Return to Silent Hill Behind the Scenes Video Reveals Monster Dancers

Last night Konami held a big Silent Hill Transmission presentation, showing off a host of details related to the Silent Hill franchise. In addition to a big chunk of gameplay footage for the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake , the stream also had a behind-the-scenes video for Return to Silent Hill, and there were quite a few details in there.

The video starts with director Christophe Gans talking about how much he cares about and loves the Silent Hill franchise, saying the first four games are “masterpieces.” Gans previously directed 2006’s Silent Hill film, for which Return to Silent Hill is a sequel — there was another film in between, but it was a poorly received hot mess and probably won’t be acknowledged in this new film.

The video goes on to show some comparison shots between Silent Hill 2 – the original game on PS2, not the remake – and Return to Silent Hill, some of which appear to be shot-for-shot recreations. It’s all looking very good, and it seems to perfectly capture the vibes of the game.

One of the more interesting aspects showcased in the video is the monsters, and how they came to life. Gans explains that, like the first film, all of the creatures are played by dancers and acrobats, to give them a more unique and impactful physicality.

“They have created a level of strangeness and harmony into the monstrosity of these things,” Gans says, and he’s absolutely right. It’s an inspired design decision, because monsters in the Silent Hill series have always had an almost ethereal, otherworldly feel to their movement, and it contributed massively to the horror behind them. Recreating and reinventing these movements as if it were dance is a great choice, and it looks fantastic on-screen.

No release date has been set for Return to Silent Hill, but it seems like we’ll be waiting until at least next year for it.

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