MOVIE NEWS – A synopsis for the upcoming Silent Hill movie reveals plot details, casting and new monsters from the latest adaptation of Konami’s video game.

Konami and director Christophe Gans have released a new update on the upcoming Silent Hill movie reboot, Return to Silent Hill, including plot details, casting news and a hint at all-new monsters.

The first Silent Hill film, directed by Gans and released in 2006, was based on Konami’s popular horror game. Roger Avery wrote the script. The film tells the story of a terrified mother’s search for her missing adopted daughter in a deserted town plagued by underground mine fires and a sinister cult protected by monsters. The game was followed by a sequel, 2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation, set in the same universe.

The sequel, written and directed by M.J. Bassett, follows another young woman with an uncanny relationship with the town and its cursed inhabitants.

According to Deadline, the prequel to Return to Silent Hill is firmly embedded in the game’s mythos and the movies. This time around, in a town steeped in layers of horrific history and horror, James, played by Jeremy Irvine (War Horse), searches for the woman he loved and lost. The latter will be played by Hannah Emily Anderson (Jigsaw, X-Men: Dark Phoenix). “The film will follow James (Irvine), a man broken after being separated from his one true love (Anderson),” read the official synopsis. “When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil. As James descends deeper into the darkness, he encounters terrifying figures both familiar and new and begins to question his own sanity as he struggles to make sense of reality and hold on long enough to save his lost love.”

The premise emphasizes the hero and heroine’s underground journey, which is consistent throughout the franchise, often offering great monsters and threats. For example, the fearsome mutant nurses and the sword-wielding Pyramid Head. However, producer Victor Hadida has promised a whole new creature design in the new sequel and a major creative expansion of the game’s existing baddies: “Christophe and I have been working closely with our partners at Konami, as they update the video game, to also create a version of Silent Hill for the theatrical audiences of today,” said Hadida.

“You will still find the iconic monsters – but there will also be new designs. We are confident that this new film and Konami’s updated game together will propel the franchise forward for years to come.”

Reviews of the first two Silent Hill film adaptations have been mixed among horror fans and avid gamers. But the movie franchise, like the game, does an excellent job of building on the strengths of world-building. Expanding on the mysterious New England town of the games, Gans and Avery set Silent Hill in West Virginia, a town plagued by underground coal fires. It’s a veritable ghost town modelled after Centralia, Pennsylvania. Since new writers are writing this instalment, fans of both the game and the previous films will be interested to see what Gans and his new writers, Sandra Vo-Anh and William Josef Schneider, bring to the table.

Source: Deadline