Announced in October 2022, the film was shot in Germany and Eastern Europe between April 2023 and February 2024.
Premise
James is devastated after being separated from his soulmate and receives a mysterious letter that leads him back to a town called Silent Hill, where he hopes to find her. However, he discovers that the town has been changed by some unknown malevolent force and as he delves deeper into the town, he finds terrifying figures, both familiar and unfamiliar. Doubting his mental stability, he tries to comprehend reality and hopes to stay strong enough to rescue his beloved.[3]
In January 2020, Silent Hill (2006) director Christophe Gans told French magazine Allocine that he was in the process of writing new screenplays based on the Silent Hill and Fatal Frame series with producer Victor Hadida.[6] He later clarified that the work was not a direct sequel to the 2006–2012 film series and that his sensibilities had evolved since the release of the first film. He also described the series as an anthology similar to The Twilight Zone, a place where any story could be told, and intended to depict a more psychoanalytic side to the town.[7]
Written by Gans, Sandra Vo-Anh, and Will Schneider, the film is an adaptation of the video game Silent Hill 2.[1] Gans said in September 2022 that he had finished the film's storyboards and that the film takes inspiration from P.T., the playable teaser for the cancelled game Silent Hills.[8] By October 2022, the film was officially green-lit with the title Return to Silent Hill. Gans worked with Konami to create a new aesthetic for the monsters, including those that had been featured in his previous films, such as Pyramid Head.[7]
