RETURN TO SILENT HILL
Let's continue to analyze the new Silent Hill projects.
In the previous articles, we discussed all information about Silent Hill 2 Remake, Silent Hill F, and SH: Short Message.
And in this article, I will talk about the new movie "Return to Silent Hill".
Brief History of SH Movies
The first Silent Hill movie was released in 2006 - it was created by French director Christophe Gans. The film was received more or less positively among fans. It was quite enjoyable, and the production quality was high (especially in comparison with many other movies based on video games).
However, the director failed to reproduce the style and atmosphere of Silent Hill 1, so the movie felt more like a modern-fantasy thriller than a psychological horror. Also, the scenario writers changed the story too much - they turned the main character into a woman and mixed story elements from different SH games together.
In 2012, a second movie was released under the title "Silent Hill Revelation 3D", which was based on the story of SH3. It was made by another director - Michael Bassett. This movie turned out to be complete trash and was received very poorly by Silent Hill fans. We also published a short review of this film on our website back then.
Rumors about the third movie started circulating in February 2020. It became known that Christophe Gans (director of the first film) would be making a new Silent Hill movie soon. But at that moment, no other details were known.
In 2022, Konami officially confirmed the third movie and revealed new details about this project. The new movie will be called "Return to Silent Hill", and it will be an adaptation of Silent Hill 2.
And in the spring of 2024, the first footage from the film appeared.
Characters and Actors
This is how James will look in the movie. He is played by actor Jeremy Irvine.
(first scene in front of the mirror)
And this is Maria. She will be played by Hannah Emily Anderson.
(Maria's face close-up)
Laura now looks like Alessa from the first SH movie.
Angela looks really weird.
Monsters
(new Pyramid Head design)
(crowd of nurses)
Participation by Akira Yamaoka
In 2024, it was announced that Akira Yamaoka, the composer who created the soundtracks for the early Silent Hill games, was also participating in the project.
It is not yet known for sure whether Yamaoka will be composing the music for the film himself or whether he will simply act as a supervisor.
But in any case, it’s good to know that a person from the original "Team Silent” is involved in the work on the new movie.
Locations
(observation deck)
(cemetery near the lake)
(streets of the town)
(wall with children's drawings)
(alternate version of the town)
Other interesting details
The text of Mary's letter differs from the game.
The film will again feature ash instead of snow.
On the cinema's sign, you can see a reference to the old French movie "The Tenant". The name of the second movie on the sign is hard to make out, but I think it says "Jacob's Ladder".
My impressions from the trailers
I liked Christophe Gans' first film, but the trailers for "Return to Silent Hill" are disappointing.
The main character does not look like James at all, and I have a feeling that the actor was poorly chosen for this role. Angela and Laura also look a bit cringey. And the design of Pyramid Head in the movie does not look as impressive as in the original game.
Also, it seems that the film again leans not towards psychological horror - but towards modern fantasy (like a bit darker version of the Harry Potter movies). I think this style wouldn't fit well with SH2's story.
But it’s still too early to judge. Let's wait for new trailers.
First Trailer of the Movie
This trailer was published in the autumn of 2022 (before actual filming began). It shows several storyboards and concept art.
"Behind the Scenes" video
This video was published in May 2024. Here you can see the first shots from the movie, the work of the film crew, as well as a short interview with director Christophe Gans and producer Victor Hadida.
Leaked Trailer
A short 40-second trailer that appeared in early June 2024. Konami did not officially publish it - apparently, the video was leaked from some closed presentation.
update:
A few weeks later, Konami started sending out copyright claims and removed all the leaked videos from YouTube.
Other interesting articles
about horror games on our website
>> Horror Game Reviews <<
>> Articles in English <<
>> Horror Games Museum <<
Also, you can subscribe to our
YouTube channel and Telegram channel
YouTube channel and Telegram channel
Author of the article: SilentPyramid
Publication date: 21.10.2022
Article update: 16.06.2024
If you like this article,
share the link with your friends:
share the link with your friends:
