When someone brings up the topic of Silent Hill, the first thing that anyone with a basic knowledge of Konami’s eponymous horror franchise will tell you is that it’s a town completely surrounded by fog and that people who enter it encounter all kinds of monsters that are terrifying beyond imagination. That’s only a general overview and a fraction of what the series is really about – as it explores deeper and more terrifying themes that involve occult practices, demon worship, supernatural forces, and psychological issues that relate to the repressed memories and trauma that the main protagonist and supporting characters keep and bottle up inside of them.
Basically, Silent Hill is a very disturbing video game series that is both brilliant and subtle in its approach to exploring psychological horror and definitely not for the faint of heart. Created by a team of Japanese developers that were collectively known as “Team Silent”, the first four games were critically acclaimed and took inspiration from horror films such as “The Mist”, “Jacob’s Ladder”, and “Hellraiser”. Made as a response to Capcom’s “Resident Evil” series, Silent Hill distanced itself from the competition by focusing on the supernatural and unexplainable things that probe deeper into sensitive topics like religion and the occult. The first game was released for the original PlayStation in 1999 and became a critical and commercial success – leading to a bevy of sequels, remakes, and follow-ups in other forms of media that have made the franchise one of the most recognizable brands in video game history.
With the success of the games, a film adaptation of Silent Hill was inevitable, and Konami teamed up with filmmaker and director Christophe Gans to produce a live-action film simply titled “Silent Hill” – released in 2006 and which loosely adapts the first game’s plot while shifting the focus on a female protagonist named Rose Da Silva who enters the eponymous town in search of her adoptive daughter Sharon. While that adaptation wasn’t met with favorable reviews from fans upon release, the movie got enough interest from investors to greenlight a sequel. That new movie was called “Silent Hill: Revelation” and it would be released on 2012 – this time adapting the events of “Silent Hill 3” and serving as a direct follow-up to the first movie with Sharon now grown up and living with her father under the new name Heather Mason.
While both Silent Hill films failed to make an impression and a reboot was considered to restart the movie franchise from scratch, events in the video game industry brought back renewed confidence in the eyes of Konami to help bring the Silent Hill series back to relevance and the public eye. Thanks to the success of Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake and the subsequent new games following it release, a new set of Silent Hill games and projects were greenlit – including a film adaptation for “Silent Hill 2” – widely considered the best entry in the franchise. After being away from the series for almost twenty tears, Christophe Gans returns to helm this new project – which is aptly called “Return to Silent Hill”.
Filmed around the same time development was happening for Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake, Return to Silent Hill was aimed at being a faithful adaptation to the story of SH2 – which focuses on a man named James Sunderland who goes to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his supposedly deceased wife Mary. Drawn by the possibility that she may still be alive somewhere in their “special place”, he enters and discovers that dark and sinister forces have caused the town to change. Determined to find answers no matter what he finds in the darkness, James is called into a living nightmare that will test his resolve and sanity before all is said and done.
If you enjoy entering the world of horror and love seeing themes of love, betrayal, misery, and redemption, the Silent Hill franchise is something you should experience and check out. The Silent Hill 2 Remake and Silent Hill f are the latest games out for PC and modern consoles that new fans can grab and jump into right away. If you prefer to see things on a theatrical setting, then get ready for “Return to Silent Hill” – which will be released in PH theaters on January 21 and distributed locally by 888 Films International.
