The long-awaited third movie in the Silent Hill series, RETURN TO SILENT HILL, is almost ready to hit theaters. The new psychological thriller is based on Konami’s famous survival horror game Silent Hill 2. It brings the creepy, foggy town back to life on the big screen with a new vision by French director Christophe Gans, who also directed the first Silent Hill movie in 2006. This time, Gans returns to helm the adaptation alongside co-writers Sandra Vo-Anh and Will Schneider.
The film stars Jeremy Irvine as James Sunderland, a man driven by loss and a mysterious letter from his presumed-dead wife Mary, played by Hannah Emily Anderson. A young girl named Laura, played by Evie Templeton, shares their emotional journey with them. As James faces his inner demons and twisted creatures in the haunted town of Silent Hill, the story explores grief, trauma and how we see things.
Even though the setting is made up, the film’s atmospheric and scary images were shot in a number of real places in Europe. Filming began in April 2023 and ended in February 2024. Several spooky backgrounds were used to capture the scary feel of Silent Hill.
WHERE WAS RETURN TO SILENT HILL FILMED?
Return to Silent Hill was mostly filmed in Germany and Serbia, using both real sets and virtual production technology. Each place was carefully picked to match the world of the video game, which is dark and strange.
• Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Munich, the capital of Bavaria, was one of the main places where the movie was filmed. Munich, which is known for having both old buildings and new urban areas, was used as a base for many scenes, both inside and outside. The city’s dark corners and old-fashioned streets made the darker parts of the movie look great. You could also see what went on behind the scenes. When filming ended in February 2024—lead actor Jeremy Irvine shared photos from the set.
• Penzing, Bavaria, Germany
Penzing, a municipality in Bavaria’s Landsberg district, had beautiful rural settings that helped bring the story’s themes of isolation and mystery to life. Scenes of desolation were built in its wide open spaces and quieter roads, which were important for making the town feel empty and haunted by forces that could not be seen.
• Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
Nuremberg was another famous place where movies were shot. It is a city with medieval roots and a creepy look all its own. Because it had old buildings and foggy streets, it was a great replacement for some of Silent Hill’s scarier environments. This place was used to film scenes that focused on decay, history, and a skewed view of reality, all of which were present in the source material.
• Ammersee (Lake Ammer), Bavaria, Germany
To bring in more natural, eerie visuals, the team also filmed near Lake Ammer (Ammersee) in Bavaria. The mist over the water and the dense forest around it were perfect images to capture the feeling of fear and mystery that is Silent Hill. People think that these scenes by the lake will be very important to the psychological tension in the movie.
• HYPERBOWL Studio, Bavaria, Germany
At HYPERBOWL, a modern studio in Bavaria, cutting-edge virtual production was used. An LED wall volume is used for digital set extensions at this facility. This lets filmmakers easily combine CGI environments with live-action performances. It was likely used to bring famous monsters like Pyramid Head to life, as well as more supernatural parts of Silent Hill that would be impossible to film in real life.
• Belgrade, Serbia
The cast and crew also went to Belgrade, Serbia, for some extra scenes. The capital of Serbia, with its mix of Soviet-era buildings and modern cityscapes, added to the variety of the atmosphere. The more industrial and falling apart parts of Silent Hill looked great in Belgrade’s decaying cities..
Return to Silent Hill will be in theaters in the U.S. on January 23, 2026. Filming is over and post-production is now underway. Fans of the game and the horror genre can look forward to a visually haunting and immersive return to the cursed town—which will be brought to life in a number of different European filming locations.
RETURN TO SILENT HILL BEHIND THE SCENE
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