Return to Silent Hill Left Its James Sunderland Star So Exhausted He Checked Into a Swiss Spa After Filming
No, the Alps aren’t hiding a Pyramid Head—only a real-world mystery that’s getting harder to ignore.
Return to Silent Hill is not aiming for subtle. Jeremy Irvine says the new movie based on Silent Hill 2 is 'wild, chaotic' — the kind of shoot that left him so wrung out he booked himself into a Swiss spa the minute it was over. Honestly, that tracks.
Why Irvine signed up for the fog and trauma
Irvine, who broke out with War Horse and is currently in Outlander: Blood of my Blood, told Radio Times that part of the appeal was very simple: teenage wish fulfillment. He is playing James Sunderland, the franchise's most haunted everyman, which is a heady ask even before you get to the monsters.
'God, 14-year-old me would think this is so cool. I basically took the job for that reason.'
'It is fun, but playing scared is exhausting. My character is going through a seriously intense mental breakdown and has created this world of monsters around him in his head. It was the hardest work I have ever had to do on a job. When I finished, I checked myself into a spa in Switzerland.'
The game they are adapting (and how)
Director Christoph Gans is steering this one, taking on the core arc of Silent Hill 2: James wandering the perpetually foggy town, chasing the memory of his wife Mary and running straight into the worst parts of his own psyche. If you played the recent PS5 remake, you know the beats — expect those emotional gut punches, not just jump scares.
Silent Hill is having a moment again
Konami has quietly spun the series back up: Silent Hill f launched earlier this year, and a remake of the first game is also underway. So the movie is arriving in the middle of a mini-comeback instead of a nostalgia one-off.
What to know at a glance
- Title: Return to Silent Hill
- Based on: Silent Hill 2 (the James and Mary story), which also got a recent PS5 remake
- Director: Christoph Gans
- Lead: Jeremy Irvine as James Sunderland (War Horse; currently in Outlander: Blood of my Blood)
- Also starring: Hannah Emily Anderson; Evie Templeton (Wednesday)
- Vibe, per Irvine: 'wild, chaotic' and emotionally punishing to play
- Release: In cinemas January 23, 2026
- Context: Lands amid a fresh wave of Silent Hill projects — Silent Hill f is out, Silent Hill 1 remake is in the works
- Source of quotes: Irvine speaking to Radio Times
Inside baseball note: actors say horror is exhausting all the time, but Irvine checking himself into a Swiss spa after James Sunderland specifically? That tells you exactly what kind of psychological grind they are going for here.