Return to Silent Hill The director received in the first film "Plenty Of Death Threats".

The original Silent Hill film has received a lot of reviews in recent years, with critics retrospectively hailing the film as “one of the best”, if not “the best”, video game adaptation. But in 2006 it was pilloried for its “stupid dialogue” and “too long running time”, dismissed as another failed silver screen translation. Suffice it to say that the pressure on French director Christophe Gans, who had been begging Konami for years to get the film rights, was so intense that he was even threatened with death by fans.

We know that people who love video games are very passionate.

“It was a big challenge to properly and respectfully adapt a game that is considered a classic,” Gans said in an interview with Variety. “We know that people who love video games are very passionate. I remember when I was making the first movie, I got a lot of death threats. People were saying, 'If you screw this up, we're going to find you.' So I approached the first film with great responsibility, and certainly even more so with the second. At the same time, it was important for me to imagine a film that could be of interest to people who don't play games.”

You're not ready for that yet. But your kids will love it

James looks in the mirror in Return to Silent Hill.

Ultimately, Gans' efforts would fall flat as the film scored a measly 34 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences have appreciated the film over the years.

“I was very pleased to see the film's reputation grow,” he said. “I did an international press event [for Return to Silent Hill]and all the journalists started the interview by saying, 'I saw that movie when I was 13 or 14 and I liked it.' It's great because suddenly I'm face to face with the 2.0 generation of Silent Hill lovers. It's a very good feeling because we know you have some great movies that will fade from memory in six months. The test of time is the ultimate test, when you suddenly face people who talk about your work with great enthusiasm.”

Christophe Gans famously directed Brotherhood of the Wolves, which inspired Bloodborne.

Video game adaptations have changed a lot since the early 20th century, however The Last of Us, Fallout, Arcane and Sonic the Hedgehog set the bar much higher even for trailblazers like Gans, and unfortunately, his latest work just doesn't measure up; Return to Silent Hill scored 15 percent from critics and 30 percent from audiences, marking it as the second worst film in the trilogy.

Regardless, Gans was undeterred and would happily direct another Silent Hill film if given the chance. “I like this world,” he said. “I see a lot of people think I'm doing a pretty good job.