Director of Silent Hill’s director’s cut reveals it offers the horror film “room to breathe.”

Return to Silent Hill director Christopher Gans has shared that an extended director’s cut of his new horror film exists.

During a Q&A session, Gans mentioned that this version is “longer” and offers “more room to breathe,” as the original cut was constrained to under two hours by the producers.

The film, which loosely adapts the 2001 video game Silent Hill 2, features Jeremy Irvine as James Sunderland. He returns to the eerie town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from a former lover. Upon arrival, he discovers the town shrouded in fog, with most residents either gone or perished due to a mysterious illness.

The movie initially premiered to a disappointing 6% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it has since improved to a slightly better 20%. A review of Return to Silent Hill rated it 1.5 stars, pointing out issues like “a confusing plot, mediocre visual effects, and over-the-top acting.”

Gans expressed pride in his work and noted that online criticism can be quite severe. He believes that time will ultimately reveal the film’s true worth. As a fan himself, he felt a strong obligation to meet the expectations of the fanbase.

There have been two prior adaptations of Silent Hill: the 2006 film Silent Hill and its 2012 sequel, Silent Hill: Revelation. Both films struggled with critics, though audiences were a bit more forgiving, with the first film achieving a franchise-high Rotten Tomatoes score of 34% and the second landing at 8%.

Return to Silent Hill is currently playing in theaters.