Return to Silent Hill, which premieres today in theaters, is based on the second game in the franchise and was directed by Christophe Gans. The film follows James (Jeremy Irvine), who is a broken man after he and the love of his life, Mary (Hannah Emily Anderson), end their relationship. When he receives a letter from her, he returns to the mysterious town of Silent Hill, transformed by an unspeakable evil. While searching for Mary, he encounters many terrifying creatures as well as a familiar looking woman (also Anderson) and a young girl, Laura (Evie Templeton). The further James ventures into the town the more terrifying secrets he uncovers that all lead to one horrible truth.

Recently, Anderson and Templeton spoke with SciFi Vision about working on the film, including how it was for Anderson to play multiple characters, how it was different for Templeton working on the film compared to the remake of the game when she played the same character, what it was like working with the costumes, and more.

Watch the interview and read the transcript below.




SCIFI VISION:   Well, hi guys. Thanks for talking to me. I appreciate it.

Enjoyed the film. So, to start off, why don't you both talk about why did you want to be a part of it? We'll just go Hannah, then Evie.

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   First of all, I love your background, Beth. Thank you. I was just gonna say it's amazing.

Thank you. I got an audition for it and as soon as I saw it in my inbox, I was like, I need to do this. I saw the first film in theaters when I was 15 or 16 years old and it was sort of imprinted into my brain, just the image of Silent Hill and the feeling of Silent Hill.

And then, you know, finding out that it was the same director, Christoph Gans, coming back to do this film was incredible. The sides right away, I was just really excited to do this character and then I found out later that I'd be playing multiple characters and that was just like the cherry on top for me. What about Evie?

EVIE TEMPLETON:   I would say Christoph's vision for this movie was so strong and he was a fan of the game himself. So yeah, it was just an honor to get to be a part of it and I was very lucky to have played Laura in the video game. So yeah, just getting to step back into this character was so cool.

SCIFI VISION:   Now, Hannah, I wanted you to talk about playing the different versions and kind of what you did, I guess, like consciously to separate.

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   Yeah, well, I actually worked with an acting coach for the first time on a project and it was really helpful because I didn't really know where to start. I've never done anything like this before, and I was really kind of panicking. So she kind of just helped me flesh out these different characters and, you know, finding out where they sit in my body and how they were looking at me.

And then figuring out, you know, what parts of me are related to Mary and what parts of Mary I could bring to these characters and vice versa. And then, you know, it's really, I knew that the last, I kind of work inside out and I knew that the last step would be the hair and makeup and wardrobe. And really that does a lot for an actor, especially in this world.

So that was really helpful for me as well.

SCIFI VISION:   Now, Evie, you did play Laura in the game, and I believe you did motion capture from what I could tell. So what was it like kind of getting back into that? I guess, how is it different now being able to play her in real life, I guess is the best way to put it?

EVIE TEMPLETON:   Yeah, it was so cool. I feel very privileged to have gotten to experience kind of both worlds because doing a video game is so cool. Motion capture is really quite mind boggling.

But yeah, I think the main difference, of course, would be for a video game, when you're doing mo-cap in a studio and you're covered in dots and you have to do T-pose after every take and you're sometimes acting like a tennis ball or a stick. So it was great to get to step onto a set where you're kind of more immersed into the world, because it's all around you and you have this incredible set. And I would also say that the music, Akira's music was so incredible, and it almost feels like another character.

And I think that will be really powerful in involving the audience in the story.

SCIFI VISION:   Talk about, we'll start with you, Hannah. You mentioned it, but talk about the makeup and the costumes and everything, because this show does look very cool and like the game. So yeah, talk about that and how much that affected you getting into character.

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   I mean, it's a really heightened kind of world that we're in. It's not meant to be naturalistic. And so I think the costumes and hair and makeup really complimented that and made me feel differently in my body, which was really helpful for each character.

Like when it came to Angela and I'm wearing this big turtleneck and it just sort of everything about that and the hair just made me want to hide, which was perfect for that character. And Maria is a lot more open and ballsy and this is me and she's really into her body and her sensuality and the clothing and same, hair and makeup really, really allowed me to get to play with that. And Mary is, there's a real groundedness and a sense of doom kind of under everything that Mary does, but there's also a lightness and a romanticism to her as well.

So it was just, it was completely complimented by the hair and makeup and costume design.

SCIFI VISION:   So you got to do some special effects with there too, with Maria. So that must've been fun. Well, maybe not sticky, but maybe fun, hopefully.

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   No, it was really fun. And also, getting to do prosthetics. I have done some prosthetics in my career, but never as full on as this was playing mock Mary.

So that was really cool. That was one of the most things, the things I was most excited about was getting to do that monster work.

SCIFI VISION:   Right, what about you, Evie? And also, bringing kind of the movement into your character as well.

EVIE TEMPLETON:   I mean, I always think that hair is like a frame and the makeup's like a mask for your character. So like Hannah was saying, it's definitely helps you get that final little bit over the line and fully immerse yourself in this world and in your character. And yeah, I think what was really interesting about this movie and Kristoff's vision for the movie is we really get to see from the point of view of Laura, we kind of get to see more how Silent Hill has affected her.

And I think like with the ash, like makeup wise with the ash in her face and things like that, I think that was really cool to kind of see that perspective. Both of you talk a bit about working with Jeremy.

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   Jeremy is such a pro. He's just like the best, best guy to work with. He's a great team partner.

He's there 100% every single take giving it his all. And he's always the mark of a great scene partner is someone who's just very present and always throwing different things at you. And so that was just really fun.

And also because it was such a dark, heavy story, he brought so much light and levity to it and make us all laugh, which was a real gift.

EVIE TEMPLETON:   Right, Evie? Yeah, he's so sweet and so incredibly talented. Him and Hannah were really big inspirations to me in having the honor to get to watch their process, their creative process, and watch them get into character.

And yeah, I mean, that was just an honor in itself. And then they were both so fun. And yeah, like she was saying, bringing the light to quite a dark movie and having that fun on set, I think was really important.

SCIFI VISION:   Did you guys play the game? I'm assuming, Evie, you probably did being in the game, but did you, Hannah, at all?

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   I didn't play the game. I did watch some gameplay when I was auditioning for it, just to get a sense of what the game world was, what it looked like, some of the backstory on Mary, but I'm a terrible gamer. I'm just not good at it.

EVIE TEMPLETON:   Don't worry, I am too. I always die in the first two minutes.

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   So yeah, the two of us together, just, I dabble in Mario Kart once in a while, but only with, you know, I play with like the bumpers on, is that a thing? Because I drive the remote like this, like I'm not able to use my thumbs for whatever reason.

SCIFI VISION:   So, you have played it then as well, Evie though, but so you don't do so great. Have you gotten better since you've played it more than once? No, I'm still very bad.

Well, I'm kind of like that. Also, a wuss when it comes to scary games, so I don't know. Was there anything for either of you though that you did have difficulty kind of getting into your characters?

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   I think the hardest part was the first time that I played Angela, because it was such a departure from myself. And sometimes as an actor, you can sort of start to feel a bit self-conscious that everyone on set kind of knows you a certain way. And had seen me play two other characters, but not this one.

So I was just really, really nervous. And I knew I wasn't gonna do it completely full out until we were filming. So part of the fear was kind of like, what's gonna happen?

And it's a great place to be as an actor, but also really uncomfortable because you just don't know what's gonna come out of you at a certain point.

SCIFI VISION:   Evie, was there anything you struggled with at all?

EVIE TEMPLETON:   I mean, I agree. I think the hardest thing was probably finding similarities between me and Laura. I think the closest I could get was probably her mischievous kind of playful nature.

I could think back to me and my sister, my older sister being very mischievous at younger ages. So I think that was what I pulled on for that element of her character.

HANNAH EMILY ANDERSON:   Evie was incredible. She was just so professional and brought so much to the character and was just always so playful. And it was really cool to watch.

SCIFI VISION:   It was a really fun movie. So, thank you. Both of you were out of time, but I appreciate it.

And I'm also looking forward to seeing the next season of Wednesday too, Evie. All right. Thanks both of you.

Have a good rest of your day.

EVIE TEMPLETON:   Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Lovely to see you.

SCIFI VISION:   Thanks, you too. Bye-bye.