While he may not be returning for the next installment in the franchise, the underrated Sean Bean-led adaptation of an iconic video game is getting a new streaming home ahead of its reboot. After getting his start in the world of theater, Bean quickly rose to stardom with his turns in the Jack Ryan franchise film, Patriot Games, and as the iconic villain Alec Trevelyan in Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond franchise debut, GoldenEye. The years since have seen him find success with everything from playing Boromir in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy to HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Amid his frequent spells in the world of high fantasy, Bean has also ventured into the horror genre on multiple occasions. Some of the more notable ventures include the 2007 remake of the cult classic horror-thriller The Hitcher, in which Bean played the тιтular villain, as well as the medieval action-horror movie Black Death and Brandon Cronenberg’s acclaimed psychological horror film Possessor. There is one, however, situated among the bunch that not only led to the production of a sequel, but is also gearing up for a reboot.
The Silent Hill Movie Is Getting A New Streaming Home
Bean Co-Led The Cast Of The First Two Adaptations
One of Bean’s more memorable horror movies was that of Silent Hill, which is about to get a new streaming home. The 2006 movie served as an adaptation of the Konami franchise of the same name, centering on Rose Da Silva as she took her adopted daughter to the тιтular town in the hopes of helping cure her sleepwalking and nightmares, only to herself fall into a nightmarish landscape. Co-led by Radha Mitchell as Rose and Bean as her husband Christopher, Silent Hill was initially poorly received, but has built a cult following, leading to a sequel and upcoming reboot.
Now, Shudder has announced that Silent Hill will be coming to their library. The 2006 adaptation of the horror game will make its premiere on the horror-driven streaming platform on March 1, which also marks its return to a streamer after being without a streaming home for some time. The news also comes nearly a year after the first trailer for the upcoming reboot, Return to Silent Hill, was unveiled.
For fans of:
- Eerie folk horror movies
- Nightmarish alternate dimensions
- Video game adaptations
Why You Should Watch Bean’s Silent Hill
It Should’ve Kickstarted A Video Game Adaptation Renaissance
Long before HBO’s The Last of Us, Netflix’s Arcane and Ben Schwartz’s Sonic the Hedgehog movies came along and put the genre on the right track, the 2006 Silent Hill movie actually stood out as one of the better video game adaptations. Director Christophe Gans, at the time better known for his period action horror movie Brotherhood of the Wolf, clearly understood not just what the тιтular town should look like in its fog and rust-filled iterations, but also the eerie atmosphere that should come from its story and characters.
At the time of its release, very few other video game adaptations succeeded at translating their source materials for the screen, even if they proved successful at the box office. Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil infamously started with a loose interpretation of the games and focused on original characters before gradually veering away from them, while the increasing output of controversial director Uwe Boll saw the likes of House of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and Alone in the Dark ruined. Though Gans and writer Roger Avary also took some major liberties, they still stayed true to the essence of the first Silent Hill game, in particular.
This is even more evident when comparing Silent Hill to its sequel, Revelation, which went for a fast-paced, 3D horror ride versus an atmospheric one, which resulted in it being a critical failure. While the video game adaptation genre has certainly come a long way since, it’s hard to deny that Gans’ pᴀssion not only shone through in that first film, but also made him the right choice to revive the franchise with the upcoming Return to Silent Hill, which will directly adapt the second game.
What ScreenRant Has Said About Silent Hill:
If Silent Hill as a gaming franchise is anything, it is overwhelmingly atmospheric. The chilling and eerie nature of the games is something entirely unique, and bringing it to life in a film wasn’t an easy thing to do. However, the movies have atmosphere in spades, and actually do an excellent job of creating the cinematic equivalent of many of the game’s creepiest vibes. Seeing the fog-draped city of Silent Hill loom up before the heroes as they enter the town is the stuff of nightmares, and the dreamlike logic of the games was painstakingly recreated through visuals alone. Though horror is made up of so much more than atmosphere, a chilling aura can go a long way to keeping the viewer on edge and ripe for the perfect scare. — 9 Reasons Why The Silent Hill Movies Are Underrated
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Silent Hill Facts |
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|---|---|
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Budget |
$50 Million |
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Box Office |
$100.6 Million |
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Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
32% |
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Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
63% |
Other Horror Video Game Adaptations To Stream Now:
- Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (Starz)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s (Peacock)
- Silent Hill: Revelation (Peacock)
- Werewolves Within (Shudder)
- Detention (Amazon Freevee)
Source: Shudder
