Anyone else annoyed at the lazy re-use of SH music?

[Mr_Dante]

I know some fans here will appreciate the homage to the, um, fans by Jeff Danna in using the SH video game soundtracks in the movie. I like the music, have bought the soundtracks and enjoy listening to them.

But to me, it just doesn't work in the movie.

I have some experience in Film production as I studied Film & Video in University.
If it's in movies or video games, music is made for a scene, a specific time and place; be it indoors, under attack, meeting new characters or setting the tone for a scene. So upon watching the Silent Hill movie again last night, I felt I had to type something.

I watched it with my brother who hasn't really played any Silent Hill game. But he has watched me playing them. So he can recognise some of the music, but not all of it (even my parents who heard the credits music track, 'You're not here' recognised it from me recently playing Silent Hill 3).
From my brother's perspective, the music fits ok, it seems normal to him as he doesn't relate to the original settings that the music was used in from the video games.
But for me, when a music track starts I'm thinking to myself 'that's from SH2, in that particular scene' and 'that's from SH1' etc. I can picture the scene and the characters, the feelings, tone from the video game and it distracts from the movie scene.

What I don't understand is why didn't they just get Akira Yamaoka or Jeff Danna to produce and entirely new soundtrack with a homage to the video games at the beginning and the end of the movie?

To me it just feels lazy. And in the credits it only has Jeff Danna's name on the music credit. WTF! he just placed some music on the film made by someone else and added a violin here, cello there and some extra piano notes on a few tracks.

I will find it fitting for this technique to be used on a fan made movie, which will obviously be made for the fans and therefore, they may not have the budget or the resources to produce an effective soundtrack of their own to compliment the movie. So a reuse of SH video game soundtrack would be understandable and respected.

So, it comes down to: What does everyone else think? I didn't see this topic on the 2 pages on the Silent Hill movie so I'm guessing not many people feel enough about it to make it a topic worthy of discussion.
Either way, it should be thought-provoking to some

Agree or disagree, let me know

[TheRedNurse]

I thought it fit perfectly.

[schlaufuchsMIKE]

I'm kind of split on it. I felt that the tracks worked with where they put them for the most part, but sometimes they seemed kind of out of place ("Letter to My Future Self".... what the fuck?). But I agree that I would have liked it if they'd made a dedicated soundtrack for the movie and used "Silent Hill" in the production logos as an homage (the way it was already there, that is). When all is said and done, though, it works fine.

[Q. Valintyne]

I thought it was fine as well (and I'm a film student, too). The budget for Silent Hill was $50 million (and I'm certain most of that was used on monster and visual effects). The audio was just meant to pay homage to the games. I'm pretty certain that Akira is credited, too (it would be illegal not to as some of the compositions are unchanged by Danna).

I didn't find myself reminded of specific game events with the music. I'm reminded of them when I listen to the songs alone, but I didn't find it hard to suspend my disbelief for the film. Heck, whenever you hear a licensed track in a film, do you think back to the meaning of that song? Maybe so. Some licensed music is used for a reason (see Donnie Darko) while some films just use it because they want to (see The Devil's Rejects).

Silent Hill used the creepy music that the fans loved the most. Why waste money on new music when you have perfectly fine compositions?

[OneFreeMan]

I don't mind it. As long as it fit that all that matters.

[JKristine35]

I thought the music fit each scene perfectly, and it's one of the reasons why the film worked so well for me. Letter From the Lost Days was also well used imo, as the few words from it that were audible were meant to reference Rose, and how she "forgot how to smile" because she's so busy worrying about Sharon's condition.

[NarooN]

It fit well so I had no problem at all with it. I actually thought it was pretty cool when I heard the tracks, and instantly knew they did it as an homage to fans of the games.

[rollerfan222]

I thought it was perfect.

[schlaufuchsMIKE]

I thought the music fit each scene perfectly, and it's one of the reasons why the film worked so well for me. Letter From the Lost Days was also well used imo, as the few words from it that were audible were meant to reference Rose, and how she "forgot how to smile" because she's so busy worrying about Sharon's condition.

I guess my problem with it is that I mostly just don't like the song very much, heh heh! Not saying that anyone else shouldn't like it.

[Floodclaw]

I thought it was fine, but Promise (Reprise) was a little too overt for me. I like the song and all, but...it was a bit too prominent.

[Yuki]

I'm a film studies student, and I think it was fine. A tad lazy--I would have preferred completely new music--but overall it suits it and feels like a love letter to the games in its use. I don't mind Danna's credit, either; someone had to arrange the music so it fits as a film score.

[what]

I did not like that the music was re-used. Also I'm not a film student.

My rationale is that I know these tracks well and they have already established themselves in my mind. I'm one of those people who tend to form powerful associations between music and events in games, film, and of course, real life. Many of the tracks used in the movies were ones I already associate with other things too strongly to feel that they could really suit the mood of what I was watching on the screen.

Now, that being said, my opinion is based on the fact that I had already been a very dedicated fan of the games when I saw the movie. To someone who was not, obviously none of what I said applies. So, in an objective sense, I think the re-use of the music was generally done with thought and skill (except "Letter to my Future Self" because I hate that song so much).

[Waverer]

I didn't like the recycling at all when I first saw the movie, for the same reasons you stated. I kept picturing the "real" scenes those songs were used in, and it broke the sense of immersion in the film. Then I saw the movie twice more, and I started to see how the music they used could have a place in both the games and the movie. I remember that in the movie there was a scene in the beginning where Rose and Sharon were sitting under a tree with beautiful scenery, talking about going to Silent Hill. While they were sitting under the tree, the camera started panning out to show more of the scenery while Laura Plays the Piano played. It made for a really peaceful vibe, like the calm before the storm.

Hearing the song and seeing the pretty imagery made me remember the scene from SH2 it was used in, when Laura tells James about Mary's description of Silent Hill. She said it was a beautiful, peaceful place. The song itself does a good enough job of evoking emotions on its own, but the memory of Laura's description of Silent Hill and the image of the peaceful field and tree went hand-in-hand for me. Also, the memory of that scene brought on the ominous tone of the game, and made the scene also feel ominous and kind of solemn, too.

It's a stretch, though.

[Augophthalmoses]

I didn't care for it at first either, but I kinda got over it. It was at least interesting to hear people's reactions to the music while watching the movie.

[Purramid_Head]

The biggest issue that made me mad was that back in 2006 (?) They had hyped it up as a new ost with Yamaoka and the other guy working on it. But, it was just a bunch of re-used music when I saw the movie.

This was my expression:



I think they would have done better if they came up with something new and original. Much as What has said I do believe.

[Mr_Dante]

I kind of guessed it was going to be a mixed response.
It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who feels this way (thanks guys!)

I really like the SH movie and I'm looking forward to the next installment. Now I haven't checked as I type this, but I'll check up on any news regarding the soundtrack to SH Revelations.

[Waverer]

I kind of guessed it was going to be a mixed response.
It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who feels this way (thanks guys!)

I really like the SH movie and I'm looking forward to the next installment. Now I haven't checked as I type this, but I'll check up on any news regarding the soundtrack to SH Revelations.

http://michaeljbassett.wordpress.com/20 ... mposer-is/

They've had Jeff Danna and Yamaoka team up to compose the soundtrack.. I'm guessing that means some original tracks! I'm hoping they bring back a few old themes, though. Maybe they can re-hash a couple of songs.. I'd be thrilled to hear Love Psalm somewhere in the credits or something like they did with You're Not Here and Theme of Laura.

[Mr_Dante]

I kind of guessed it was going to be a mixed response.
It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who feels this way (thanks guys!)

I really like the SH movie and I'm looking forward to the next installment. Now I haven't checked as I type this, but I'll check up on any news regarding the soundtrack to SH Revelations.

http://michaeljbassett.wordpress.com/20 ... mposer-is/

They've had Jeff Danna and Yamaoka team up to compose the soundtrack.. I'm guessing that means some original tracks! I'm hoping they bring back a few old themes, though. Maybe they can re-hash a couple of songs.. I'd be thrilled to hear Love Psalm somewhere in the credits or something like they did with You're Not Here and Theme of Laura.

Thanks!
I prowled the forum for news and found out exactly what you've told me! great news!
Looking forward to hearing some samples of the work they are producing.
Love Psalm is an awesome song!

[BitterSeason]

I believe that they should have created new music for the film, rather than take music from games. As much as I love the music, it didn't fit in the movie... at least not in my mind. I guess it's because, in my head, I know where those songs are supposed to be used and what they are supposed to mean. I don't think I'll be able to get this thought across, really, but to sort of just sum it up before I lose track of it altogether, the re-use of the music didn't sit well with me. It didn't feel right and I was not a fan of the decision. I think a new score should have been composed for the film. Even though it would have taken a lot of time and resources, it would have made the film a lot better.

[JaneTheNurse]

I think perhaps this should be forgiven due to the high quality of the monster design (which were all based on real costumes and props with CG added in later), excellent set design that went above and beyond, and great casting choices.
Plus, there's going to be new music in the next movie. Maybe you just didn't like it because you knew which scenes the songs were used in and decided to think about those instead of what was going on on the damned movie screen.