An image from Christophe Gans’ upcoming Silent Hill movie Return to Silent Hill has caused quite a stir — if not necessarily for the reasons its creators and Konami might have hoped.
The image making the rounds isn’t new — it originates from an official behind-the-scenes video on the making of Return to Silent Hill released in May 2024.
But the image is getting a new lease on life after being shared by the Discussing Film X / Twitter account and receiving over 4 million views.
The images in the tweet, which are taken from a shot of a closing elevator door sliced down the middle to bring the characters appear closer together, show both James and Maria standing in a rusty lift, likely in Brookhaven Hospital.
James, with curly dark hair and a green leather jacket, is glowering across at Maria. Maria herself is standing with her eyes closed and her bare midriff lit up. She’s wearing the original game’s iconic outfit that was inspired by Christina Aguilera and, uh, a not-so-iconic, kinda-cheap-looking wig.
New look at the ‘RETURN TO SILENT HILL’ movie.
In theaters on January 23, 2026. pic.twitter.com/2FZXchKiby
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 22, 2025
It’s not clear where, exactly, in the game’s timeline this scene takes place, but Maria’s face is notably shiny, suggesting she’s either unwell or has recently exerted herself.
“This looks like some amateur YouTube fan video,” said one commenter on social media. “Why is it so hard for film makers to nail the look from the game?” Another responded with: “This looks like fan fiction or the opening to a rip-off porno.”
“Can smell it flopping from here,” added another.
“Call me pessimistic, but I just can’t see this being anything but hot garbage,” said a commenter on Reddit. “Probably fun to watch drunk though.”
“Every single image of this movie is comically bad and cheap,” stated another unhappy fan. “Buckle up for a big disappointment, because it is coming like it or not.”
“Wow man, chill, the trailer isn’t even out yet,” interjected a more optimistic fan. “Gans can do no wrong. Crying Freeman, Brotherhood of the Wolf, are all bangers. Silent Hill and Return to Silent Hill are just adaptations/anthologies with his artistic visuals, not shot for shot remakes. Just be grateful were getting any big budget Silent Hill movie period.”
This comment made me snort-laugh and now I can’t unsee it: “I thought that pic of James was Badger from Breaking Bad.”
As this still comes from a behind-the-scenes video, fans are right to point out that these are pre-production images taken on set without any special effects, and may differ drastically to what the final product may look like.
The film’s plot will feel familiar to anyone who played the original Silent Hill 2 or the 2024 Bloober remake. It follows “James (Jeremy Irvine), a man broken after being separated from his one true love (Hannah Emily Anderson). When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil” and “terrifying figures both familiar and new.” It was unveiled in October 2022, but it took until May 2024 for us to get our first glimpse at Return to Silent Hill’s version of Red Pyramid Thing — AKA Pyramid Head. It’s out on January 23, 2026, and the folks behind the film think it’ll be as true to the games as possible.
Gans’ first Silent Hill movie, based loosely upon the first game, follows mother Rose as she searches for her missing daughter, Sharon, in a town where it snows during summer. Although the screenplay was written by Oscar-winner Roger Avary of Pulp Fiction fame, we thought Gans’ first adaptation was a mediocre 5/10, writing: “So there we have it. Our worst fears realized yet again. The video game-to-film genre has endured more than a decade of mediocrity. Silent Hill is probably the smartest and best-looking video game adaptation yet, it just doesn’t have much else going for it. After all, video games are about entertainment, and Silent Hill is a chore to sit through.”
The second movie, Silent Hill: Revelation — which was directed by M.J. Bassett — was based loosely on sequel Silent Hill 3. That secured a less favorable 4.5 in our review: “Silent Hill Revelation 3D is an inferior sequel in every way, shape and form, a horror sequel that fails to either intrigue or scare, and one that just might have killed the franchise cold-dead.”
Image credit: Silent Hill / YouTube.
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.
