What are we expecting from Christoph Hans in the new Silent Hill movie? (Topic)

Not so long ago, Christophe Hans, the director of the first Silent Hill film, told the French edition of Allocine that he is currently working on two films based on the famous horror franchises - Fatal Frame and Silent Hill. Moreover, the director believes that a film about a city with eternal fog should be true to itself in terms of the setting. The first Silent Hill film, while it has enough criticism, is one of the best films for games, and often not the best ones. As for me, the film is excellent, despite many changes in history, for example, the decision to replace Sharon's father, Harry Mason, for whom we played in the first part, with his mother. At the same time, actress Mitchell Rada, playing the role of Rose Desalvo, did an excellent job.

As a fan of the original series of games, who liked the first film and was disappointed in the sequel [if anything, other people were involved in its production, and Hans himself jumped off the project when he realized what horror the sequel was being turned into], decided to compile a selection of what we want to see in the Silent Hill movie. And while I can't speak for all people and am now judging cinema from a gamer's perspective, I think many fans will agree that they also want to see these things in the new Silent Hill movie.

Again live scenery and monsters

People love the movie because it conveys the atmosphere of the game well. For the adaptation of fictional works into films, as well as vice versa, films into games, such a thing is important, which I call the integrity of the original source and adaptation. So that what is shown to us in adaptation looks exactly as we saw it on another screen: the general style, the appearance of the characters, their interaction with the outside world - all this. For example, I believe [apologize in advance for such an abundance of subjectivity] that for example the same Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order feels like a part of the Star Wars universe more than the same new trilogy of films.

So it is with the Silent Hill movie. The world shown to us feels, because of its appearance, the design of the monsters and what happens in the city, exactly like what we saw in the game Team Silent. And in many ways this sense of integrity was created by the painstaking work of set designers who were created for real. Of course, CGI was also used in post-production, for example, this is how the restless silhouette was modified in the film, which was actually played by a living person.

But often, all the scenery and furnishings that were located in as many as five studios were real. And they spent $ 12 million. Filming also took place in abandoned houses. When creating the set, Carol Spier, who acted as the environment artist, looked through the pictures from Chernobyl in order to convey the feeling of an abandoned city.

The monsters also had great designs and were played by several people, some even two or three monsters at the same time, such as choreographer Roberto Campanella, who played Pyramid Head and Martyr at the same time.

While this is budget-dependent and a new challenge, I think fans are expecting to see something like this again to make the world feel real, holistic, and betray the atmosphere.

Competent adaptation or original story

As for the plot, one can only guess what exactly the director planned: a sequel or a restart. In any case, we would not mind seeing a story that is based on one of the four classic games in the series or, again, a competent adaptation of the plot with borrowing elements from all games. It all depends on what they want to show us. Unless the director is re-filming it all over again, I think the perfect option would be to tell the story of Henry Townshend, locked in his room # 302. Ideally, we would like to see the iconic story of James Sunderland, who went to look for his wife in Silent Hill.

But no one canceled the stories after the fourth part, although they were much weaker. I guess we can accept the original story as long as it is good. But I'm leading to the fact that the first four parts are our favorite.

More canonical symbolism

Of the objective disadvantages of the first film, I would say the absence of symbolism, or at least the fact that it was very weak. Silent Hill was always about symbolism [we even wrote about it in two materials]. The monsters that the characters meet in it are always highly individual, because they reflect fears, vices and punishment. But in the film, alas, most of them were out of place or lacked context.

In games [attention, this and the next paragraph contain a lot of spoilers for the original games], most of them had their own meaning. Pyramid Head was a personal punishment for James, who killed his wife, but does not remember it. He is a reflection of his male aggression. Nurses - symbolize his lust when he looked at the hospital staff, where his wife, disfigured by illness, was lying, no longer attracted to him.

Harry sees the ghost children who bullied Alessa at school; doctors and adults with parasites on their backs, who listened to the cultists like puppets. Angela sees a monster that looks like figures under a blanket, where one rapes the other, as she was sexually abused by her father as a child.

One can understand why the director inserted monsters into the film, which, given the history, should not be there [although the presence of some can be explained by the pain of Alessa], since it is difficult not to use such cult images as the same Pyramid Head [named in the film Red Pyramid]. Of course, the director wanted to show the monsters through the prism of children's frightened eyes, which, in principle, corresponds to what was in the first game, but in the future film based on Silent Hill, we want to see more canonical symbolism.

Development of lore and the world based on the existing one

This point follows from the previous two. Having such a rich primary source, we want to see how it will be transferred to screens and further developed. Even experiments are possible, the main thing is not to get carried away and not to rewrite the lore of the city or the origin of many characters when something is taken from the air. Sorry for another example from Star Wars, but just remember the medichlorians responsible for the Jedi's power, which they later removed, saying that the Jedi do not have their own special power, they draw it from the environment.

Atmosphere of complete decay

This refers to the second point. I would like the atmosphere of self-reflection, decline and melancholy to persist. There is simply always the possibility that such a stunning world can be turned into a typical horror movie, where everything is shifted towards evil monsters. It's unlikely with a director like this, though. But in the case of Silent Hill, the narrative is important, a story of loneliness and fear that lurks in the fog.

More Minor Stories

Another feature that I would like to see in the film is interesting supporting characters and their stories. Ideal, as shown in Silent Hill 2. James met many different characters who came to the foggy city for their own reasons, and not to become the backdrop for the story of the protagonist. And Lisa and Kaufman from the first part were so important puzzles in the plot. This will surely add even more depth and, again, gives freedom to creative solutions.

Music by Akira Yamaoka

And, of course, what a new Silent Hill film can be without the music of the legendary Akira Yamaoka, who gave us great game music, and a ticket to himself not a poor old age and world tours that he still arranges today.

The first film did not have its own original soundtracks, and used music from games. I don't know if the filmmakers will be able to attract Akira-san to work on the film, but at least they can again sign a contract for the use of his finished works.

The Topic of Article: What are we expecting from Christoph Hans in the new Silent Hill movie?.
Author: Jake Pinkman