Return to Silent Hill (2026)
directed by Christophe Gans
Rated R for bloody violence and cussin
For fans of…survival horror video games, surrealism, and films that combine the two things. I’m not super familiar with the Silent Hill video game franchise, but I do really like the first film and I enjoy what I have seen/played of the games. I should be clear up top, though, this film is not well liked. BUT I think everyone is wrong lol. This movie is not a sequel to the first film, despite the title, which is not meant to be a reference to the first film, but a reference to the protagonist returning to Silent Hill, a place that holds significance and pain for him. Also, this is a very loose interpretation of the video game Silent Hill 2. So, that being said, if you have the expectation that this is its own work, outside of source material and franchise titles, I think it is a great horror/mystery watch.
My rating: Fuck the Haters Look, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but some of the critical reviews base their analysis on an incorrect assumption. This is not a sequel to the excellent 2006 film–it’s just another story about the very mysterious town of Silent Hill.
Some thoughts: So, obviously, I like the movie and I don’t want to spend all my time defending it against hypothetical detractors, so I’m gonna move past those critiques and tell you what I liked without any strings attached.
I really liked the way the film feels like a video game in so many different aspects. There are clear cinematic choices that feel the same way a video game cut scene feels. I am especially thinking of the early scene of James driving through twisting backroads. This may be a generous interpretation, but I also think some of the dialogue/acting was meant to feel stilted both as a nod to the video game medium and also as a way to contribute to the overall disjointedness of the film/story.
There’s also a few characters that James encounters as he moves through the town and these scenes feel exactly like a video game,especially a horror survival game. The script gives most of the characters a satisfying payoff which separates it from a video game where these characters were mostly there to give you loot or to act as a save point. I also appreciated the sparse use of first person perspective. It seems like the sort of ‘trick’ that could be overplayed, but it was used very tastefully.
I hate how defensive this recommendation sounds (lol), but I feel like this film got done dirty, so give it a chance!