When James Sunderland receives a letter from his lost love, Mary, he has to return to where they first met… The cursed town of Silent Hill. What he finds there will shake him to his core and redefine his life.
Return to Silent Hill hit theaters this week and was promptly met with unfavorable reviews, low scores, and harsh criticism. While I want to say the movie is unfairly judged, I can’t. As a horror film for general audiences, it falls flat. As a followup to Silent Hill (2006), it under-delivers. However, to a very specific set of viewers, Return to Silent Hill is a phenomenal addition to the iconic video game’s lore. Based on the critically acclaimed video games Silent Hill 2, and the Silent Hill 2 remake, Return to Silent Hill offers game accurate locations, appearances from fan favorite monsters, and a sound track that feels like coming home for every horror gamer out there.
The acting in the film is often overly dramatic, which can turn away the average movie goer but places it right at home with the kind of writing seen throughout the video game franchise. However, not a single actor phoned in their performance on this project. Jeremy Irvine portrays James Sunderland, an artist who meets the woman of his dreams only to tragically lose her. He spends the majority of the movie wandering through a fog, both metaphorically and literally thanks to Silent Hill’s atmosphere. While he can remember his love, Mary, he doesn’t recall how they separated, if they’re on good terms, or if she’s okay. When his sweetheart, played by Hannah Emily Anderson, sends him a mysterious letter instructing him to find her where they first met, James travels to Silent Hill. What he finds there isn’t the small town he was once enamored by, but instead he wanders into a nightmarish Hellscape packed full of humanoid creatures, swarms of man-eating bugs, and citizens who have spiraled into insanity.
Irvine comes from a career full of drama, thrillers, suspense, and 2023’s horror film, Baghead. Anderson also had a solid lineup of horror outings including 2017’s Jigaw and The Purge TV series. It’s unfortunate that Return to Silent Hill is scoring so low, as both of these actors perfectly captured the James and Mary that gamers have come to know since the Silent Hill 2 first launched on the Playstation 2 back in 2001. Caught somewhere between day time soap opera and emotional psychological horror, the human elements of every Silent Hill video game have always felt surreal. Nobody talks or carries themselves in a way any real world person would. Because of that, the performances in Return to Silent Hill tend to push away the average viewer, while landing right at home with longtime franchise fans.
Return to Silent Hill does suffer from some under-cooked visuals in some scenes, but not throughout the entire film. This suggests that certain scenes were given special treatment, while others were left to do the best they could without as much support. When Silent Hill unleashes its warning siren and slips from ash to hell fire, it can be a bit jarring. It doesn’t take long for the good visuals to come into play. Pyramid Head looks just as menacing as ever when he comes into play, while other creatures get to make their cinematic debut for the first time ever. And, yes… Abstract Daddy makes an appearance. Just another juicy nugget that means nothing to the every-man, but everything to the Silent Hill 2 fandom. With the run time of the games ranging from 8 to 32 hours, fans can expect a rapid fire presentation to deliver as much as possible within Return to Silent Hill’s hour and forty six minute run time. When it’s rushed, it’s rushed… But when it delivers the movie hits all the right notes.
Famed composer, Akira Yamaoka, brings his talent to yet another Silent Hill outing. Akira brought Silent Hill’s eerily beautiful soundtracks to life through decades of work. Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4: The Room, Silent Hill: Origins, Silent Hill: Homecoming, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Silent Hill: The Short Message, and Silent Hill f all owe him thanks for providing music that has defined the franchise with its beautiful scores and instantly identifiable soundtracks. Akria’s music is beautifully utilized yet again for Return to Silent Hill, just as it was for 2006’s initial film. Director Christophe Gans was right to bring him back for another movie after twenty long years. Pairing Akira’s tracks to visuals ripped straight from the games helped make Gans’ return to the franchise feel right at home. This makes it all the more tragic that Christophe has to see his second film in the franchise drug through the digital mud as countless people cry foul for this video game adaption.
Fans of Silent Hill 2 shouldn’t go into the film expecting a one-to-one adaptation. Instead, they should expect a followup to both 2001’s Silent Hill 2 videogame, and the 2024 remake. Without spoiling anything for the fans, I’ll say this as I wrap up my review… Return to Silent Hill should be seen as an ending for James’ journey that many fans have theorized was looping since ’01. Return to Silent Hill taps into some specific theories and rewards Silent Hill 2 fans with a conclusion that’s both faithful to the games, and refreshing to those of us that were hoping to see James in a better light. As a horror film, Return to Silent Hill falls flat but, as a love letter to the games and a passionate nod to the fans, it’s nothing short of rewarding. This is why the lowest rated Silent Hill film has instantly become my favorite of the three released so far. I can’t wait to add it to my collection upon its physical release.
Return to Silent Hill is currently playing in theaters.