Silent Hill is a 2006 supernatural horror film directed by Christophe Gans and written by Roger Avary, based on the video game series of the same name published by Konami. The first installment in the Silent Hill film series, it stars Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Alice Krige and Jodelle Ferland. The plot follows Rose da Silva, who takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill, for which Sharon cries while sleepwalking. Rose is involved in a car accident near the town and awakens to find Sharon missing. While searching for her daughter, she fights a local cult and begins to uncover Sharon's connection to the town's dark past.
After attempting to gain the film rights to Silent Hill for five years, Gans sent a video interview to Konami explaining his plans for adapting it and how important the games were to him. Konami awarded him the film rights as a result, and he and Avary began working on the script in 2004. Avary used Centralia, Pennsylvania as inspiration for the town. Principal photography began in April 2005 and lasted three months with an estimated $50 million budget, and was shot on sound sets and on location in Ontario, Canada. Most of the monsters encountered were played by professional dancers, while a minority were created with CGI.
Silent Hill was released theatrically in Canada on April 21, 2006, by Alliance Atlantis and in France on April 26 by Metropolitan Filmexport, grossing $100.6 million worldwide. The film received generally negative reviews from critics upon release, although retrospective reviews have been more favorable. A sequel, titled Silent Hill: Revelation, was released in October 2012, while a third film, Return to Silent Hill is in production, with Gans returning as writer-director.
