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With the Silent Hill franchise making a grand return, there's no better time to look back at what made it a horror masterpiece.
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00:00One of the joys of the modern video game industry has been the resurgence of Silent Hill.
00:05After spending over a decade being the poster child for mishandled franchises,
00:09Konami have finally started making proper Silent Hill games again. Hooray!
00:15So in honor of this franchise's grand return we thought why not look back on the series and some
00:20of its most iconic monsters. And with that in mind I'm Josh from WhatCulture Gaming and today we're
00:25talking about terrifying Silent Hill monsters and their meaning. First up the nurse, Silent Hill 2.
00:33Silent Hill 2's nurses have proven to be one of the series' most enduring enemies.
00:38Since their first appearance these faceless monstrosities have gone on to feature in
00:42subsequent entries like Homecoming, Origins and the surprisingly not terrible 2006 movie.
00:49Which kind of makes absolutely no sense as they were created to represent a very specific
00:55aspect of a very specific individual. That of course being Silent Hill 2 protagonist James Sunderland.
01:02Now every monster in Silent Hill 2 represents a negative emotion from its central cast.
01:08Sometimes the symbolism is obvious as in the case of the abstract daddy,
01:13a nightmarishly graphic depiction of the abuse suffered by tragic teenager Angela. In the case of
01:19the nurses however the player needs to look a little bit deeper. While it's initially unclear why
01:24James Sunderland is being attacked by faceless hospital workers with disturbingly attractive bodies,
01:30players can eventually puzzle out the truth behind their design. As it turns out James's wife Mary
01:36spent years in hospital wasting away from an unknown illness. Although the game never spells it out for
01:42you, the nurses definitely represent James' repressed guilt over sexualizing the nurses who looked after
01:49his terminally ill wife. Given that these nightmare creatures represent a very specific aspect of one
01:55man's psyche then it is kind of baffling as to why the nurses have cropped up in so many other
02:00Silent Hill games. Unless that is Konami making the point that society's desire to see sexy nurse
02:07uniforms outweighs its interest in narrative coherence. In which case, fair enough. Next up,
02:13the Sakura Head Silent Hill The Short Message. A mere 21 years after Heather Mason's journey,
02:20Konami finally got around to crafting another female protagonist in 2024's Silent Hill The Short
02:26Message. This spin-off revolves around the teenaged Anita, who finds herself trapped in an apartment
02:32complex in Germany and chased by a floral themed monster called Sakura Head. And this being a Silent
02:39Hill game, the creature's design is deeply tied to this character's backstory. That's because Sakura Head,
02:45as the name implies, is a creature whose head is covered entirely in Sakura Blossoms. This nightmare
02:52figure stalks the apartment complex looking for Anita, killing the unfortunate teen if she is discovered.
02:58However, Anita's death doesn't signify a game over, instead she wakes up in the same building and the
03:04nightmare continues anew. As the game goes on though, it does become clear why Anita is being
03:10tortured in this manner. Far from being a blameless victim herself, Anita actually orchestrated a massive
03:18cyberbullying campaign against a girl called Mia, which culminated in the latter dying by suicide.
03:24Designer Masahiro Ito said via the Silent Hill wiki that he chose cherry blossoms to symbolise the nature of a
03:31tragedy that unfolds through social media. An explosive blossoming of a crowd-pleasing event that
03:36culminates in decay and death, which explains why Sakura Head's final appearance also has the leaves
03:42rotted and dying. Of course, Sakura Head isn't the only Silent Hill monster to have head as part of its
03:49Norman culture. And that's because next up we're talking about the Eileen Head, Silent Hill 4 The Rune.
03:56Yes, it's the giant Eileen Head. Who you're expecting.
04:00Silent Hill 4 The Rune gets its name from the fact that player character Henry Townsend spends much of
04:05his time locked in the eponymous lodging. Unable to communicate with anyone outside the room,
04:10Henry's only connection to the outside world comes in the form of neighbour Eileen Galvin. Henry actually
04:17spies on her over the course of the game, looking at her through a peephole in his apartment. And it's
04:23likely that this creepy habit is what Eileen Head represents. First of all, the head never actually
04:30attacks Henry, it just stares at him constantly in a reversal of Henry's actions towards Eileen
04:36earlier in the game. Secondly, the heavy scarring on the head's face is emblematic of the fact that,
04:41despite his constant spying on her, Henry was unable to prevent Eileen from being seriously
04:47assaulted by the game's villain. Given that Silent Hill monsters generally reflect guilt on the part of the
04:52protagonist, the Eileen Head's appearance and behaviour certainly fits the bill.
04:57Next up, Raw Shock Silent Hill Shattered Memories.
05:01From big heads to getting your head examined, Raw Shock is unique among the Silent Hill pantheon
05:06for being the only creature whose appearance changes based on the personality of the player.
05:12Silent Hill Shattered Memories is a retelling of the first Silent Hill game, but with a unique twist.
05:17The game makes frequent cuts to a therapist's office where an unseen character is telling Harry's story
05:24to their doctor. During these occasions the player is then tasked with completing various
05:29personality quizzes, and the appearance of the game's monsters actually change based on their answers.
05:35Focus too much on drinking drugs, for instance, and the shattered memories creatures
05:39will become overrun with hideous diseased growths. Focus too much on sleazy behaviour, and the monsters
05:46sprout in large chests and have their feet transform into high heels. In this manner the Raw Shock are
05:53a unique take on the traditional Silent Hill monster. Rather than being an offshoot of the player
05:58character's personality, these monsters are a twisted reflection of the player themselves.
06:04It's a playfully meta twist on the usual Silent Hill trope that belies the fact that Silent Hill
06:09memories was written by Sam Barlow, the man behind the medium breaking delights of her story and
06:15immortality. And given what Barlow accomplished in 2009, the thought of him potentially returning to
06:21Silent Hill with another 15 years of game design experience under his belt is certainly a tempting
06:28one, isn't it Konami? Hint, hint, hint. Hint, hint, hint. Just get him back please, just get him back for me.
06:35Next up the Split Worm, Silent Hill 3. Perhaps the most overtly phallic creature in video game history,
06:42well outside of Persona's infamous Mara of course, it's no accident that the Split Worm appears in the
06:48very first Silent Hill game with a female protagonist, that game of course being Silent Hill 3 with the
06:53heroine being Heather Mason. The Escapist magazine probably put it best when they described the plot of
06:59the third Silent Hill as quote, a teenage girl's worst nightmare. As the story revolves around Heather being
07:05forcibly chased by a cult who want her to give birth to their god. Knowing this, the implications behind
07:11Split Worm's design become even clearer. Its phallic design is clearly meant to imply Heather's disgust
07:18at being impregnated against her will, and the head emerging from Split Worm's torn open skin shows
07:24Heather's understandable fears of giving birth to a monster. There's also the manner in which Heather
07:29hunts down the monster as well. Just before the fight begins Heather has to use an item to lower a
07:35ladder that leads to the creature's lair. And the item in question? It's a stretched out wire hanger,
07:41and given what Split Worm represents, the symbolism behind Heather using a hanger in her quest to kill
07:47the monster is grimly apparent. Next up the Kashimashi Silent Hill F. Alright this entry is an unusual one,
07:55in that the game itself hasn't actually released at the time of recording this video.
08:00And Silent Hill F itself is an unusual entry in the storied horror franchise in general,
08:06in that it swaps the series' usual setting of small town America out for rural 60s Japan.
08:12While the game's full creature catalogue has yet to be revealed, developers have already introduced
08:17the Kashimashi as the latest addition to the Silent Hill nightmare factory. While the developers haven't
08:23explicitly explained the meaning behind the monster's design, clues can be gleaned from the creature's
08:29name and appearance. Kashimashi itself is a Japanese word that describes the sound made when multiple
08:35women speak loudly. And as a major theme of the game, as per this great piece on Silent Hill F from
08:41Games Radar, is the societal pressure placed on protagonist Shimuzi Hinako and the role of tradition
08:48in her life, it's likely that this monster represents the women in Hinako's life who are haranguing her
08:53into following the same path that they did. As for the heavy scarring around the creature's eyes, this
08:59likely represents the women's blindness to the damage that they're inflicting on Hinako. The other scars
09:04in their body likely also symbolise the pain that these women have suffered as victims of an unjust social
09:10system themselves. Of course this is all pre-release conjecture based on a few images and some interview clips,
09:17and whether these theories turn out to be insightful or inane, Silent Hill F does look like it's going
09:23to be another strong entry in the Silent Hill canon. I wonder if this interpretation was anywhere close
09:28to being right, it'll be interesting to see on it. Next up Scarlet, Silent Hill Homecoming.
09:34Homecoming is generally seen as one of the weakest links in the Silent Hill chain. An over-reliance on old
09:40monsters meant that new developers, Double Helix Games, came off as a second-rate tribute band,
09:46rather than worthy successors to the Silent Hill name. Which is a shame as Homecoming's bestiary hides
09:52an original hit amongst those uninspired covers, namely Scarlet, the spidery figure that might have
09:58given you a couple of nightmares. Now Scarlet might also be a nightmare to fight against for all the
10:04wrong reasons, but her design is one of Homecoming's few highlights. A hellish blend of porcelain and
10:11sign you, Scarlet's appearance is both visually striking and an apt metaphor for her nature,
10:17the vengeful personification of a murdered daughter. That's because Scarlet was the daughter
10:22of Dr. Martin Fitch, who sacrificed his child in an occult ritual, because parents in Silent Hill
10:28are either saints or psychopaths. Scarlet was dismembered alive as part of the ritual, hence the blood
10:34pouring down her monster self and why the creature's limbs appear welded on. As for the porcelain,
10:40that's both a reference to Scarlet's love of dolls when she was alive and a key factor in exposing
10:46the tragedy behind the monster. That's because during the fight, the player is forced to shatter
10:51the creature's ceramic surface to expose the heart beneath. The creature's fear becomes evident in just
10:56how quickly that heart is beating as well once it's exposed, echoing the terror that Scarlet must have
11:02felt the closer she came to death at her father's hands. It's a clever way of engendering sympathy
11:08for an outwardly monstrous figure, and if Homecoming's monster closet had more scarlet and less hangers-on,
11:15the game might be more highly regarded today. Next up, The Grey Children, Silent Hill.
11:21Now, the original Silent Hill's Grey Children might not be the most interesting monsters in the series
11:26from a psychological point of view, as they're simply school bullies who have been twisted into creepy,
11:32childlike demon-oids, though it is certainly to the series' credit that this description can apply
11:38to one of its least interesting monsters. However, they're worth discussing because they represent one
11:43of the few times that the 2006 film actually improved on its source material. See, in the original
11:50game it's never actually explained why the Grey Children look the way they do. In Christoph Ganser's
11:55movie adaptation, however, it's revealed that the children's unnatural power is the result of the curse
12:01placed upon them by their former victim, Alessa. In the movie, Alessa's bullying at school turned
12:07into a literal witch hunt that culminated in the residents of Silent Hill burning her at the stake
12:12for possessing supernatural powers. Alessa survived and cursed the entire town in revenge, choosing a
12:18grimly ironic fate for her former classmates that they would burn internally and eternally as a
12:26perpetual blaze raged inside their bodies and turned their skin to ash. The revelation behind the Grey
12:32Children's appearance is a delightfully macabre addition to the series' lore then, and an example of
12:37why the Silent Hill movie is still admired despite its flaws, as it certainly understood the psychology
12:43behind the games, even if its story and writing often fail to do them justice. One thing the movie did have going for it,
12:51however, was another impeccable monster design, as next up we have Colin from the Silent Hill 2006 movie.
12:58One of the few monsters created specifically for the 2006 adaptation, this charming creature,
13:05given the atypically prosaic name of Colin, was such a success that Konami later replicated its design
13:12for Silent Hill Origins, where it was given the slightly more menacing name of Caliban. And you can see why
13:18Silent Hill's creators were so taken by Colin's appearance. His scarred form, bound and blindfolded
13:24by barbed wire, is visually arresting and creates immediate intrigue around this character. While
13:31initially appearing as a pitiful figure, the truth behind his appearance prevents him from gaining any
13:36sympathy whatsoever. The movie heavily implies that Colin was a janitor who abused Alessa in the bathroom
13:43of her school, hence him becoming another victim of her curse. His bound, blinded form is clearly meant
13:50to prevent him from repeating his sins against any other girl, and actor Roberto Campanella still
13:56manages to convey the repulsiveness of Colin's character beneath all of the prosthetics. Constantly
14:02licking his lips with a black, swollen tongue while dragging his crotch along the floor, Colin is a
14:07grotesquely memorable figure that manages to create a lasting impression in just a few scant seconds of
14:14screen time. Also fun fact, Roberto Campanella also moonlighted as this movie's version of Pyramid Head.
14:21Speaking of whom, to round this list off we have the red pyramid thing, Silent Hill 2. In 2022 Masahiro Ito
14:30tweeted, I wish I hadn't designed f***ing Pyramid Head, which is an odd thing to say about creating one of the
14:36most iconic monsters in any form of media, but maybe that was his point. Silent Hill's most famous creation
14:43debuted in Silent Hill 2, where he represented James Sunderland's frustrated sexuality and guilt
14:49over being a murderer. The sexual nature of red pyramid thing, more commonly of course known as just
14:56Pyramid Head, is made clear in his very first cutscene, where it's heavily implied that he's about to assault
15:01another monster before James interrupts him. And when James finally acknowledges the reason that
15:07Pyramid Head exists, that the creature is a manifestation of his guilt over killing his wife,
15:13Pyramid Head just straight up kills himself, its purpose fulfilled after forcing James to take
15:18responsibility for his actions. Much like the nurses that started this list, Pyramid Head was designed to
15:24tell a very specific story, and much like those nurses again, Pyramid Head's meaning has been obscured
15:31in a mire of bizarre cameos that completely missed the point of this character.
15:36Homecoming turned Pyramid Head into a goon squad of Punisher-esque vigilantes who actually
15:41patrolled Silent Hill and murdered wrongdoers. The light gun game, the very existence of which is
15:47almost as incongruous as the pachinko machines, chucked him in as a generic boss fight, and the movie,
15:52Silent Hill revelation just made him an outright hero, protecting the good guys and slaying the big
15:58bad at the climax of that film. Given that, you can probably see why Ito would be frustrated at how
16:04his most famous creation has been handled. Then again, maybe that's the truest, deepest meaning
16:10behind this character. Create a cool enough design and you'll end up seeing it bastardized in every
16:17medium imaginable, from Funko Pops to Kart Races.
16:21So that's our list on Silent Hill, are you pleased the franchise is back and will you be picking up
16:25Silent Hill F? Let me know in the comments and if you want to watch more videos like this,
16:29click one of them on screen right now or head over to the WhatCulture Gaming channel for even more
16:34content.
16:40you
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