New ‘Silent Hill’ Movie Gets Release Date – But Is the ‘Silent Hill 2’ Adaptation Already a Dumpster Fire?

A new Silent Hill movie called Return to Silent Hill now has an official release date. However, fans of the Konami franchise are worried that its premiere date could hint at the film already being a disaster.

‘Return to Silent Hill’ Movie Gets Release Date, and it could spell trouble

In a June 18 report by Deadline, the outlet revealed that the new Return to Silent Hill movie is scheduled to release on January 23, 2026. “Based on the popular video game series by Konami, Return to Silent Hill will be released January 23, 2026. The psychological horror thriller stars Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson.” However, fans are worried that its January launch window could mean the movie is a stinker.

In the film industry, there is an infamous term called the “January movie dump.” It’s essentially a time window when studios offload films that they know will likely fail due to their poor quality. The practice has become so well-known that it’s even become a meme. If you want to know what I’m talking about, just check out one of Red Letter Media’s many annual “f**k you, it’s January” videos where they cover the year’s latest dumpster fires.

Over on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, Silent Hill fans reacted to the release date with skepticism. A user wrote, “January dump, oh my.” Another redditor replied, “January…woo boy, see y’all in another 15 years on the next Silent Hill movie.” One comment simply exclaimed, “This is going to suck, isn’t it?” Suffice it to say, fans of the horror franchise are not very optimistic about the Return to Silent Hill film.

What we know about the ‘Sh’ Film so far

Return to Silent Hill was originally announced back in 2022 by Konami. The film is being directed by Christophe Gans, who actually made the original 2006 live-action Silent Hill movie. This in itself might be worrying for some, given that adaptation was average at best. British actor Jeremy Irvine will portray James Sunderland, while Hannah Emily Anderson will take on the role of his wife, Mary.

As far as what the film is about, it’s basically a Silent Hill 2 adaptation. It’s unknown how faithful it will stay to its source material. However, the movie’s description sounds pretty close to the game. Per Deadline: “It follows James (Irvine), a man broken after his relationship with the love of his life, Mary (Anderson), ends. When a mysterious letter from her calls him back to Silent Hill, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil.”

All that said, it’s hard not to be a little concerned with the movie’s January release date. The good news is that even if it’s bad, we still have the excellent SH2 remake. The 2024 game by Bloober Team is already a cinematic take on the 2001 classic. Seriously, the acting for James Sunderland in the remake is incredible. Only time will tell if Return to Silent Hill also manages to capture the game’s tragic narrative with the same level of quality.