Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 1187
RT slug: return_to_silent_hill
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/return_to_silent_hill
Release year: 2026
Runtime: 106 mins
Wide release date: 2026-01-23
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: 2026-02-24
Tomatometer final: 18%
Audience score final: 33%
Genres: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Directors: Christophe Gans
Writers: Christophe Gans, Sandra Vo-Anh, William Josef Schneider
Producers: Molly Hassell, Victor Hadida
MPAA rating: R
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-08-19 20:52:16
Updated: 2026-08-19 20:52:16
RETURN TO SILENT HILL brings the iconic horror franchise back to the screen. When James receives a mysterious letter from his lost love Mary, he is drawn to Silent Hill--a once-familiar town now consumed by darkness. As he searches for her, James faces monstrous creatures and unravels a terrifying truth that will push him to the edge of his sanity.
A visually tacky sequel that lumbers along with a plodding pulse and lacking the thematic resonance that distinguished its source material, Return to Silent Hill gets lost in the haze.
Canonical reviews: 66
Canonical fresh: 12
Canonical rotten: 54
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 18%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-08-19 19:29:48
Snapshot Tomatometer: 18%
Snapshot review count: 66
Snapshot fresh count: 12
Snapshot rotten count: 54
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #2886 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Iconic Events | distributor |
| Davis-Films | production |
| Hassell Free Productions | production |
| Konami | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremy Irvine | James Sunderland |
| 2 | Hannah Emily Anderson | Mary Crane |
| 3 | Robert Strange | Red Pyramid |
| 4 | Evie Templeton | Laura |
| 5 | Eve Macklin | Kaitlyn |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1203 | processed | — | 2026-08-19 20:52:16 | Processed successfully into movie_id=1187 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2886 | 2026-08-19 14:29:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-08-19 19:29:48 | 18% | 66 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 66 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=66, fresh=12, rotten=54, tomatometer=18%. Net new reviews added=66, fresh=12, rotten=54. Current canonical totals=66 reviews, 12 fresh, 54 rotten, tomatometer=18% (18.182%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (66). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (18%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 245937 | David Griffiths | Subculture Entertainment | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-03-22T22:17:21.000Z | 2026-03-22 22:17:21 | Some may feel that Return To Silent Hill just looks like a creepy screensaver while others may choose to embrace the films artistic side. Either way I get the feeling this will become a cult classic that is very likely to divide audiences over its merit. |
| 245938 | Abhishek Srivastava | The Times of India | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-03-09T19:42:42.000Z | 2026-03-09 19:42:42 | For fans of the original game, there is some value in seeing this interpretation on screen. For others, it may come across as a serious but distant horror drama that never quite reaches the emotional intensity it aims for. |
| 245939 | Justin Carreiro | InBetweenDrafts | Rotten | 3/10 | 2026-03-04T21:01:39.000Z | 2026-03-04 21:01:39 | What remains, in actuality, is a flashy and messy film with the appearance of Silent Hill, but with little to no scares and even less depth. |
| 245940 | Casey Chong | Casey's Movie Mania | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-02-25T08:54:38.000Z | 2026-02-25 08:54:38 | It's game over in this visually garish and plodding video game adaptation. |
| 245941 | Amanda the Jedi | Amanda the Jedi (Youtube) | Rotten | — | 2026-02-21T20:40:34.000Z | 2026-02-21 20:40:34 | At some point you have to wonder what the point of even loosely adapting a storyline if you're going to miss the point of it so supremely |
| 245942 | Connor Petrey | Pop Culture Leftovers | Fresh | — | 2026-02-16T12:59:28.000Z | 2026-02-16 12:59:28 | Loaded with atmosphere, haunting creatures and endless labyrinths, Return to Silent Hill is a psychedelic nightmare that deals with grief in a uniquely satisfying fashion. |
| 245943 | Jake Tropila | In Review Online | Rotten | — | 2026-02-11T22:56:21.000Z | 2026-02-11 22:56:21 | Return to Silent Hill is left only to exist as a case study in diminishing returns and exsanguinated genre, sure to disappoint fans and newcomers to the series alike. |
| 245944 | Nonthawat Phakham | Bangkok Post | Fresh | — | 2026-02-06T21:39:11.000Z | 2026-02-06 21:39:11 | It is a psychological descent into guilt, memory and punishment, and for longtime admirers like me it suffices. |
| 245945 | Sean McGeady | Radio Times | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-02-03T18:50:36.000Z | 2026-02-03 18:50:36 | Despite its flaws, the 2006 film was rather handsome, but this budget-starved schlock looks like goulash - a rust-coloured slurry of empty frames and weightless monsters. |
| 245946 | Trace Thurman | Horror Queers Podcast | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-02-02T23:21:51.000Z | 2026-02-02 23:21:51 | I do not understand how it seems to be monumentally difficult to adapt one of these games into a film. It might be time to stop trying. |
| 245947 | Jonathon Wilson | Ready Steady Cut | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2026-02-01T21:54:35.000Z | 2026-02-01 21:54:35 | As it turns out, returning to Silent Hill wasn’t such a good idea after all. |
| 245948 | Matt Hudson | Bloody Awesome Movie Podcast | Rotten | — | 2026-02-01T19:04:54.000Z | 2026-02-01 19:04:54 | Return to Silent Hill takes one of the all-time great video game narratives and presents it like it was written in crayon and distorts what made it so engaging |
| 245949 | Korey Coleman | Double Toasted | Rotten | — | 2026-01-31T05:32:44.000Z | 2026-01-31 05:32:44 | Return to Silent Hill does a great disservice to Silent Hill 2, which many consider to be one of the greatest video game narratives of all time. |
| 245950 | Harry Stainer | Empire Magazine | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-01-29T22:19:33.000Z | 2026-01-29 22:19:33 | Die-hard fans may get a kick out of seeing the monstrosities of Silent Hill on the big screen. But this return trip to gaming’s most terrifying town won’t leave you scared — just bored. |
| 245951 | Sarah Vincent | Sarah G Vincent Views | Rotten | — | 2026-01-29T17:52:24.000Z | 2026-01-29 17:52:24 | I’m tired of psychological horror, but if you are not, maybe you will enjoy it. Just think of it as "Silent Hill" flavored sad boy drama. |
| 245952 | Maxance Vincent | InSession Film | Fresh | B+ | 2026-01-29T00:30:46.000Z | 2026-01-29 00:30:46 | For better or worse, Return to Silent Hill is Christophe Gans’ Megalopolis. |
| 245953 | Eddie Harrison | film-authority.com | Rotten | 1/5 | 2026-01-28T08:01:39.000Z | 2026-01-28 08:01:39 | …Return to Silent Hill is like a bad dream that you can’t wake up from, which oddly enough is what it was probably intended to be….this moth-eaten, video-game cash-in is the lamest kind of cinema imaginable…. |
| 245954 | Nicholas Bell | Fish Jelly Films (YouTube) | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2026-01-27T20:36:26.000Z | 2026-01-27 20:36:26 | Visually arresting manifestations of trauma aren't enough to sustain Gahn's return to the video game adaptation...now reducing his gloomy netherworld to a somnolence only interrupted by disdain generated for its wooden performances. |
| 245955 | Esther Rosenfield | Little White Lies | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-01-27T20:10:35.000Z | 2026-01-27 20:10:35 | Without any of the game’s tension-releasing exploration and puzzle-solving breaks, it has a nightmare flow, constantly upending its own logic and the geometry of its spaces. |
| 245956 | Lee McCoy | DrumDums | Rotten | 3/10 | 2026-01-27T16:44:47.000Z | 2026-01-27 16:44:47 | The horror visuals and world building look straight out of a video game, and that just doesn't cut it for an actual movie by a major studio. Nothing feels remotely frightening. There's really no great build to the story. |
| 245957 | Joe Lipsett | Horror Queers Podcast | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-01-27T13:59:52.000Z | 2026-01-27 13:59:52 | As an adaptation of the game, Gans misses the mark. As a standalone, the narrative is nonsensical and overly complicated. It sometimes looks great, but vibes only go so far |
| 245958 | Emma Wolfe | SpookyAstronauts | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-01-27T00:27:11.000Z | 2026-01-27 00:27:11 | A much as I appreciate it, I can see value in it. It's just not for me. |
| 245959 | Jeremy Jahns | JeremyJahns.com | Rotten | — | 2026-01-27T00:23:41.000Z | 2026-01-27 00:23:41 | Time... don't waste it on this movie. |
| 245960 | Fausto Fernandez | Fotogramas | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-01-26T23:51:59.000Z | 2026-01-26 23:51:59 | 'Return to Silent Hill' doesn't quite reach the heights of Fulci's delirious vision, but it does hint, within its fog, at another fundamental genius of the genre: Mario Bava. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 245961 | Anton Bitel | SciFiNow | Fresh | 4/5 | 2026-01-26T21:54:31.000Z | 2026-01-26 21:54:31 | Return to Silent Hill is, without question, both a franchise film and a reboot of an adaptation of a game already filled with filmic tropes, but it is also the most sophisticated in the series. |
| 245962 | Paul Klein | FILMHOUNDS Magazine | Rotten | 1/5 | 2026-01-26T20:06:09.000Z | 2026-01-26 20:06:09 | The worst thing is, Silent Hill 2 is the type of story that could make for a great psychological horror film. But Gans doesn't get the appeal of the original game. |
| 245963 | Brian Orndorf | Blu-ray.com | Rotten | D+ | 2026-01-26T17:06:07.000Z | 2026-01-26 17:06:07 | Gans seems primed to deliver a refreshed nightmare experience with the sequel, but clunkiness, pokiness, and limited thespian might work to bring down the picture. |
| 245964 | Andrew Murray | The Upcoming | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-01-26T16:32:47.000Z | 2026-01-26 16:32:47 | While Gans faithfully recreates the eerie setting, Return to Silent Hill’s baffling departures from the 2001 video game and its remake fail to capture the core of what made James’s journey through this town so remarkable. |
| 245965 | Jack Martin | Film Feeder | Rotten | 1/5 | 2026-01-25T20:26:11.000Z | 2026-01-25 20:26:11 | Poorly made, awkwardly acted, and about as scary as a box of crayons, this dire adaptation is one that will break the hearts of fans and bore everybody else. |
| 245966 | Alison Foreman | IndieWire | Rotten | D- | 2026-01-25T00:45:27.000Z | 2026-01-25 00:45:27 | A cautionary tale: chilling proof that borrowing legendary video game symbolism without comparable skill remains the surest way to alienate a fanbase, on or off the console. |
| 245967 | Luis Pomales-Diaz | Horror Press | Rotten | 2/10 | 2026-01-25T00:04:34.000Z | 2026-01-25 00:04:34 | It’s simplified, mean drivel wearing the mask of a game much better than itself. And worst of all, it manages to somehow stretch itself to nearly two hours as it rushes to its astoundingly incompetent end. Forget Abstract Daddy, that’s the real horror. |
| 245968 | Keith Uhlich | (All (Parentheses)) (Substack) | Fresh | — | 2026-01-24T19:18:43.000Z | 2026-01-24 19:18:43 | Has a digi-augmented chintziness on the one hand. On the other, the thought "Lady and the Duke-era Eric Rohmer doing Hellraiser" came frequently to mind. |
| 245969 | Gaius Bolling | Geek Vibes Nation | Rotten | 3/10 | 2026-01-24T15:54:26.000Z | 2026-01-24 15:54:26 | There is a madness associated with Silent Hill that makes the game series such an effective horror video game brand, but the madness here is just a deafening mess of a film that proves to be disappointing because of how well this film series started. |
| 245970 | Joseph Robinson | Fish Jelly Films (YouTube) | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2026-01-24T05:40:40.000Z | 2026-01-24 05:40:40 | Inspired horror peeks through, but Return to Silent Hill is undone by stiff acting, overused effects, bad wigs, and a frustratingly foolish lead. |
| 245971 | Carla Hay | Culture Mix | Rotten | — | 2026-01-23T23:55:38.000Z | 2026-01-23 23:55:38 | Repetitive and incoherent, the horror film Return to Silent Hill is yet another creatively bankrupt movie based on a video game. This turgid movie (about a grieving man in denial about the death of a loved one) has subpar visual effects and weak acting. |
| 245972 | Cody Leach | Cody Leach (YouTube) | Rotten | 1/5 | 2026-01-23T20:45:57.000Z | 2026-01-23 20:45:57 | As a movie, it's a generic and poorly paced January horror film. As an adaptation, it's a completely bastardized cliff notes version of arguably the greatest story in a horror video game. |
| 245973 | Michael Gingold | Rue Morgue Magazine | Rotten | — | 2026-01-23T17:29:33.000Z | 2026-01-23 17:29:33 | [The movie] plays like the most simplistic kind of video game, carrying us from one gnarly encounter to another without giving us an emotional connection to what’s going on. |
| 245974 | Grant Hermanns | Screen Rant | Fresh | 5/10 | 2026-01-23T17:28:41.000Z | 2026-01-23 17:28:41 | Between unnecessary lore changes and a lack of thematic heft in some of its storytelling, the filmmaker's return to the franchise is a weird mix of exciting recreations, gorgeous visuals and disappointing execution. |
| 245975 | Matthew Monagle | Certified Forgotten | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-01-23T17:27:28.000Z | 2026-01-23 17:27:28 | There is a spark of the divine in the production, an inventiveness in bringing the city of Silent Hill alive on the screen that makes it impossible to rule out altogether. |
| 245976 | Simon Abrams | RogerEbert.com | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2026-01-23T16:29:31.000Z | 2026-01-23 16:29:31 | Gans’ sequel delivers more of the same, so it likely won’t impress anyone who doesn’t already enjoy getting lost in the fog. |
| 245977 | Prabhjot Bains | But Why Tho? | Rotten | 2.5/10 | 2026-01-23T16:07:44.000Z | 2026-01-23 16:07:44 | The result is a film that tells but never shows, transforming powerful, implicit horrors into woefully explicit grotesqueries. It not only feels misguided and uninspired in form, feel, and function, but also marks a new low for the video game adaptation. |
| 245978 | Mark Dujsik | Mark Reviews Movies | Rotten | 2/4 | 2026-01-23T14:59:36.000Z | 2026-01-23 14:59:36 | Everything about the movie is ultimately generic, more than anything else. |
| 245979 | Jenn Adams | Strong Female Antagonist | Fresh | B- | 2026-01-23T14:30:04.000Z | 2026-01-23 14:30:04 | this vague storyline combines with the horrifically dreamy atmosphere to create an overwhelming feeling of doomed romance. We feel for James and Mary even if we don’t exactly understand how or why their love went wrong. |
| 245980 | Simon Foster | Screen-Space (Substack) | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2026-01-22T21:04:59.000Z | 2026-01-22 21:04:59 | Gans and his co-writers layer their narrative (tragic love story; really haunted memories; witch-cult abuse) like game designers Konami layered their game play, but only one nails the experience. |
| 245981 | Peter Sobczynski | Auteurist Class (Substack) | Rotten | — | 2026-01-22T20:52:22.000Z | 2026-01-22 20:52:22 | I suspect that even fans of the game will be less than impressed with the cut-rate look and feel of the proceedings, not to mention the lack of any noticeable tension or genuine scares. |
| 245982 | Jeffrey M. Anderson | Common Sense Media | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-01-22T20:13:14.000Z | 2026-01-22 20:13:14 | Paying fastidious homage to the video game Silent Hill 2, this horror movie has some impressive visuals and production design, but it skimps in the character and story department. |
| 245983 | Beatrice Loayza | New York Times | Rotten | — | 2026-01-22T19:02:31.000Z | 2026-01-22 19:02:31 | “Return to Silent Hill” aims for a similar uncanniness — sometimes the actors look like digital doubles — but the result is less phantom realm, more jumbled assembly of cutscenes. |
| 245984 | Tomás Andrés Guerrero | Sensacine | Fresh | 3/5 | 2026-01-22T18:44:10.000Z | 2026-01-22 18:44:10 | Even in moments where the narrative can be confusing, the faithfulness to the spirit of Konami's bestseller keeps the viewer's attention and becomes a highly immersive experience. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 245985 | Jacob Oller | AV Club | Rotten | D- | 2026-01-22T14:35:11.000Z | 2026-01-22 14:35:11 | Goofy and low-rent, it’s a dire look at what happens when you can’t leave the past behind—whether you’re a horror game character or a video game movie filmmaker. |
| 245986 | Sebastian Zavala Kahn | Me gusta el cine | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2026-01-22T05:40:39.000Z | 2026-01-22 05:40:39 | It's not scary, it's not tense, it's not even funny. The characters are incredibly boring, and the talented actors who play them do what they can with material that doesn't do them any favours. [Full review in Spanish]. |
| 245987 | Joey Magidson | Awards Radar | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2026-01-22T05:35:01.000Z | 2026-01-22 05:35:01 | Return to Silent Hill is a massively disappointing adaptation of a classic horror video game. |
| 245988 | Matt Donato | Daily Dead | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-01-21T23:09:42.000Z | 2026-01-21 23:09:42 | Between the poor performances, dismally edited storytelling, and fumbled fright-night entertainment, Return to Silent Hill is anything but a warm welcome home for horror movie and video game fans. |
| 245989 | Jesse Hassenger | Guardian | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-01-21T22:33:11.000Z | 2026-01-21 22:33:11 | It turns out, making a horror movie where the hero is more casually curious (or oblivious) than scared is a tricky proposition. |
| 245990 | Robert Kojder | Flickering Myth | Rotten | 2/5 | 2026-01-21T22:31:01.000Z | 2026-01-21 22:31:01 | Director Christophe Gans understands Silent Hill so arrestingly and vividly when it comes to visual nightmare fuel that it makes it all the more frustrating that, with this story, he still doesn’t "get" what he is adapting |
| 245991 | Avi Offer | NYC Movie Guru | Rotten | — | 2026-01-21T22:20:54.000Z | 2026-01-21 22:20:54 | An atmospheric, supernatural horror thriller that offers no surprises, thrills or palpable scares. |
| 245992 | Jeff Nelson | WeHo Times | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2026-01-21T21:12:58.000Z | 2026-01-21 21:12:58 | Instead of getting lost in this psychological labyrinth, its lack of impact lands with an unfortunately hollow thud. |
| 245993 | Ashley Bardhan | GamesRadar+ | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2026-01-21T19:32:05.000Z | 2026-01-21 19:32:05 | A confusing plot, mediocre visual effects, and over-the-top acting might make director Christophe Gans' newest Silent Hill adaptation just as divisive as his first attempt 20 years ago. |
| 245994 | Dominic Baez | Seattle Times | Fresh | 2/4 | 2026-01-21T19:28:53.000Z | 2026-01-21 19:28:53 | It shouldn’t work, and it doesn’t a lot of the time, but there’s something compelling in how it all wraps up, how decisions that floundered in the moment feel a little more justified once the credits roll (which are awesomely stylish for some reason). |
| 245995 | Jesse Schedeen | IGN Movies | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-01-21T18:03:15.000Z | 2026-01-21 18:03:15 | It’s ultimately an adaptation that fails to improve upon the source material or do anything particularly new and interesting. Those craving a truly great psychological horror experience are better off booting up a version of Silent Hill 2. |
| 245996 | Trace Sauveur | AwardsWatch | Rotten | C- | 2026-01-21T17:39:36.000Z | 2026-01-21 17:39:36 | Return to Silent Hill never captures the smothering, oppressive dread of the game, mainly because it’s a property with a premise built on immersion. |
| 245997 | Karina Adelgaard | Heaven of Horror | Rotten | 1/5 | 2026-01-21T16:45:25.000Z | 2026-01-21 16:45:25 | Fans of the video game will probably enjoy being able to sit back and watch this familiar world play out. However, I have to review Return to Silent Hill in terms of how good a movie it is. And it is not a good movie. It’s a movie that is... |
| 245998 | Joshua Ryan | FandomWire | Rotten | 5/10 | 2026-01-21T16:44:22.000Z | 2026-01-21 16:44:22 | The successful recreation of a nightmare is impressive, but the hurdle is turning that nightmare into something that captivates audiences. When discussing a dream, it’s often the storyteller who’s enjoying themselves more than the listener. |
| 245999 | Brian Eggert | Deep Focus Review | Rotten | 0.5/4 | 2026-01-21T16:15:00.000Z | 2026-01-21 16:15:00 | I found the experience difficult to sit through and nonsensical from moment to moment, with its confounding story and shoddy CGI matched only by its lack of entertainment value. |
| 246000 | Kyle Logan | ScreenAnarchy | Rotten | — | 2026-01-21T16:13:06.000Z | 2026-01-21 16:13:06 | As an adaptation of one of the best video games ever made from a filmmaker who successfully translated the games' world to film before, it's a major disappointment. As a movie, it's just bad. |
| 246001 | Ross Bonaime | Collider | Rotten | 3/10 | 2026-01-21T16:06:41.000Z | 2026-01-21 16:06:41 | This powerful survival horror story has been turned into an ugly, laughable adaptation that proves that maybe we should’ve never gone back to Silent Hill. |
| 246002 | Justin Clark | Slant Magazine | Rotten | — | 2026-01-21T16:01:45.000Z | 2026-01-21 16:01:45 | .5/4 Christophe Gans’s film does away with all the psychosexual nuance of Silent Hill 2. |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.