Silent Hill (2006) director Christophe Gans is back to direct a new film adaptation based on the story of Silent Hill 2, widely regarded as the best game in the series.
Konami unveiled the Silent Hill 2 movie, appropriately titled Return to Silent Hill, during today's big showcase, which also saw confirmation of an upcoming Silent Hill 2 Remake and new games like Silent Hill Ascension and Silent Hill f, among other announcements. The teaser trailer focuses primarily on interviews with Gans and producer Victor Hadida, but it also features some concept art and storyboarding from the upcoming film.
"We together have achieved to convince Konami that there is a new version of Silent Hill that has to be done, and they are 100% on board," Hadida says of the film.
Gans remarks that where the first film focused on a "twilight zone" exploration of the titular town, the second film is more firmly attached to the viewpoint of protagonist James Sunderland and his desperate search for his wife Mary (I won't go any deeper than that to avoid spoilers).
Hadida adds that it's also about the story of Orpheus and "whether a man can go deep into hell to bring back the soul or the person he loved the most in his life."
"It's much more about psychological horror," Gans stresses. "Even if we are going to find again all the same creatures and the same strange terror sequences, the first big interrogation and the first big terror is about ourselves."
Gans and Hadida repeatedly reiterate that they are aiming to respect the "will of the author" and the intent of the original story. Hadida teased that the monsters of Silent Hill 2 will be updated but remain similar and "striking," for example. Gans, in particular, is an outspoken Silent Hill fan, and he attributes the success and reception of his 2006 film to sharing a mind with the series' broader community – a stance he pledges to follow for Return to Silent Hill as well.
When we'll get to watch Return to Silent Hill is currently anyone's guess, and the release date for the new game Silent Hill: Townfall is likewise unknown.
