The Silent Hill film franchise, based on Konami’s classic survival horror video game series, is getting its newest chapter, Return to Silent Hill, an adaptation of the second game from Cineverse set for a theatrical release in America.
As reported by Variety, the upcoming film will be directed by Christophe Gans, who also helmed the original film in the franchise, 2006’s Silent Hill. The movie will star Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) and Hannah Emily Anderson (Jigsaw, What Keeps You Alive), and according to a statement by Cineverse, promises to be “a faithful adaptation of the video game Silent Hill 2”.
According to a press release, the film will follow its protagonist James, played by Irvine, as he ventures into the town of Silent Hill in search of his wife Mary, with it’s synopsis reading:
James, a man broken after his relationship with the love of his life, Mary, ends. When a mysterious letter from her calls him back to Silent Hill, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil. While James desperately searches for Mary he encounters terrifying creatures and begins to unravel the mystery of what happened to the town. But as he descends deeper into the darkness the secrets he uncovers lead to a horrifying truth, and James finds himself struggling to hold on long enough to save his one true love.
The film’s script was written by Gans alongside Sandra Vo-Anh (Beauty and the Beast) and William Josef Schneider (The Crow), and is produced by Hadida of Davis Films, Molly Hassell of Hassell Free Production and David Wulf.
“I am delighted to partner with Cineverse, which has shown a genuine understanding of fanship. Return to Silent Hill is an adaptation created out of deep respect for a true masterpiece of a game, Konami’s iconic Silent Hill 2. I hope fans will enjoy and be fulfilled with the experience this new film has to offer,” Gans added in a statement.
Return to Silent Hill currently doesn’t have a release date or a trailer, so it will be interesting to see if it can capture the same gloomy atmosphere perfected by Konami’s Silent Hill 2, which recently received a remake courtesy of Bloober Team. The decision to adapt its source material directly also marks a departure from the original 2006 film, which only loosely followed the original 1999 game’s narrative.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
