During the long-awaited Silent Hill transmission, we were introduced to both the Silent Hill 2 remake and a new game in the franchise called Silent Hill: Townfall. Everything looks gorgeously done, and we’re now more excited than ever to play, but wait, there’s more! Victor Hadida and Christophe Gans will be reprising their roles in creating a new Silent Hill film called Return to Silent Hill.
Victor Hadida is the producer behind the original films as well as the Resident Evil films. Together with the 2006 movie director, Christophe Gans (Silent Hill, Brotherhood of the Wolf ), the two are working with Konami to bring a new movie to the fans. Gans is a huge gamer himself and credits this with why the first film was so popular. He has an understanding of and respect for the source material that translates to the adaptation. Hopefully, he will be able to do that again, this time for a modern audience.
According to Gans, while the first film was very much about exploring this strange fog-covered town and being stuck in a sort of Twilight Zone, his goal for the second film is to focus on what Silent Hill 2 did best. He wants to come to this town from the point of view of the hero, James, searching for his love, Mary, and having to deal with the psychological horror of not knowing what is real. Whether he is insane or not will be the big thing the main character will have to grapple with.
Victor Hadida compared the story to the Greek myth of Orpheus, who journeyed into the Underworld in order to bring back the soul of his love. Can a man go deep into Hell to bring back the person he loves the most? The same creatures and jump scares that mark a story in this franchise are important, but it is this psychological element that is what makes these games and movies great.
Gans and Hadida are adamant that they are working to make Return to Silent Hill modern but true to the video game, essentially wiping the slate clean after 15 years to bring a new terrifying experience. Gans brought up a beautiful point about the challenge of translating the “language of the game, which is entirely about immersion, into a story that can be told in 90-100 minutes.” Because he was so successful the first time, we’re sure he will nail it again this time around.
Specifically updating the monsters “in a way that will be similar but striking” is also high on the list because let’s be honest, the psychological horror keeps us thinking about the story, but the monsters are what put us on the edge of our seats. With that being said, we weren’t told which monsters would be back or what new creations are already on the table. While Pyramid Head, the Red Pyramid, is in the film storyboard shown in this transmission, Gans alludes to creating new monsters as well for a “wow” reaction among fans.
You can watch the entire transmission below.
Return to Silent Hill is still in the storyboarding phase, with casting and filming not far off. It may take a while before we get to see more than sketches and abstract thoughts on the film, but so far, it’s nice to know the adaptation is in good hands.
