BocoDragon

Shut up and put on your tin foil hat.

And I agree. I believe in the main storyline of SH, but this is a series that has carefully implied alternate interpretations. That's what I've been defending. But no more of that for now. Interestingly, I'm watching Jacob's Ladder right now with some friends.... they requested it due to the SH fervor going around. (SPOILERS) The chemical stuff must have happened, otherwise who killed Jacob? Do we assume the Vietnamese enemy actually showed up, or is Jacob's dream closer to the truth than we know? If we are to take the death at face value, than the opening scene with the soldiers going crazy must have been real as well. The snake eats its tail.... either that or Jacob is psychically aware of the chemical testing situation.

Ya know, on the DVD there is a second ending which actually follows the chemicals plotline. It's very strange, but isn't nearly as impressive as the real ending. Yes I remember that Ever more proof that it's not "it means Jacob's trapped in limbo and that's it!", but rather interpretive. The filmmakers obviously thought it was okay to go with a different ending, so the concept was never set in stone, but rather, it could have gone in multiple directions. It is very analagous to the multiple possibilities of SH.

You've convinced me. And Eddie is no longer on the run for murdering cops, now he's wandering into SH looking for work! And Angela no longer killed her father for abusing her, now her father's actually in jail for tax evasion, and she's in town for some sightseeing! Again, change all you'd like to make a better film. I'm no SH fundamentalist. But with that scenario, you've changed the protagonists's dead wife from a tragic reminder of the his past sins into an evil carrot-on-a-stick used to lure him into the town. You're a shortsighted idiot. I'm not changing anything. I'm merely stating that another director could come along and create a film adaptation of the 2nd game's storyline. Irony: I'm shortsighted?

...So? You could go anywhere from there. It's not guaranteed to suck. (speaking of which, that carrot on a stick idea is exactly what DOES happen in Silent Hill 2) With a payoff. She didn't die randomly... she died due to the actions of the main character. SH2 was an average ghost story, until we learn that there's actually a reason his dead wife was calling out to him. It's as if I were to adapt Jurassic Park, but instead of humans cloning the dinosaurs, we'll just have aliens plant the dinosaurs on an island. I mean, it's all the same right? People trapped on an island with dinosaurs? It works right? Except it doesn't. You've removed the moral idea (and appeal) from the original concept. That man shouldn't play God, in that case. That James is being punished by the town for murder, in this case. It isn't the same thing. It's not guaranteed to suck, but if Rose really is just calling out to Chris as an excuse to get him into the town, then yes, it will suck. That sounds like a videogame movie.

You've convinced me. And Eddie is no longer on the run for murdering cops, now he's wandering into SH looking for work! And Angela no longer killed her father for abusing her, now her father's actually in jail for tax evasion, and she's in town for some sightseeing! Again, change all you'd like to make a better film. I'm no SH fundamentalist. But with that scenario, you've changed the protagonists's dead wife from a tragic reminder of the his past sins into an evil carrot-on-a-stick used to lure him into the town.

No, I think we're done, since we agree on nothing. Suffice it to say that I do disagree with most of the stuff you just posted. I disagree with your "rules" for Jacob's Ladder, and I disagree on your "rules" for SH, movie and games alike. We have a differing opinion, and as someone who's played all the games and seen the movie, my opinion is informed, as yours might also be. A different post is required to make a different point. I don't know if it's against the rules of OCR or if you just don't like it for some reason, but personally I would rather people post separate topics in separate entries. I won't do it again because obviously it offends you.

Kiyosuki are we psychically linked or something? We were both writing those posts at the same time and I think they have a similar message

It's NOT just a scary town run by evil magic. Despite what you may think, the only times that the games' PLOTS are open to interpretation is with multiple endings. The games are pretty clear about what's going on. Exactly... multiple endings. The evidence within the games points to each of the endings as being possible. You would be wrong to assume there are "true" and "false" endings. To be sure, there are "better" and "worse" endings, or perhaps endings confirmed as "true" by sequels, but within each game all endings are possible. SH2, especially, takes care to make each ending plausible given the events that come before. SH2 SPOILER: Is it more likely that James commited suicide? Went home with a sexier replica of his dead wife? Or ressurected her in a dark ceremony? All are possible. All are implied by the narrative. There is no true ending. Basically, it's the ending to Jacob's Ladder. With that linear film, we had a "true" ending that said Jacob was killed in the army and it was all a coma-hallucination. Within the movie, they also hint that perhaps the army tested chemicals on him and he made it home. This would be analagous to the Alessa plotline in the movie, after which they tell us "it was all the dream of some dead folks.... or was it? Maybe they're lost in a limbo dimension? Maybe they're still stuck in SH?" Yes, you are certainly intended to consider all plotlines as legitimate. SH is strongly based on Jacob's Ladder, but I'm positive you know that. EDIT: Also holy crap.... two JL mentions in two posts. See the post above mine I agree, but such is the necessity of a direct sequel. Also, if SH5 stars a ressurected Mary, would you then be forced to consider the ressurection as the true ending? I'm reminded of Mortal Kombat 3, which stated that no one had one the MK2 tournament. Basically, all the MK2 endings were false. Just an analogy. I know MK sucks I didn't say it was the real plot. I said it was one of many possible plots. I have always loved that fact that SH is open to multiple interpretations. They clearly intend that or they wouldn't be so ambiguous about it.

Good thing you're not the director. If you're referring to the first part: I don't think things should be changed. I'm just not against it. If you're referring to the second part: Why? Because it's such a good idea to shoehorn a tragedy-less character from the first movie into a tragic plot thread from SH2?

Yeah. It would end up being only a setup for a story though... not a story in itself. I loved that SH2's opening only appeared to be a gimmick until you got far enough..... (ooh your wife is dead... scary! SPOILER: But it's because you euthenized her....... oh, that is kinda sad and disturbing.) But Gans loves SH2. It was his original plan to adapt that one. Do you think he will really give up the "sinners being drawn to SH" storyline? Even if it's completely different (which I don't expect), I believe it will still deal with that focus. If Rose does summon Chris, he better have killed their first child or something. And I don't think it's divergent at all, in concept. Yes, the backstory has been filled in, and the story doesn't lead too well into SH3... but he made all these changes with SH2 love, and likely intends to follow it up with a telling of that game as promised. Like I said, change all you want. Perhaps some completely different sinners are drawn to SH and it's SH2 in spirit only. Fine by me. But tying it into the first one just turns the "dead wife letter" into what it appeared at first glance: a gimmick.

I understand that Gans has played the game, and that Avary has too, but my quarrel is with the idea that What happens in silent hill in the movie is just a cop out 'it was all a dream' ending, rather than reality. It seems to me like maybe they got the bad ending one too many times, and thought it was the real one. I can accept them all being dead if and only if they'd intended a sequel based on Silent Hill 2, using Sean Bean's Character as James. However, until that sequel appears, I reject the literal-metaphorical heaven/hell/purgatory interpretation entirely. Man.... before I saw the movie I was seriously saddened that they had literallized the concept of Silent Hill so much, with the whole coal mining/abandoment backstory, ruling out any possible ambiguous endings. I was delighted when it ended with that possibility anyway. FYI, here was one fan who was lookng for the "it was all a dream ending". I would have been pissed if it was just a scary town run by evil magic, and that was the only way to interpret it. Fans interpret the games differently. The film rightly allows for all possible interpretations (well, not the "Silent Hill is a normal contemporary town and the main character's just nuts" possibility.....) And this is not directed only at you, but the idea I've heard all over the net since friday (so no offense, mate. And I think you were just bringing up the possibility anyway): The possibility of Chris as the new James is dumb. It doesn't work. It's not just about a man with a dead wife. SH2 SPOILER: "It's about a man who has murdered his wife" Change the story if you want. Change the characters. Hell, change the personal SIN if you want... but Chris just wandering around looking for Rose, whose death he had nothing to do with, is just wrong. I don't care if they secretly had marital problems or whatever... it doesn't work. And on top of that, I don't think it's what Gans was getting at. It was just showing that life went on for Chris, while his wife never showed up. That's all.

I told some kids to shut up at my screening

Fair enough. Then I agree to a certain extent. It just wasn't cringe-worthy, but maybe thin and unrealistic. Also, don't quote Anakin please