Joey Magidson
Silent Hill 2 is considered an all-timer of a video game, certainly on the Mount Rushmore of horror games. The Silent Hill cinematic franchise has never fully captured what the games do so well, but the first film especially was able to somewhat translate the atmosphere and vibes. That movie adapted the first game, but the next game was where it really all came together. So, an adaptation was probably inevitable, considering the potential within. Unfortunately, Return to Silent Hill is a complete misfire. It doesn’t work at all, paling in comparison to what the interactive version was able to pull off so successfully.
Return to Silent Hill is the worst film of the year so far. It’s early, but it it wouldn’t surprise me to find it hold the dishonor throughout 2026. The added insult is how this could certainly have been a good movie, or even a great one. Silent Hill 2 was revolutionary in how the plot was the focus of the game, as opposed to combat with an excuse of a plot. So, in theory, an adaptation should have a leg up. Instead, the shortcomings are made even more apparent.
After an introduction that clumsily introduces James Sunderland (Jeremy Irvine) to Mary Crane (Hannah Emily Anderson) on a road near the town of Silent Hill. Fast forward a few years and Mary is gone, leaving James a mess. After what seems like another night of drunken depression, he stumbles home to find a letter from Mary, urging him to meet her in Silent Hill. Immediately setting off, he finds the town largely deserted and covered in an ominous fog. Oh, and there’s monstrous horrors around nearly every corner.
Undeterred, if constantly confused and terrified, James presses on in his search for Mary, running into a few mysterious people like Angela (Eve Macklin), Eddie Dombrowski (Pearse Egan), and Laura (Evie Templeton), plus the abomination that is Pyramid Head. The further into the town he ventures, the more hellish it gets, though the closer to finding Mary he believes he’s getting.
Unfortunately, the acting here is terrible. Jeremy Irvine has been good before but is a real let down here, overacting and never allowing you to buy into his character. In the game, James is an iconic and groundbreaking character. As a movie character, as depicted here, he’s just boring and dumb. No one else has much to do, while none of them make an impression, either. In addition to the aforementioned cast members, the supporting players include Emily Carding and Martine Richards, among others.
Filmmaker Christophe Gans has become the person most associated with Silent Hill movies, so having him co-write/direct should have been a boon. Instead, it becomes all the more frustrating. Co-writing with William Josef Schneider and Sandra Vo-Anh, Gans has no real handle on the game he’s adapting. Every change is for the worse, none of the highlights of the game are depicted, and even the upsetting vibe he brought to Silent Hill the first time is just reduced to a grimy look here. It feels cheap, with dodgy CGI and a lack of scale. Pyramid Head and the monsters move in a disturbing way, but that’s literally the only thing even somewhat done well here.
Return to Silent Hill is all the worse for how strong the source material is. The film is done so poorly, it simultaneously makes it harder to see what was so great about the game, while also clearly showcasing how superior it is. Gamers will be disappointed. Horror fans will be puzzled. This is just a cinematic implosion, from start to finish.
SCORE: ★1/2
I still don’t understand why Hollywood felt the need to closely adapt any of the stories from the games. Not even one as universally beloved as Silent Hill 2. The only plot constant in this series that fans actually care about is the haunted town. You don’t actually need to hew to any kind of overarching mythology beyond that.
Hollywood could have made, like, ten of these movies by now, all from different filmmakers, all telling completely standalone narratives about some new disturbed individual being drawn to a supernatural town reflecting a nightmare version of their own psyche back at them.
I don’t understand why they keep shooting themselves in the foot by acting like “the lore” is what matters in these kinds of franchises…
Very true. It’s also just sad to see one of the most compelling and frankly disturbing narratives in a horror game reduced to just absolute dreck.