8. Silent Hill
Budget: $50 millon Box Office: $98 million TriStar Pictures had to feel good off the bat with the writer and director they pulled for Silent Hill. Screenwriter Roger Avery has uncredited ties to two of Quinten Tarantino's best films True Romance and Resovoir Dogs, and a story credit on the Oscar winning Pulp Fiction. Director Christophe Gans, one who specilizes in horror, had spent years trying to get the rights to make Silent Hill. The excitement of Gans, credentials of Avery, and the property itself, seemed to warrant the $50 millon budget. TriStar and studio Davis Films made their money back, but I'm sure they were expecting a much bigger pull. The movie itself has a great feel to it. Dark, ominous, creepy environments. Good cinematogrophy, and scary moments. The problem came with the story itself, something you wouldn't expect from the duo of Gans and Avery. Most critics knocked the film for containing uncecessary scenes and an inconsistent story. These kinds of things can happen when writers are too close to a subject, and it seemed to resonate with most people. Even though DVD sales added to Silent Hill's tally, it too fell into the trap of an adaptation that was not received well, but made a decent penny (which isn't really that bad of a trap).