Pure horror! Our review of Return to Silent Hill
Christophe Gans takes his place in the director's chair once again!
Hardly any other fictional town has burned itself so deeply into the memory of horror fans as Silent Hill. Fog, rusty bars, deserted streets and grotesque monsters – all of this has become cult and is now an integral part of pop culture. Accordingly, expectations were high when "Return to Silent Hill" was announced as the third film adaptation of the popular game series. But does "Return to Silent Hill" live up to its original? Find out in our new movie review!
The story: Once Silent Hill and (unfortunately) back
We know the story: Main character James Sunderland receives a letter from his supposedly deceased wife and ends up in Silent Hill, which has definitely seen better days. In search of Mary, James stumbles through foggy streets, fights monsters and increasingly begins to doubt his own sanity. However, it should be mentioned here that "Return to Silent Hill" only picks up on the basic premise of the original game. Ultimately, the decision is made to go its own way, which could really offend some hardcore fans.
Instead of subtly driving the viewer mad, the movie literally serves us the plot with a crowbar. We get everything chewed up so well that any mystery is immediately nipped in the bud. "Return to Silent Hill" feels less like a movie and more like working through a video game checklist: Enter areas, find clues, fight monsters. This robs the narrative of any dynamism and tension.
A technical up and down
In terms of craftsmanship, the movie is quite an up-and-down affair. But it is one thing above all: exhausting. While Christophe Gan's first "Silent Hill" film was still able to convince with quiet moments, the viewer is flooded with fast cuts and visual stimuli here. There are occasional flashes of the typical "Silent Hill" atmosphere, mainly at the beginning when James wanders through the deserted town and it rains ash from the sky. But you shouldn't expect any real scares. Particularly painful: Akira Yamaoka's iconic soundtrack is only played occasionally and otherwise almost completely ignored.
The monster design, on the other hand, is quite decent overall. Some creatures look really disturbing, while others look strangely unfinished. This is mainly due to the GCI, which oscillates somewhere between "quite okay" and "pretty bad". And while we're on the subject of monsters, the handling of Pyramid Head must of course also be mentioned. The masked monster was already prominently featured in the trailer and promised an epic encounter with James. But puff cake. His screentime in the movie is limited to a maximum of five minutes.
Characters to forget
Another shortcoming are the completely one-dimensional characters. Jeremy Irvine in particular is so over the top that it is almost impossible to build up any emotional closeness or a credible connection to the character. What remains are flat templates that stumble through the story so aimlessly that after 100 minutes of running time, the viewer doesn't really care whether James finds love or not. Inner conflicts, traumas or moral ambivalence – the heart of "Silent Hill" – are merely asserted here.
Conclusion
"Return to Silent Hill" should have been an absolute no-brainer. Christophe Gans back in the director's chair, "Silent Hill 2" as a template and probably one of the most coherent horror worlds ever – what could possibly go wrong? But the result is a movie that has nothing to offer in terms of content, prefers to cling to fanservice and completely forgets why "Silent Hill" is so special in the first place. Anyone hoping for real horror is likely to be disappointed. That's why we'd rather pick up the game again.
Our verdict: Long, exhausting, flat – you can save yourself this return.
