‘Return to Silent Hill’ Director on Receiving Death Threats From ‘Passionate’ Game Fans and Filming an Epic Horror Fantasy on a $23 Million Budget

Director Christophe Gans helmed the first “Silent Hill” film in 2006, and critics hated it. But then a funny thing happened.

“I was very pleased to see how the reputation of the movie has grown,” Gans told Variety. “I did an international press junket, and all the journalists were opening their interview by saying, ‘I saw the film when I was 13 or 14, and I loved it.’ It’s great, because suddenly I’m facing the 2.0 generation of ‘Silent Hill’ lovers. It’s a very good feeling, because we know that you have some great films that disappear from memory in six months. The test of time is the ultimate test, when suddenly you face people who are talking about your work with a lot of enthusiasm.”

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Gans is hoping to cultivate a new batch of fans by returning to the video game adaptation franchise for a third chapter, 20 years after the first. His new film, “Return to Silent Hill,” in theaters Friday via Cineverse and Iconic Events Releasing, is based on the 2001 game “Silent Hill 2,” considered to be a high point in the series. The story concerns James (Jeremy Irvine), a man who must return to the town of Silent Hill to reunite with the love of his life, Mary (Hannah Emily Anderson), after an apocalyptic event has killed many of the residents and set a bunch of deadly monsters loose. Given the scope of the story and the creatures involved, Gans said the adaptation was a tall task, especially given that some audiences might not know the game’s lore.

“It was a big challenge to adapt correctly and respectfully a game which is considered a classic,” he says. “We know that the people who love video games are very passionate. I remember when I did the first film, I received plenty of death threats. People were saying, ‘If you mess up this one, we are going to find you.’ So I came onto the first film with great responsibility, and certainly even more with the second one. At the same time, it was important for me to imagine a movie that people who are not playing games can be interested in.”

Despite his enthusiasm for the project, Gans admits it was challenging to capture his ambitious vision with a modest budget.

“My producer Victor Hadida told me when we finished the film that it cost $23 million,” Gans says. “We had 50 days of shooting, it has 67 sets, so it’s quite huge. But I spent one year just designing everything, storyboarding everything, making tons of artwork. When I came on the pre-production, I was very well prepared. Sometimes, what was difficult was to make people who are not players understand why some elements were so important. Sometimes I had to fight because the fans would be pleased. When I’m doing a film, I’m obsessed by the detail, so that’s the fuel of my work as a director.”

Even after directing two chapters, Gans says it would be a dream to helm more films in the series.

“If I have the opportunity, we’ll come back to ‘Silent Hill’ once more,” he says. “I’m not looking at ‘Silent Hill’ only as a great video game. I’m looking at it as a piece of modern art. It has something really edgy and experimental. I will adapt another chapter because there are some that are extremely good, something very different from the first film, and now ‘Return to Silent Hill.’ I like this world, and I can see that plenty of people are thinking I’m doing a pretty good job.”

Watch the “Return to Silent Hill” trailer below.