New Silent Hill and Fatal Frame Movies Announced

Director Christophe Gans has seemingly confirmed that new movies based on Fatal Frame and Silent Hill are in development. 

“The film will take place in Japan. I especially don’t want to uproot the game from its Japanese haunted house setting,” says Gans regarding a Fatal Frame movie in an interview with Allocine (via Google Translate). He then goes on to reference a Silent Hill movie by stating that “the project will always be anchored in this atmosphere of a small American town, ravaged by Puritanism. I think it’s time to make a new one.”

For those who don’t know, Gans directed the 2006 adaptation of Silent Hill which had its problems but is generally well-received and considered by many to be one of the best movies based on a video game ever made. Given that Gans elected to pass on the opportunity to direct the next Silent Hill movie due to creative differences, the idea that he may return to direct a new one potentially bodes well for the early progress on that project. 

The Fatal Frame movie is arguably even more intriguing. The Fatal Frame franchise established a reputation during the PS2 era for being some of the scariest games ever made. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not a movie based on those games is able to translate the fear of having to look helplessly through a camera in order to capture photos of ghosts and other supernatural figures, but the atmosphere and style of those games should survive the medium transition. 

While we’d wait for more official information regarding these projects before you get too excited, it’s certainly also worth noting that Konami is reportedly looking into developing two new Silent Hill titles. Between that and this movie, you’re starting to get the feeling that Konami is willing to return to Silent Hill after the fallout from the P.T. and Hideo Kojima fiasco kind of tainted the name in the minds of some. 

We’ll be sure to update you on these two potential adaptations as more information becomes available. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.