The director of Return to Silent Hill, Christophe Gans, has said that despite receiving death threats over adapting the horror series for the big screen, he would be open to bringing another instalment to life.
Talking to Variety, Gans admitted that 2006’s Silent Hill was “a big challenge to adapt correctly and respectfully a game which is considered a classic,” saying: “We know that the people who love video games are very passionate. I remember when I did the first film, I received plenty of death threats.
“People were saying, ‘If you mess up this one, we are going to find you,'” Gans added. “So I came onto the first film with great responsibility, and certainly even more with the second one. At the same time, it was important for me to imagine a movie that people who are not playing games can be interested in.”
Gans siad he was heavily involved in all aspects of Return to Silent Hill, which was shot over 50 days across 67 sets, and had a budget of around $23 million. “I spent one year just designing everything, storyboarding everything, making tons of artwork. When I came on the pre-production, I was very well prepared,” he said. “Sometimes, what was difficult was to make people who are not players understand why some elements were so important. Sometimes I had to fight because the fans would be pleased. When I’m doing a film, I’m obsessed by the detail, so that’s the fuel of my work as a director.”
Even with the death threats, though, Gans isn’t deterred from bringing another Silent Hill game to the big screen (and I’ve been told he hinted at a recent screening in France that he has his eye on Silent Hill: The Room next).
“If I have the opportunity, we’ll come back to Silent Hill once more,” he said. “I’m not looking at Silent Hill only as a great video game. I’m looking at it as a piece of modern art. It has something really edgy and experimental.
“I will adapt another chapter because there are some that are extremely good, something very different from the first film, and now Return to Silent Hill. I like this world, and I can see that plenty of people are thinking I’m doing a pretty good job.”
IGN’s Return to Silent Hill review returned a 5/10. We said: “Return to Silent Hill isn’t completely without merit. It’s certainly a better follow-up to Cristophe Gans’ original 2006 film than 2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation, one that finds some success drawing on the creepy imagery and sound design of the games. But it’s ultimately an adaptation that fails to improve upon the source material or do anything particularly new and interesting. Those craving a truly great psychological horror experience are better off booting up a version of Silent Hill 2.”
You can find out more about what was and wasn’t changed in the Silent Hill 2 movie adaptation right here. We also have a handy list of all the video game movies and TV shows coming in 2026 and beyond.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
