Return to Silent Hill

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Return to Silent Hill is an upcoming psychological horror film directed by Christophe Gans from a screenplay he co-wrote with Sandra Vo-Anh and William Josef Schneider, and starring Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson. It is an adaptation of Silent Hill 2 and a reboot of the 2006-2012 film series.

Gans, who had previously directed the 2006 film, and Victor Hadida became interested in revisiting the franchise after inheriting the film license from the late Samuel Hadida. Feeling that his sensibilities had changed over the years, Gans wanted to make a more modern and psychoanalytic Silent Hill film that was distinct from the style of the previous series.

He wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Konami Digital Entertainment. Inspired by the myth of Orpheus, it follows the story of James Sunderland traveling through a Hellish town to save the love of his life from an unknown evil. The film prompted Konami to relaunch the Silent Hill game series, dormant since 2015, starting with Bloober Team's retelling of Silent Hill 2.

Plot synopsis[]

Cast[]

• Jeremy Irvine as James Sunderland^[3]
• Hannah Emily Anderson as Mary^[5][6] and Maria
• Roberto Campanella as Red Pyramid
• Evie Templeton as Laura
• Pearse Egan as Eddie Dombrowski
• Lara and Karya Duru as the Meyer twins^[7][8]
• Emily Carding as Dara^[9]

Production[]

Pre-production[]

When Christophe Gans was developing the first Silent Hill film, released in 2006, he wanted to adapt Silent Hill 2 because he found it to be the most emotional of the original quadrilogy, calling it "a very tragic and romantic game, and a beautiful adaptation of the myth of Orpheus–going to hell to bring back Eurydice." However, he thought it would be difficult to adapt the second game without establishing the series' mythology and origin story first; hence, it was written as an adaptation of the original game instead.^[11] The Orpheus motif was worked into the film, reinforced by a subplot in which Christopher Da Silva (portrayed by Sean Bean) searches the town for his wife and daughter.^[12]

Years later, Gans and producer Victor Hadida realized they still owned the Silent Hill and Fatal Frame licenses after the death of former producer Samuel Hadida, which prompted an agreement among them: "We have to do something about it."^[13][14][15] In January 2020, Gans told magazine Allocine that he was in the process of writing new screenplays based on the two properties with Hadida's involvement. He recalled the production of his previous Silent Hill film as a beautiful memory and had chosen not return for the sequel Revelation because of creative differences with the producers.^[16]

Gans and Hadida developed the concept and pitched it to rights holder Konami. Gans finished the script under Konami's supervision, with his Beauty and the Beast co-writer Sandra Vo-Anh and collaborator William Josef Schneider, while isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Japanese executives intended to regain control of the film rights after the critical failure of Revelation.^{[13][17][2][18][19][20]}

Gans conceived the film as a reboot, rather than a continuation of the previous duology. He felt the creative direction he took in 2006 had aged by modern standards, and wanted to make a new kind of Silent Hill film; one that was "more original and more surprising" like some of the contemporary horror films he had seen. He described the series as an anthology similar to The Twilight Zone, a place where any story could be told, and intended to depict a more psychoanalytic side to the town. He wanted to show that Silent Hill is not just a labyrinth that changes shape, but also a projection of tormented psyches.^[17][19] Gans also took ques from P.T., the playable teaser to the cancelled game Silent Hills, because "it made us all dream."^[20][21]

By October 2022, the film was nearly fully storyboarded. Gans worked with Konami to create a new aesthetic for the monsters, including those that had been featured in his previous film, such as Red Pyramid Thing.^[20][10]

Marketing[]

A featurrette of the film was released on October 18, 2022, alongside several game announcements including Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team), Silent Hill ƒ, Townfall, and Ascension. According to Konami's assistant producer Rui Nato, the development of the film served as the catalyst for the revival of the Silent Hill game series.^[22] Since Silent Hill 2 was rebooted by Bloober Team near the release of the film, the producers hoped to create brand synergy that would lead to a theatrical buy-in from the gamer community.^[2] On May 9, 2024, a rough cut of the film was screened. A first look on Pyramid Head was shown at the Cannes Film Festival.^[23]

Filming and editing[]

World distribution was handled by The Veterans, who presented the film at the American Film Market in 2022 and sold it internationally. Production was carried out between the studios Maze Pictures, Metropolitan, Davis Films, The Electric Shadow Company, and Lotus Wallace, and co-funded by Ashland Hill Media Finance and FFF Bayern, the latter of whom contributed 1 million Euros to the project.

Principle photography commenced in April 2023 under the shooting title Room 318, with half of filming taking place in Munich, Penzing, Nuremberg, Rossberg and around Lake Ammer in Germany. Other scenes were shot in Belgrade, Serbia.^{[3][1][24][25][26]} Filming wrapped in Munich in February 2024.^[27] Cinematography was carried out by Benoit Debie and Pablo Rosso using impression filters, with production design by Felicity Abbott. Sébastian Prangère returns as the editor, reprising his role from Silent Hill (2006).^[3][28]

Trivia[]

• The tagline "Return to Silent Hill" was previously used to promote Silent Hill: Revelation.
• In January 2023, Jodelle Ferland, who portrayed Alessa Gillespie in the 2006 film, was interested in returning, stating "If I hear anything from them, I’m totally in! I would have been in the other ones if they wanted me to. If I ever have any opportunity to be involved in something Silent Hill in the future, I 100% would be in."^[29]
• In 2006, Gans expressed an interest in using the Red Nurse, Claudia Wolf, and the Doctor in future Silent Hill films, as well as developing a prequel set during the Salem witch trials.^[11]
• In 2012, Revelation director M.J. Bassett expressed an interest in adapting some of the Silent Hill graphic novels, in particular Past Life, and making a lower budget film exploring the darker sexual aspects of the series.^[30]

Gallery[]

Trailers and marketing[]

Return to SILENT HILL Teaser Trailer (EN) - KONAMI

First look - October 2022.

RETURN TO SILENT HILL - Behind-the-scenes Early Sneak Peek - KONAMI-2

Sneak Peak

Concept art and storyboards[]

"Welcome to Silent Hill"

Something in the tunnel.

Streets of Silent Hill.

Brookhaven Hospital.

Building lobby.

Storyboards.

Protagonist storyboard.

Stills[]

The first reveal photo of Pyramid Head appeared at the Cannes Film Festival.^[31]

Jeremy Irvine as James.

Hannah Emily Anderson as Maria.

Behind the scenes[]

Hannah Emily Anderson and Jeremy Irvine on "Day 17/56" of Return to Silent Hill filming.^[32]

James and Maria.

External links[]

• Silent Hill Portal at Konami

References[]