Director of Silent Hill Reflects on Death Threats from Dedicated Video Game Fans After 2006 Film

Christophe Gans; Return to Silent Hill.
Credit:

Sylvain Lefevre/Getty; Cineverse

Need to Know

• Christophe Gans, director of Return to Silent Hill, reported receiving “death threats” from avid video game fans after his previous film was released 20 years ago.
• He recalled, “People were saying, ‘If you mess up this one, we are going to find you.’”
• Despite mixed reactions to the original film, Gans believes it has withstood “the test of time.”

Director Christophe Gans faces significant expectations as he prepares for the release of Return to Silent Hill on January 23. In a recent interview, the 65-year-old director shared that he was met with death threats from “very passionate” fans of the 1999 video game after the release of the original film, Silent Hill, two decades ago.

“It was a big challenge to adapt correctly and respectfully a game which is considered a classic,” Gans told Variety. “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.”

He recalled, “People were saying, ‘If you mess up this one, we are going to find you.’ 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.”

Return to Silent Hill.

Cineverse

Although the original Silent Hill received mixed reviews upon its release, Gans noted that its reputation has grown over the years, appealing to a “2.0 generation of Silent Hill lovers.”

“I was very pleased to see how the reputation of the movie has grown,” he said. “I did an international press junket, and all the journalists were opening their interviews by saying, ‘I saw the film when I was 13 or 14, and I loved it.’”

“It’s a very good feeling, because we know that you have some great films that disappear from memory in six months,” he continued. “When suddenly you face people who are talking about your work with a lot of enthusiasm, the test of time is the ultimate test.”

The upcoming film Return to Silent Hill, based on the 2001 game Silent Hill 2, follows James (played by Jeremy Irvine) as he returns to Silent Hill to reunite with his deceased wife, Mary (Hannah Emily Anderson), amid an apocalyptic backdrop.

Despite the sequel’s mixed reception—a mere 18 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with some critics branding it as “visually tacky” and a “jumbled assembly of cut scenes”—Gans expressed his enduring passion for the Silent Hill universe.

“I’m not looking at Silent Hill only as a great video game. I’m looking at it as a piece of modern art,” he stated. “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.”

Return to Silent Hill is currently showing in theaters.