Highlights
- The upcoming Return To Silent Hill film is based on Silent Hill 2.
- Fans anticipate a serious approach to building tension over cheap scares, with hopes for hidden easter eggs and faithful recreation of the game's monsters.
- The movie needs to respect the source material by including secondary characters like Eddie and Angela, and faithful adaptation of key scenes like the jail cell cutscene.
After a decade of stagnation within Konami's iconic survival horror franchise, the future of Silent Hill finally looks promising. At least four new additions to the canon are on the horizon, including two spin-off games, a remake of Silent Hill 2, and an eagerly awaited new movie entry. The upcoming film Return To Silent Hill will be based on Silent Hill 2 and will see Christophe Gans, who directed the series' first movie, return.
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With so much time having passed and Silent Hill 2 often being lauded as the best chapter in the anthology, fans naturally have high hopes for the latest movie installment. From atmosphere and tone to lore and music, here's what fans of the series anticipate for Return To Silent Hill.
1 The Original Soundtrack By Akira Yamaoka
The Score Perfectly Captures The Emotional Journey Of The Game
Crucial to Silent Hill's DNA is the environmental atmosphere crafted, in part, by the composing genius of Akira Yamaoka. Silent Hill 2 blends dark ambient music with trip-hop beats and eerie piano compositions, shuffling between an uneasy bleakness and comforting softness, which is essential in immersing players in the nightmarish town.
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It seems impossible for the filmmakers to replicate the game's signature mood without the hauntingly beautiful music that made it shine. Hopefully, like the first film, Return To Silent Hill will borrow from its source material and include iconic tracks, such as "World of Madness" and "Heaven's Night."
2 A Long Runtime
A Substantial Runtime Is Needed To Recreate The Story-Driven Game
It's no secret that adapting a video game to the silver screen is a serious challenge and, given how layered Silent Hill 2 is, gamers are hoping the filmmakers don't further restrict themselves to a tight runtime.
The shortcomings of previous Silent Hill cinematic adaptations can be attributed to their failure to meet the games' narrative breadth and complexity. Notably, one of the most applauded video game adaptations is HBO's The Last of Us, which benefited from an entire TV season to explore its source material thoroughly. Since the depth of Silent Hill 2's symbolism and characters have kept the game compelling for over two decades, Return To Silent Hill should have a lengthy runtime to avoid oversimplifying its rich content.
3 Pyramid Head
The Movie Needs To Do Silent Hill 2's Main Antagonist Justice
Pyramid Head has become the mainstream poster boy of Silent Hill. The creature has had a significant presence across the franchise since first appearing in Silent Hill 2, popping up in various games, both movies, and even the Dead By Daylight crossover. While it's hard to blame producers for wishing to harness the popular monster's design, many fans have criticized the misuse of the character outside his initial context.
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Red Pyramid Thing was created specifically for the protagonist of Silent Hill 2, James Sunderland, acting as his parallel and the dark manifestation of his repressed guilt for killing his wife on her deathbed. Given this, fans are eager to finally see the iconic figure in his original role and can only hope that the movie does right by him.
4 A More Serious Approach
The Film Should Focus On Building Tension Over Cheap Scares
Pleasing fans of any source material can be daunting, but many simply want their beloved game to be respected. While early 2000s horror had a specific charm, modern audiences would prefer a more serious approach to the newest cinematic chapter.
The viewer should be gradually immersed in Silent Hill's disturbing psychological horror, not inundated with predictable jump scares. Ideally, Gans will draw inspiration from films like Jacob's Ladder (1990) and directors David Lynch and David Fincher, who influenced the creators of Silent Hill 2.
5 Easter Eggs
Fans Will Hopefully Be Able To Spot Plenty Of Hidden References
Given the richness of the series' lore, Return To Silent Hill will likely subtly reward players' knowledge of the franchise.
The 2006 film borrowed heavily from the look and feel of the game, notably incorporating its unique camera angles, sirens, scratchy radio static, and game-accurate graffiti. Christophe Gans, a self-professed fan of the series, is returning to direct this newest chapter, so players will hopefully be able to spot plenty of hidden, fan-service nods to the games.
6 The Return Of Eddie And Angela
The Secondary Characters Are Critical To The Story
Much of Silent Hill 2's charm lies in James' mysterious encounters in the town, especially with Angela and Eddie, two of the game's most memorable characters. Eddie is a bullied young man tormented by inner demons, while Angela is a teenage girl with a deeply tragic backstory. Like James, both endure their personal purgatories, with Angela's even bleeding into James', which is represented by the game's most disturbing monster.
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Interactions with these NPCs unravel the meaning behind James' journey and underscore the game's central themes of guilt and grief. Omitting these human inhabitants of Silent Hill would be a great shame, as they birthed some of the game's most chilling scenes. Unfortunately, neither Eddie nor Angela have received casting confirmations yet.
7 The Jail Cell Cutscene
Fans Hope To Hear The Iconic “I'm Not Your Mary” Line
One of the most beloved cutscenes in Silent Hill 2 is an unsettling conversation between James and his late wife's doppelgänger, Maria, in a jail cell. The scene occurs after James believes he witnessed Maria's death at the brutal hands of Pyramid Head. Her appearance and casual demeanor in this section lead James to further question her identity.
Maria's dialogue is dream-like in a way that is textbook Silent Hill, encapsulating the haunting ambiguity of this entry in the series. It's a masterfully crafted and performed scene that feels like it's been lifted straight from a surreal David Lynch project, which fans would love to see successfully translated to the big screen.
8 Practical Effects Over CGI
The Movie Should Go To Great Lengths To Recreate The Game's Surreal Monsters
Despite its faults, the 2006 movie thrives visually, specifically in its use of primarily practical effects when bringing to life the town's various monstrosities.
Fans of the first film expect Gans to retain this commitment to practical effects, which allowed Silent Hill to age relatively well for an early 2000s movie and preserved the monsters' terrifying aura almost two decades later. The strangely beloved creatures populating Silent Hill deserve old-fashioned creativity to achieve their grotesque and uncanny quality which fans hold dear.
9 Remain Faithful To The Source Material
Return To Silent Hill Should Be Accurate To The Second Game
While there is no easy way to cut-paste an intricate game into a script palatable to casual moviegoers, the plot should be deeply grounded in the game's original story.
Gamers are naturally reluctant to see Silent Hill 2's rich themes displaced and misinterpreted to fit a generic horror film formula. This concern is heightened by the fact that, unlike other entries in the franchise, the broader lore of religious cultism - central to the first movie - plays only a minor role in Silent Hill 2, which is primarily a self-contained character study. Although the director previously played with the names and genders of the game's characters, most agree Gans accurately captured Silent Hill's atmosphere and tone, so there's optimism he'll faithfully adapt the premise this time around.
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