Game – Movie Review: Return to Silent Hill (2026)

The year was 2006 and we all eagerly gathered around the TV to witness something we’d never dreamed could happen. A film version of Silent Hill. The iconic franchise had followed in the footsteps of Resident Evil before it and the excitement to see what it offered was off the charts, and then we all saw it.

Directed by Christophe Gans and written by Roger Avary, the film wasn’t bad and it did have plenty of Silent Hill-isms about it, but it didn’t satisfy the itch most had for a film version of Silent Hill. Far too much was changed, often pointlessly, especially as the film had loose connections to the original game, and what remained was visually appealing, but lacked story depth.

Nostalgia (and ton of bad films) has meant many now see the first film in the franchise more positively, but for me, it remains a decent film that nodded to the game franchise, and nothing more. Though when compared to 2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation, it looks like a f**king superstar. A wretched sequel that insults every fan, game or film, and should be relegated to never being spoken of again.

So, why am I referencing these when it has been twenty years since the release of the original Silent Hill film? It’s because there is no talking about Return to Silent Hill without taking about Silent Hill (2006). Mainly because Christophe Gans returned to sit in the directing chair again.

A mistake, in my opinion, purely because this film franchise needed fresh eyes and while I do believe Christophe Gans has a lot of affection for Silent Hill, I think he loves the idea of Silent Hill more than the reality. He can create the Silent hill shell, but when it comes to filling in the detail, that is where he struggles. I still think he’s good at what he does overall, I would have just liked someone new to take a shot at the franchise.

Unfortunately, that is not what we get though, so let’s look at what we do have. Which should offer up plenty of reasons to be positive. We have Christophe Gans in the directing chair, co-writing the story with Sandra Vo-Anh and Will Schneider, a solid cast of acting names like Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson, music by the legendary Akira Yamaoka, and a fair bit of hype based around the fact that this film adapts Silent Hill 2. The best game in the franchise.

And there you have it. The film’s biggest problem. The fact that it is attempting to adapt a game that is downright iconic. Stay to close to the game, and you isolate mainstream audiences who don’t play games, stray too far from the game, and you isolate gamers. It’s one of the most difficult jobs to do, yet rather than play things down, the film was marketed as ‘based on the iconic game Silent Hill 2’. Talk about setting yourself up to fail, and fail it does, but not just because it’s a bad adaption of Silent Hill 2. There’s so much more wrong with it then you realise.

When you try to please everyone, you please no one.

James Sunderland (Jeremy Irvine), an artist, has returned to the town of Silent Hill having received a letter from his girlfriend (not wife), Mary Crane (Hannah Emily Anderson) asking him to come back to their special place. Which is odd, seeing as she died some time ago. A death that has sent James spiralling into depression and alcoholism.

Silent Hill is not as he remembers it though. Covered in fog, ash falling from the sky, and mostly abandoned due to an illness that killed many in the town. If that wasn’t bad enough, monsters roam the streets and seemingly on a whim, the town transforms into a twisted, nightmare version of itself. It’s Silent Hill baby, and James really should turn around and leave.

Except he is convinced that Mary is in the town somewhere and he must save her. All while remembering what drove them apart and what secrets the town holds. Along the way, he will meet a whole host of characters such the psychologically damaged Angela (Hannah Emily Anderson), the confident and needy Maria (Hannah Emily Anderson), the young child, Laura (Evie Templeton) and the obnoxious Eddie (Pearse Egan). He’ll also have to deal with monsters galore including fan favourite nurses and Pyramid Head.

Let’s talk about the biggest issue the film has. Which is the fact that what we have here is the Silent Hill 2 shell and nothing more. All story depth is missing, all character depth is missing (shockingly in some cases), and any attempt to deal with heavy themes is lost in a miasma of safe ideas and unconvincing plot choices.

This is Silent Hill 2 for the mainstream. Except, maddeningly, it’s not that either as it attempts to take some of the game detail, add film nuance to it, and hope that it will just work. The game could be disjointed, but nothing compared to the film. Putting it simply, it’s confusing, unless you know the Silent Hill 2 story already. What the hell are we doing here?

Why is Eddie in this? Why is Laura and Maria relegated to such unimportant roles? What is with the utter destruction of Angela’s character (this one rankles me the most)? All for a crappy end reveal that is groan-inducing and nonsensical from both a game and film perspective.

If we’re going to do cult stuff, really lean into it. What difference does it make if Pyramid Head is a version of James? Without the depth to this character, his entire guilt arc fails spectacularly, especially as the film wants him to be seen as a good guy. What the hell is that ending about? I don’t mean THAT ‘Silent Hill 2’ ending, I’m talking about the bit that comes after.

I don’t blame the actors, they’re working with a bad script, and they do have promising moments. Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson are likable as James and Mary, in happier times. However, the former falls flat on his face when it comes to voiceover and a lot of his ‘this should sound profound’ lines are poor. Whereas the latter fails to make Maria worth anything and that is a huge deal. It all comes back to the script.

Though, as bad as that is, there is no doubt in my mind that a lot of this film’s faults came in post-production and editing. The latter third of the film is a mess and it races to an ending it doesn’t earn. Like everyone involved just wants it to end.

Can you blame them though? Having to spend all day in front of, or looking, at a green screen. You might think that’s hyperbolic, but the majority of Return to Silent Hill looks like it was done on a computer. To the extent that the practical effects look computer-generated too. How is it that the 2006 film looks better, in places?

This could have worked. All it needed was the Silent Hill 2 story to be followed. I get that liberties have to be taken when it comes to adapting a game. In fact, I think that’s best in most cases, but Silent Hill 2 is a movie in of itself. A complex and layered story with a beginning, middle, and an end, featuring detailed characters that audiences can enjoy and understand. Just do that. Instead, we got this.

Did I mention how bad the wigs are?