As if the world had stopped and only the two of them existed. The unexpected meeting of James (Jeremy Irvine) and Mary (Hannah Emily Anderson) strikes into their lives like a bolt from the blue. The intoxicating dream, however, is followed by painful sobering, and the young artist wakes up in a local bar. He has lost consciousness. And when he also causes a scene, he ends up outside in a dumpster, which is not the only trouble he has found himself in. He has also repeatedly failed to show up for sessions with his therapist, but he has no intention of changing that either. When he returns to the studio that evening, devastated by the loss of his beloved and an excess of alcohol, he is jolted from his despair by a handwritten note that someone slipped under his door. Mary desperately begs him to return to the place they once called home, to Silent Hill. Something has happened, and she needs him. James immediately gets into his car and sets off on the road. However, the tunnel that used to lead to the city is abandoned and closed. He continues on foot, through a forest path and further across the city cemetery. Ash falls from the sky, and a twisted love story reminiscent of a nightmare is just beginning…
The film, which was shot in Belgrade, the Dinaric Alps in western Serbia, Munich studios, and at the nearby high-altitude Walchensee lake, is once again directed by Christophe Gans. He also directed the first film in the Silent Hill series (2006), which dominated the box office in American cinemas right from its opening weekend. Despite the technological advancements that both films possess, Gans does not create the horrors in Silent Hill: Nightmares solely through special effects, but allows them to be portrayed by acrobats and dancers in specially modified costumes.
"Horrors, as people like them today, are different from those we watched in 2006. They are much more disturbing, more psychological, playing with different levels of perception, which is very exciting for all of us... We worked hard on the film and I hope that the audience will be as enthusiastic as we are," says the director at the moment when his new film is about to hit theaters. "This is the first time that one story, the same game, is being adapted through two different media," explains film producer Victor Hadida about the close collaboration with the creators of the cult game, especially with musician and producer Akira Yamaoka, who is considered the godfather of the franchise.
Silent Hill: Nightmares
USA, UK, France, Germany – 2026
Length: 106 min.
Genre: horror
Premiere: January 22, 2026
Director: Christophe Gans
Screenplay: Christophe Gans, Sandra Vo-Anh, William Schneider
Based on the game by: KONAMI
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Eve Macklin, Evie Templeton, Pearse Egan, Howard Saddler, and others
