LRF NOW Original Series: Silent Hill - Season 1 Episode 1

 
Silent Hill
Genre: Horror/Supernatural/Mystery
Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Writer: Jack Brown
Based on the video game series

Season 1 Episode 1: Welcome to Silent Hill

Cast:
Matthew Fox .... Harry Mason (Regular)
Katie Cassidy .... Cybil Bennett (Regular
Oona Laurence .... Alessa Gillespie (Regular)
Quinn Copeland .... Cheryl Mason (Regular)
Kerry Bishe .... Jodie Mason (Guest)

OPENING CREDITS SONG: "Silent Circus" - Akira Yamaoka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYWayhJUETc

Plot: Harry Mason (Matthew Fox) sits in a doctors office holding the hand of his wife Jodie (Kerry Bishe). Harry tries to hold back his tears as the doctors inform the couple that Jodie's cancer is inoperable and that her time left on Earth is limited. They drive home from the office in silence until a girl (Quinn Copeland) walks out into the middle of the road. Harry manages to avoid the child and narrowly avoid a dangerous crash. Harry and Jodie take the girl out of the road. Harry and Jodie take the girl, Cheryl, to the authorities but nobody is able to figure out where her family is. The girl simply says her family is gone. Harry and Jodie sign on to be foster parents for Cheryl. Jodie thanks Harry for doing this for her as it has always pained her that her cancer has kept them from having kids of their own.

Not long after Cheryl moves in with the Mason family, a social worker arrives to inform them that Cheryl's family has been found murdered. Jodie asks what will happen with Cheryl now. The social worker indicates that Cheryl will be put up for adoption. Jodie asks Harry if they can adopt her. He is wary since Jodie's health is worsening. Jodie begs Harry to give her this one final gift. Harry relents and agrees that they will adopt Cheryl permanently.

There is a stretch of nearly one year where Harry, Jodie and Cheryl are all one happy family, but Jodie's cancer begins making her even weaker. She knows the end is near but decides to plan one final trip for them to take as a family - to the resort town of Silent Hill, Maine. Jodie dies in her sleep after booking the trip.

After Jodie's death, Harry falls into a deep depression. At Jodie's funeral, Cheryl reminds Harry of the trip "mom" planned for them and that she thinks that "mom" would want them to go still. Harry collapses in tears at hearing Cheryl call Jodie "mom". Harry agrees to take Cheryl along on the trip that Jodie had planned for them, hoping it can help him cope with the grief he is feeling.

Harry and Cheryl drive to Silent Hill as it begins to snow. Harry suddenly sees an astral projection of Alessa Gillespie (Oona Laurence) in front of him, causing him to crash the car into a ditch, knocking Harry out cold. When Harry wakes up, he finds Cheryl is missing. He gets out of the car and begins calling out for Cheryl to no avail. He begins walking down the road toward Silent Hill, continuing to call out for Cheryl.

Brahms olice officer Cybil Bennett (Katie Cassidy) is riding toward Silent Hill to check on why communications between the two towns have gone down when she sees the same apparition in the road. She swerves out of the way, hitting a patch of black ice which causes her motorcycle to crash. He is unharmed from the crash, but her motorcycle is no longer operational. She walks toward the town as she tries to get someone from her station on the radio to no avail.

When Harry finally makes it into the town of Silent Hill, he finds the place is seemingly and eerily deserted and shrouded by fog. He thinks he sees Cheryl running away. He immediately begins chasing after the figure, calling out Cheryl's name. He follows the figure into a dark alleyway. Suddenly the sky turns a dark black. A siren blares in the distance. Harry uses a lighter to look around, finding that the town appears to have mutated into some dark version of Silent Hill. The road pavement beneath him has become rusty metal grating. The walls have become rusty chain link fences and damaged stone. Everything around him is seemingly covered in rust and blood, wrapped in barb wire. There are sounds of metal clanking. Harry continues down the dark alleyway, finding a rotting, mutilated corpse hanging on a fence. Just then, Harry is attacked by small, hideous, child-like monsters - the Grey Children - who emerge from the shadows. They grab him and begin stabbing him with scissors repeatedly. Harry is overwhelmed and passes out.

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"The opening sequences of Silent Hill were definitely not what I was expecting with an early focus on the tragic family life of Harry Mason (Matthew Fox). He handled the drama and emotion very well as a leading man. While this pilot may not thrill fans of the video games, I'm expecting much more horror elements going forward." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press

"Until the very end of the pilot, you wouldn't even know that Silent Hill is a horror TV series. This is a problem. Despite a strong performance from Matthew Fox, this episode may prove to turn off fans horror." - Brenton Smalls, Playboy

"I won't say this doesn't build interest, but it feels like the series is holding back too much. I like Matthew Fox, who seems committed to the role but also seems like a space cadet when trying to show emotion. Overall, I'll follow through, and it's nowhere near a wide miss on video games adapted to tv series. (especially since NETFLIX's Resident Evil won that race)." - Lindsey Farmington, streamingwars.com