The first official trailer has dropped for Christophe Gans’ upcoming game-to-screen adaptation, Return to Silent Hill, offering our first proper look at the live-action film, although this has once again caused a stir among fans for what seems to be another loose adaptation.
Returning for the upcoming film after directing the original 2006 film, Silent Hill, Gans brings his horror expertise to the table, with the trailer showing off Jeremy Irvine’s (War Horse) character James returning to the iconic foggy town in search of his wife, Mary (Hannah Emily Anderson, The Purge). The clip also gives a first look at Evie Templeton (Wednesday) as Laura, Pearse Egan as Eddie Dombrowski, and Eve Macklin as Kaitlyn, the former two being returning characters from the 2001 game Silent Hill 2, and the latter possibly playing a renamed version of Angela.
Unsurprisingly, the movie will adapt the events of Konami’s 2001 psychological horror classic, although it appears to be a much looser adaptation than expected, changing up the lore by introducing a mysterious sickness that led to the town being empty, or portraying the film’s game-inspired monsters like the Lying Figures and Bubble Head Nurses swarming James in groups.
Unsurprisingly, fan reception to the trailer has been mixed, with some unhappy with how it strays from the plot of Silent Hill 2, drawing parallels to how HBO’s The Last of Us similarly took liberties with its plot, much to fan dismay. Others, on the other hand, were much more accepting, stating their excitement over experiencing to same core narrative of the game, now in Gans’ unique perspective.
In any case, one aspect where Return to Silent Hill has definitely kept true to the games is its soundtrack, which was done by series composer Akira Yamaoka, and as fans of the games will know, one major part of what made them so compelling was the eerie accompanying score, and having Yamaoka on board will no doubt do wonders for its atmosphere at least, no matter how well it translates to what’s happening on screen.
How well the film will actually shape up still remains to be seen as Return to Silent Hill approaches its release on 23 January 2026.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
