, where the dead cult members retreated, when the siren blared, to escape it. Much gore ensues as the evil Alessa gloats over her prey and tears them apart in a scene of CGI butchery that Pinhead would be proud of. Sharon and mom survive all this, thoughwink, winkthe evil Alessa (or demon) now lives inside Sharon. Mom and daughter walk back to the car, buckle themselves in for safety, and head home.
Of course, there is the confusing sequelization-antic, where the husband is home while mom and daughter return home, and the scene shifts between the husband in the nice sun-lit home, and the mom in the dark ominous- looking home, with Alessa/Sharon/Demon looking ominously in the background. With mom and daughter being dead and all that, how exactly does Alessa benefit from taking over Sharon's dead body? And I still do not know why the witch was burned or why the fires started in the mines.