The first Silent Hill game twitched and crawled onto PlayStation in 1999. Since then, the premier survival horror franchise has added eight main installments and five spinoff games. The series’ small-town setting, distinctive monsters, and dense pixel fog quickly entered pop culture, along with Akira Yamaoka’s legendary soundtracks.
Behind the scenes, publisher Konami’s handling of the franchise, and some high-profile cancellations, have rivaled its onscreen drama. Today, the series may be as famous for its fiercely protective fanbase as its immersive scares. But as fans leap out of their seats at the slightest hint that a new game is in development, it’s no wonder the horror saga has made its way from console to big screen.
How many times has Silent Hill made it to theatres?
Currently, two Silent Hill movies have been released. The first entry, simply called Silent Hill, reached cinemas in 2006. Director Christophe Gans crafted an atmospheric film from Roger Avery’s script. It took inspiration rather than plot points from the first game, attracting a cast that included Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, and Sean Bean. While that talent delivered a $100m box office haul, it couldn’t break the curse of video game adaptations. Silent Hill earned a negative response from critics, not that the feedback stopped a sequel from being announced soon after release.
The second film arrived six years later. Although Gans passed directing reins to M.J. Bassett, Mitchell, Bean, and other cast members returned for Silent Hill Revelation. Loosely adapting the third installment of the game series, it joined a host of 3D releases in 2012, which undoubtedly helped it to a respectable gross. But it fared even less well with critics and audiences than its predecessor, and confirmation of more films has remained in the fog ever since.
Still, you can never write off a survival horror series. Rumors suggest that Silent Hill’s movie journey isn’t over. In 2020, Christophe Gans said he was keen to return to the franchise with a third installment focusing on horror in a puritanical U.S. town. At any rate, we’ll let you know if a third Silent Hill flick is on the horizon in the near future.
