Video game developers and movie directors don’t often mix outside of turning games into films (and vice versa). One director, though, has been very vocal about his desire to work with the video game industry: Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro is the legendary mind behindPan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy,andThe Shape of Water,but he’s also dabbled in gaming over the years. This all came to a head in 2014, when a now-notorious demo titledP.T.was released on the PlayStation 4 store to promote the upcoming gameSilent Hills, at the time meant to be the nextSilent Hillgame.
Silent Hillswas meant to be the big collaboration between del Toro and Hideo Kojimathat del Toro had always wanted. Sadly,Silent Hillswas canceled, andP.T.was pulled from the PS store, and fans never got to find out what a game directed jointly by these directorial geniuses would have looked like. This cancellation is even more disappointing in light of an old interview with the director, where he sharedhis love and passion for video games in general, andSilent Hillin particular.
Guillermo Del Toro Has Always Loved Silent Hill
He Thought The Game Was “So Beautiful”
In a 2008 interview withEdgemagazine(archived on the Wayback Machine) Guillermo del Toro revealed thathis love for theSilent Hillfranchise—and gaming, in general—started long before he got the chance to collaborate with Koijma. “I was around for the first Pong—that’s how old I am,“he told the interviewer in 2008. “Then there was a lightgun game with a pistol that was very cheesy, and an Atari system. Every cliché you see in ‘80s movies, that was me.”
Del Toro went on to list some games that inspired him with theirbeautiful worlds and stellar storytelling, likeGTAandArmy of Two. Although he stated that he only considered two games masterpieces—IcoandShadow of the Colossus—he admitted to being inspired and enjoying a varied list of titles.
He was also a “fan” of several other games, includingBioShock,Resident Evil, Devil May Cry,and yes,Silent Hill.He praised the latter, in particular, comparing it to a film masterpiece, stating: “The first Silent Hill was so beautiful, almost like a Lynch, Polanski or Romero type of horror experience.”
“The first Silent Hill was so beautiful, almost like a Lynch, Polanski or Romero type of horror experience.”
It seems that even in 2008,Guillermo del Toro believed that filmmakers had a lot to learn from video games. He admitted to being inspired by the medium “a lot,” stating that “videogames use art direction, colour and storytelling in a very pure way that a lot of movies have forgotten.”
Del Toro Was Signed Up For Silent Hills Before Konami Cancelled It
The Director Never Got To Experience The True Power Of Video Games
Del Toro has worked on video games with Konami before. In fact, the Edge interview with the film director dates back to when he was acting as a creative director alongside Mike Mignola for the video game adaptation ofHellboy,titledHellboy: The Science of Evil.Although he was collaborating with Konami,del Toro wouldn’t get to work directly with Kojima until many years laterforDeath Stranding,though his contribution to the title was limited to lending his likeness to Deadman.
ButSilent Hillswas supposed to be different. TheIMDBpage forP.T.—possibly the only game demo to ever get its own dedicated page—lists both Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro as directors. The influence of both creators could be felt in the brief demo, which had players walking down the creepy and atmospheric looping hallways, pursued by a spirit named Lisa.
Over a million players downloaded the demo during the year or so that it was available, andPS4 consoles with it installed still regularly sell for double their market price(a few consoles are listed on eBay for $400 at the time of this writing).P.T.was praised by fans and critics alike as a masterpiece and thebest horror game of all time, and showed players a glimpse into the terrors that Kojima and del Toro could create when they joined forces.
After Learning Del Toro’s Love Of Silent Hill, Konami’s Decision Feels Even Worse
The Game Would Have Been A Masterpiece
Games allow you to “tap in to a more immersive narrative experience than most movies,” del Toro told Edge in 2008. He believed that video games would “yield a couple of narrative masterpieces” within a decade. Little did he know thathe was almost a part of that legacy himself. WithSilent Hills,the director would have finally had the chance to deliver a video game project that combinedvideo game creation with filmmakingfor a story that couldn’t be told through just a movie.
Del Toro and Kojima remained friends in the years sinceP.T.According toGameRant, del Toro helped Kojima get through a difficult sickness, where he considered leaving Kojima Productions to pursue filmmaking. In response, del Toro’s words inspired Kojima to continue working on his games, telling him: “What you’re making is already a movie. Keep going as you are.”
Sadly, a disagreement between Hideo Kojima and Konami led to the director leaving the studio to form Kojima Productions in 2015. As a result,Silent Hillswas cancelled, and the epic collaboration between del Toro and Kojima never came to be. Del Toro has remained vocal about his support of Kojima, gleefully proclaiming “F*** KONAMI” onXwhen Kojima announcedDeath Strandingat the 2016 Game Awards.
Both directors have moved on from their joint project, but it’s hard to forget the impact thatP.T.and the potential ofSilent Hillshad on the gaming industry and storytelling. It was achance to bridge the gap between video games and film, which del Toro told Edge in 2008, “allow you to tap in to a more immersive narrative experience than most movies.”
The disappointment ofSilent Hills’cancellation is even more upsetting after seeing just how passionate del Toro was about video games andSilent Hill,long before the chance for a collaboration was even on the table. Video games, stated del Toro, are “an incredible storytelling tool, one that filmmakers should embrace instead of reject.” Maybe one day, fans will finally get to see a project made by the two directors, but aSilent Hillcollab will never happen now that Kojima has cut ties with Konami, and that’s a shame.
