Pyramid Head will be back in January. Please let this one be good!
After almost two decades, Christophe Gans will finally Return To Silent Hill. In a first teaser we can finally catch a glimpse of what to expect. The Silent Hill movies have always been a mixed bag. The second one, Silent Hill: Revelations, was horrible even for video game adaption standards. So why am I hyped about this next entry, then?
Back in 2006, Christophe Gans created the first movie Silent Hill and while it had its weaknesses and fell flat in its third act, it was also something special in terms of adapting the atmosphere of the famous franchise.
The 2006 Movie
Gans' 19 year old first adaptation of the spooky ghost town covered in mysteriously thick fog was received poorly with many critics hating it – at first, that is. That tide has turned and it is nowadays more often than not seen as one of the best horror game adaptations on the big screen.
Especially the camera was used in great effect to emulate the claustrophobic fixed camera angles some game passages had. The thick atmosphere and the build-up towards the first monster were captured beautifully. And even the monsters were mostly done with practical effects instead of CGI – always a plus.
The movie more or less fell apart in its own narrative; instead of just adapting the game's story, the movie is more loose with it which lead to exposition dumps and a much weaker climax.
Also, a lot of the dialogue was kinda silly and stiff. For me, that somehow worked in the movie's favor – let's not forget, the game also had very cheesy dialogue. So while it was probably not intentional, it works for me and adds to the charm.
Return To Silent Hill
Silent Hill: Revelations pretty much ended the franchise's big screen appearances in 2012. This time around the story was even worse, but so was everything else. The movie had little to no redeeming qualities except for randomly featuring Jon Snow actor Kit Harrington. While Gans did not direct this movie, he now returns to the franchise.
In Return To Silent Hill we follow James Sunderland who comes to Silent Hill because he received a letter of his perished wife, Mary. The letter calls him to this mysterious town, so he wants to investigate and look for his wife or whoever wrote the letter in her name.
For every fan of the franchise it is clear that this is the story of Silent Hill 2. I'm excited to see if Gans will adapt this story more faithful to the source material than his previous go at the franchise. Since this was one of the only setbacks of the first entry, I'd prefer a close adaptation.
But I'm most excited about one more thing.
Pyramid Head Makes Sense
The absolute iconic antagonist who drags a giant blade behind him while wearing a pyramid for a head is overused and misunderstood. He was in so many different games and adaptations. He was even one of the main villains in the 2006 movie.
But Pyramid Head has always just been a villain to James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2 because he represents a dark aspect of James' life. So this will be the first movie with Pyramid Head where he actually makes sense and can be explored further instead of just being a cool-looking slasher.
What are your thoughts about the upcoming movie? Are you excited or do you think it will be another cinematic flop?