Silent Hill
Silent Hill is the title of a very successful survival horror video game franchise, produced by Konami and developed mostly by Team Silent.
As of 2006, there are five Silent Hill games available (one only in Japan), all of which were released to strong sales and critical acclaim. Gameplay includes action, puzzles, detailed and disturbing environments (which many feel contribute significantly to the series' success), and complex storylines revealed through numerous cinematic cut scenes. Each game unfolds like a movie with several possible endings; the player's choices during the game determine which ending is shown. In 2006, Sony Pictures released a full-length Silent Hill film. The Silent Hill series has achieved a cult-like status, with fans discussing in depth the games' layered themes and symbolism and speculating on various unsolved mysteries and unanswered questions.
Setting
The title's namesake, 'Silent Hill', is an isolated lakeside resort town in the United States inhabited by mysterious forces. Demonic and disfigured creatures roam the streets and buildings, and the town continually shifts between everyday reality and a decaying "Otherworld." In the first two games, the protagonists are drawn to the seemingly abandoned town; in the third and fourth games, the town reaches out to characters who have some previous connection to it.
Determining the exact location of Silent Hill is complicated. The games portray Silent Hill as a small, secluded town, smothered in fog, surrounded by large hills and flanking a lake, but this could be any one of a hundred towns in the United States. The manual to the first game describes Silent Hill as a small New England resort town, and the town's surroundings, particularly the fog, are similar to the region. In the second game, the number plates on all the cars are from Michigan. The fourth game takes place in a town called Ashfield, which resembles Fall River, Massachusetts, home to famous alleged axe-murderer Lizzie Borden (dark American folklore is one of the series' influences).
Evidence of Silent Hill's location can be seen in the first game when Harry searches the school. Placed on some classroom walls are flyers with "Chicago News" printed in bold type. With the rocky climbs nearby, it's possible the town is situated near Lake Michigan. It is not clear though whether Silent Hill is situated more in the middle of nowhere or close to a city (the road signs in Silent Hill 2 portray long distances between Silent Hill and neighboring towns/cities).
The town of Silent Hill is also located near a large body of water called Toluca Lake, which suggests a Southern California location. This is reinforced by the fact that Douglas' car in Silent Hill 3 has California tags, although to wit, Silent Hill 3 does not initially take place in the town, which itself is only visited in the second half after both Douglas and Silent Hill 3 protagonist Heather Morris go on a long, overnight drive.
However, the Japanese version of the Silent Hill 4 soundtrack lists an address for Heaven's Night, a strip club in Silent Hill, and the state is listed as Maine, so many fans have decided that Silent Hill is in Maine.
The film adaptation Silent Hill, released in spring of 2006, places Silent Hill in fictional Toluca County, West Virginia.
In researching the different elements of Silent Hill, screenwriter Roger Avary (Killing Zoe, The Rules of Attraction) came across the town of [1] Centralia, Pennsylvania. In the List of Silent Hill locations there is a place called Ashfield which is half a day's drive from Silent Hill. Looking at a map of Centralia, there is a town called Ashland about a mile south of Centralia. Also mentioned in the list is the town of Portland and a section of Silent Hill called South Vale, located on the south shore of Toluca Lake. Also mentioned in the history of Centralia was a fire in a landfill that spread to the coal mine underneath the town. In Silent Hill, Alessa Gillespie was severely burned and the coals used to burn her set fire to the rest of the town. It seems that Centralia planted the seed for what developed into the cinematic version of the town of Silent Hill. [2]
Though due to the town's supernatural nature, it may in fact be situated in all of these locations at once. This transdimensionalism would also clear up any and all inconsistences about the town's actual location present in the maps, newspapers, license plates, and signs. This would additionally be a possible Lovecraftian horror reference, since the transdimensionalism seems somewhat like something out of science fiction.
Atmosphere
The games' visual design has earned strong praise (and is highly renowned and known for), with its dark, fog-shrouded, dilapidated environments enhanced by chilling (and very sudden) sound effects, and its thoroughly unnatural and disturbing creature designs, some of which seem to have been included simply to frighten and alarm rather than cause actual physical harm. Composer Akira Yamaoka has provided atmospheric and emotional music for the series, which ranges from the first games post-industrial noise music to more traditional melancholy piano solos to heavy rock pieces. Many fans and reviewers have referred to the Silent Hill series as the most frightening games ever created.
Gameplay elements that create the unique atmosphere in the game are the dense fog/pitch black settings, limiting visibility to about a ten foot diameter about the character, coupled with the use of a radio that emits loud static and strange noises whenever a monster comes close to the main character. This creates a general feeling of anxiety, paranoia and apprehension in the player. One finds oneself dreading the noises that indicate the presence of the monsters roaming the streets. Being unable to see them, often until it is too late, the player is forced to either run or hope they are facing in the correct direction for attack. This element is what distinguishes the series from other horror video games, which usually resort to simple surprise tactics, as opposed to suspense.
Themes and Motifs of Silent Hill
Anyone who plays through at least one of the games will see that there are recurring themes that appear throughout. People who have played through more than one of the games will notice that these themes reappear throughout the entire series.
- Hospitalization - One of the most common themes of the games. This theme is stressed through the inclusion of levels set in hospitals and institutes and iconic enemies such as the fearsome Nurses. Players also notice that hospital objects, such as beds with bloodied sheets, drips and wheelchairs, are often situated in places where they would not normally be. Wheelchairs, in particular, represent Alessa's fear of her own hospitalization. Hospital trolleys are also featured in every game. Similar to the wheelchairs, they represent recovery and care, but this meaning is subverted by them being covered with blood-stained sheets, or used to crucify victims.
- Sexual energy - Sexual metaphors appear in all the games, strongest in Silent Hill 2, as it deals with the relationship between a man and his wife and his crushing sexual frustration which manifests itself into various repugnantly perverse forms. Silent Hill 2 features what appears to be a rape scene, as Pyramid Head assaults one of the town's more feminine creatures. Some of the creatures of Silent Hill 3, such as the Closer and the Numb Body, are believed by some to be phallic images. Silent Hill 4 may also contain sexual undertones. For example, The Room is sometimes seen as a sexually repressive environment which causes the protagonist to resort to peeping at his female neighbor through a crack in the hole. Additionally, the game's villain, Walter Sullivan, is a killer who suffers from deeply Freudian delusions, and he has come to believe the room is his mother and wants to return to live safely in her "womb" forever. Throughout the game, a child form of Sullivan is seen pounding on the room's door, plaintively crying, "Daddy! I want a bottle! Let me out!" (In one of the game's "bad" endings, Sullivan is seen as an adult once more, happily curled up in the room.)
- Authority/Abuse of Power - Players will notice that many of the Silent Hill environments are places of authority (Midwich Elementary School, the Hospitals, Toluca Prison, the water prison). The run-down look to these environments in both realms of Silent Hill is believed to symbolise corruption and the abuse of power.
- Children - Like much of Japanese Horror, the story often revolves around or includes child characters. Children in Silent Hill usually represent innocence while the adults generally represent loss of innocence and loss of the uncomplicated life of a child. A good example of this is the role of child and adult versions of Walter Sullivan in Silent Hill 4. Another is Laura from Silent Hill 2 who, although she appears terribly spoiled and rude at first, is not tortured by the fiends that attempt to punish the other adults. (Later in the game, we learn that her bratty behavior through the game was due to her having some reason to distrust James, and much of it was simply childish playfulness when she was unaware that James was in grave danger.) It should also be noted that the images in the first game are concieved by a child, and in some interpretations the entire town's bizarre state is the product of Alessa.
- Bathrooms - Bathrooms, both public and private, have a large significance in the Silent Hill world. For example, Silent Hill 2 begins inside a public restroom. In the third and fourth game, the protagonist reaches the "otherworld" by going through a bathroom. On the "Making of Silent Hill 3", the creators explain that Japanese children grow up to know a lot of ghost stories and urban legends that surround bathrooms and toilets. When Japan still used the squatting toilet, there were tales of children falling down and vanishing forever. It is for this reason that the bathroom is a familiar symbol of mystery and terror. The bathroom also call up disgust with fecal matters and other filth, as the restrooms in the games are almost always in an advanced state of decay and players are called upon to investigate the stalls in some detail. (In Silent Hill 2, the player has to reach inside a toilet to retrieve an object.)
- Institutions - Locations such as schools, hospitals, prisons etc. often feature in all of the games. All institutions smother the sense of individuality and Silent Hill is about re-discovering it, thereby giving the need to fight the forces within them.
- Endless Cycles - The fan is a familiar images in most of the Silent Hill games, particualrly the first and the third. The eternally-spinning fans are believed to represent change, such as Alessa's birth, death and reincarnation. They also stand for unchange in the case of the Bad Endings, where characters may find themselves, figuritively speaking, back where they began with nothing gained. It may also be worth mentioning that the cycles also relate to the turning of the wheels of darkness, as seen operated by Valtiel.
Main series
As of 2006, the Silent Hill series consists of four games, plus one Gaiden game, and another rumoured to be planned for release on the next generation PLAYSTATION 3 console, though it has not been officially confirmed, and the statement from the chief designer Masashi Tsuboyama was only that it 'would not appear on any of the then current consoles'. The series plays in chronological order, although Silent Hill 3 is a direct sequel to Silent Hill. Heather, the main character in Silent Hill 3, continues the story begun by her father, Harry Mason, in the first game. Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 4 are self-contained stories, connected to the others only by the town of Silent Hill itself (though the town actually plays only a peripheral role in the fourth game; the fourth installment's main connection to the other games is the character Walter Sullivan, mentioned briefly in Silent Hill 2) and through some references to the overall mythos of the series. These references are largely lost on James Sunderland and Henry Townsend, the heroes of Silent Hill 2 and 4, although one of Silent Hill 2's possible endings does involve James invoking the town's "old gods" to resurrect his late wife.
The "Silent Hill Collection" was released for PlayStation 2 in April 2006 to coincide with the release of the Silent Hill film adaptation. The set includes the games Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room. As of September 2006, the "Silent Hill Collection" is only available in Europe and Australia.
Silent Hill (1999)
The first Silent Hill was released in 1999 for the Sony PlayStation. The plot of the game was centered around Harry Mason arriving in Silent Hill and his subsequent attempts at finding his lost daughter, Cheryl.
Silent Hill 2 (2001)
A fully new sequel, Silent Hill 2, was released in 2001 for the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and PC. The extended versions for XBOX and PC are sometimes known as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams and feature an extra subplot scenario, as do the "Greatest Hits"/"Platinum" budget re-releases for PS2. The plot centered around James Sunderland, who had received a letter from his deceased wife that led him to Silent Hill.
Silent Hill 3 (2003)
2003 saw the release of a second full sequel to the Silent Hill series as Silent Hill 3, released for the Sony PlayStation 2 as well as for PC. Highly tethered to the events of the first game, the plot surrounds a teenager named Heather as she uncovers the mysteries that surround her past - including her own link to the haunted town.
Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)
Although not originally intended as a part of the Silent Hill series, Silent Hill 4: The Room was released in 2004 for the Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox and PC. Partly related to the Silent Hill 2 and only briefly set near Silent Hill, the plot follows Henry Townshend who finds himself mysteriously locked in his own apartment until a hole appears in his bathroom wall. The game features characters that are mentioned in previous titles and possibly related to other personas therein.
As stated in the September 2006 issue of Game Informer magazine, the game was not originally meant to be a part of the Silent Hill series and "had franchise ties inserted later in development."
Silent Hill: 0rigins (2007)
Main Article: Silent Hill: 0rigins
At E3 2006 it was announced that a Silent Hill title for the PSP will be named "Silent Hill: 0rigins" (with 'zero' in the place of 'O'), however the trailer points out that this is still a working title (an earlier teaser was titled "Silent Hill: NEXT"). The game itself will be a prequel, presenting events that took place before the first game in the series, instead of a remake or movie adaptation as it was rumored before. Still, little is known about the game itself as it is currently in the early stages of development. What is known is that the main character will be a truck driver named Travis O'Grady and the game will be presented in third-person perspective. Konami stated that characters such as Dahlia, Alessa and Kaufman will return. Music will be composed by Akira Yamaoka. So far, this is the only Silent Hill title that is not being created by Team Silent, although they are writing the story for the game.
Silent Hill 5 (TBA)
Main Article: Silent Hill 5
Not much is known about Konami's next Silent Hill title. While very little has been officially confirmed, Chief Designer of Silent Hill 5 Masashi Tsuboyama stated in a 2004 interview that the game would not appear on any of the then-current consoles[3]. He also clarified rumours during the same interview that it wouldn't be titled "Shadows of the Past" as reported previously from an online source. According to IGN, it has been speculated that the game is already in development and that it is likely to be released on Sony's upcoming Playstation 3 video game console to a planned released in early November of 2006. Despite this however, nothing has been officially announced[4]. It is believed that the main plot will be set in a mental asylum (perhaps Brookhaven hospital) and will be told through a series of flashbacks depicting how the main protagonist got up to that point, though this has generally been associated with the Shadows of the Past rumor and remains unproven. While interviewed for an episode of Electric Playground, Tommy Tallarico asked a developer about Silent Hill 5. The developer responded that "It's a good time to be a Silent Hill fan", and the interview ended. There was a segment on the Silent Hill series after, and it was stated that the game would be released on current and next generation consoles, however it was not stated which specific consoles the projected game would be released on.
Spin-off titles and promotional discs
Silent Hill: Play Novel (2001)
In 2001, Silent Hill: Play Novel was released in Japan for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. The game consists of still images and text and is played in the style of a Choose Your Own Adventure book. It deals with Cybil's adventures through the town as well as the explaoits of a boy named Andy. It is considered a gaiden story and it has not been released outside of Japan.
Art of Silent Hill (2002)
First multimedia DVD focusing mostly on material from Silent Hill 2 such as artworks and renders. It contains exclusive up to date music video 'Caramel Mix' as well as 'Ki-no-ko' and 'Fukuro' (both of which appeared on future media discs).
Lost Memories: The Art and Music of Silent Hill (2003)
Released only in New York, it is a second and most popular multimedia DVD. Divided into seven sections, it constains full soundtracks, trailer collections, artworks, renders and creature galleries from all three games as well as additional music videos: Ki-no-ko, Fukuro, Usagimu and video with Heather performing the song 'You're Not Here' from SH3 OST.
Inescapable rain in Yoshiwara (2004)
Audio drama added to japanese version of Silent Hill 4 OST. It was made by Akira Yamaoka & Teisui Ichiryusa and lasts for 57 minutes, however there was later released additional 16 minute chapter to the story.
The Silent Hill Experience (2006)
This Video UMD was released April 6 for PSP by Sony Entertainment as a promotional item for the now released film. Up to date it is the third and final multimedia disc related to Silent Hill series.
Features:
- View over 2 hours of digital comics based on the Silent Hill' comic series presented with music.
- Includes the comic series "Silent Hill: Dying Inside" and a brand new story "The Hunger"
- 20 music tracks selected from series' producer and music composer Akira Yamaoka
- Exclusive video interview with the director of the Silent Hill movie Christophe Gans and series' music composer Akira Yamaoka
- Rare video content from previous Silent Hill games
- Trailers from all four games and the movie
- 3 videos from the DVDs "Art of Silent Hill" and "Lost Memories"
The Silent Hill: Cage of Cradle (2006)
Interactive manga comic book written by Hiroyuki Owaku and ilustrated by Masahiro Ito. Available currently only on cellphones in Japan. Paper release being planned on 2007. Story focus on Lisa before the events of the first game in the series. Heather
Film adaptation (2006)
In 2003 a motion picture based on Silent Hill was officially announced, with French director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) attached. The main storyline for the film adaptation follows the original 1999 video game, but with a selection of features from the other games in the series as well as a selection of modern revisions.
One of the most obvious revisions is the replacement of Harry Mason with Rose Da Silva (Played by Radha Mitchell), a married mother whose life takes the unexpected turn toward Silent Hill in the hope to discover the source of her adoptive daughter Sharon's (Jodelle Ferland) nightmares culminating in a cry of "Silent Hill".
Against the wishes and knowledge of her husband, Chris Da Silva (Sean Bean), Rose takes off with Sharon on a daughter and mother journey to find the elusive town of Silent Hill, passing through the nearest settlement to their destination, Brahams. In doing so, Rose encounters Brahams Police Department officer Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden) who is suspicious of the distraught mother and her actions. Cybil explains of a couple of years before, a deranged man abducted a child and threw him down a mine shaft in Silent Hill, which is why she is so wary around Rose.
The film featured music from series composer Akira Yamaoka. The musical score featured several selections of original game music, such as the opening from the first game "Silent Hill", "Promise - Reprise" from Silent Hill 2, and "Theme Of Laura" and "Laura Plays the Piano", also from the second game.
The film was released 21 April, 2006 to a mixed response from fans of the game series. The overall plot layout and the town itself had remained intact within the film, however the changes to the story and characters were obvious and a bit disheartening to some fans.
The film did work towards grounding Silent Hill, which until 2006 had remained an 'everytown' that could exist anywhere. The film placed the fictional town in fictional Toluca County, West Virginia. The beloved fog and snow of the series was replaced with smoke and ash, which some could consider even more sensible than the fog and snow of the first game, considering it also included a backstory of a coal mine fire (look in the game instructions to the first Silent Hill to find this information). The town in Silent Hill (the movie) was modeled after the real life town of Centralia, Pennsylvania which also suffered from a very devastating coal mine fire. The fires are still burning today and it is estimated that the fire has enough fuel for another 250 years.
Other changes to the story included a reversal of roles for one of the prime antagonists of the first game and a different religion following cult.
The film was released through Tristar in the United States, and Pathe in Europe. The film was considered a success opening at #1 in the US with $20.1 million dollars on its way to a total of $47 million domestically.
Silent Hill comic books
A series of comic books written by Scott Ciencin with artwork by Ben Templesmith (Dying Inside #1 and 2), Aadi Salman (Dying Inside #3,4,5), Shaun Thomas (Paint It Black, Among The Damned) and Nick Stakal (Grinning Man, Dead/Alive #1 to 5) have been published by IDW Publishing.
Silent Hill (2000)
An original Silent Hill graphic novel was completed in 2000 by British comic company Com.X, but for an undisclosed reason the book was never published. Com.X and Konami have repeatedly officially stated that they still intend to publish the book, but no confirmed date has been set. Interestingly, IDW was unaware that this project existed when they pursued the license.
Silent Hill: Dying Inside (2004)
This story was released as five issues. The first two dealt with a doctor and patient, while the remaining three issues covered a group of goth kids. It was later released as a trade paperback.
In the first two chapters, Dr. Troy Abernathy wants to cure Lynn DeAngelis from her delusions, which began after she went to do a movie in the town of Silent Hill. Abernathy takes her back to the town... only to discover a world built from his inner fears, and ruled by a demonic little girl -- Christabella -- who seeks guilty souls. From Chapter 3 until the conclusion, a goth girl named Lauryn finds Lynn's movie and plans to go to Silent Hill to do the same stunt so her group can earn some cash. There, a final confrontation with Christabella occurs, when Lauryn realizes Christabella is a tad more familiar she would have thought in the first place.
Silent Hill: Among the Damned (2004)
This stand-alone story was published in a single issue and is collected in the Silent Hill: Three Bloody Tales trade paperback.
Silent Hill: Paint It Black (2005)
Paint It Black follows the story of Ike, an artist who finds himself homeless after being kicked out of a friend's apartment. Ike remains under the influence of Artist's Block until he meets a stranger who claims to have visited the ghost town of Silent Hill. The stranger informs Ike that he was able to leave the town because his own friend sacrificed himself, this story inspires Ike to travel to the town to seek out the truth behind it.
Inspired, Ike is able to paint again; however his portraits now feature the creatures that live in the town, but he has found that he is unable to leave. The story then takes an unusual turn as a team of cheerleaders arrive in Silent Hill looking for some friends who they believe went missing in the town.
As the plot continues to follow a strange set of developments, Ike discovers that he can actually travel through his paintings and he attempts to use them to escape.
His escape attempt fails and he finds that the cheerleaders have turned on him, sacraficing him so they can leave town. This stand-alone story was published in a single issue and is collected in the Silent Hill: Three Bloody Tales trade paperback.
Silent Hill: The Grinning Man (2005)
State Trooper Robert Tower is on his last day of work before retirement when his new replacement, Mayberry, arrives. Despite the fact that Tower enters Silent Hill on a regular basis to look for missing people, he's never been exposed to the horrifying creatures that roam its streets. However, to play a prank on Mayberry (a firm believer in not only the lore of Silent Hill, but also several other conspiracy theories and supernatural concepts), he stages a "Monster" attack with two other officers. However, there is a new force in the town of Silent Hill -- a smiling madman with a mastery of both magical spells and firearms who considers the city his own personal hunting ground. The truth about the city is exposed to Tower and the showdown between he and the mysterious Grinning Man ensues. This story is collected in the Silent Hill: Three Bloody Tales trade paperback.
Silent Hill: Dead/Alive (2006)
Consisting of five issues written by Scott Ciencin, Dead/Alive links to the Dying Inside series by returning to Dr. Abernathy, Lauryn and her sister Christabella. Lauryn has a new boyfriend which appears to be Ike, the protagonist of Paint It Black. Somehow, Christabella manages to escape Lauryn's powers, but returns as a normal little girl with little power. Then, she meets with a witch called Lenora who makes a deal with her. Lenora wants to bring Hell on earth through the characters of Connie and her ex-boyfriend actor Kenneth Carter.
Silent Hill: Hunger (2006)
Exclusively on UMD disc 'Silent Hill Experience'. Hunger concerns itself with Douglass Payne and his fiancé Rosy, recently transported to the idyllic, serene Silent Hill. Doug’s hit on hard times, ousted from a prominent editorial position at a big newspaper where he was on track to deliver some huge stories before his ego got in the way and he was kicked to the curb. Now, settling down in Silent Hill, as his bride-to-be falls in love with the place, Doug is consumed with finding the next big story to get him back on top. When a 911 call is made to an abandoned house and the responding officer is murdered, reporter Douglas must find the answers to the mystery, all the while trying to find his love Rosy and figuring out the secrets that lie within a new stranger in town.
Influences and trivia
- All four Silent Hill titles contain references to the movie Jacob's Ladder. Silent Hill's gradual decline from perceived normalcy to stylized decay bears a close resemblance to the film's visual aesthetic, and Silent Hill's monsters are often seen shaking their heads rapidly from side to side in unnatural and jerky motions, a direct lift of Jacob's Ladder's visual style. Silent Hill 2 implies the notion of the town being akin to a personal purgatory, another similar theme from the film. Another strong reference is the use of the name Bergen Street for the subway platform which Heather (protagonist of Silent Hill 3's plot) encounters in Silent Hill 3. Bergen Street station played a significant part in Jacob's Ladder and the settings look very much alike. Similarly, the 'Subway World' in Silent Hill 4, with its surreal decay and blocked exits, echoes scenes from the film.
- The novel House of Leaves and its use of impossible physical spaces may have been an influence on the series (especially in Silent Hill 2), with its almost interminable corridors and rooms.
- Silent Hill's Midwich Elementary School is likely a reference to the town of Midwich from the science fiction novel, The Midwich Cuckoos, by John Wyndham which also features ominous children. This novel was twice adapted to film under the title, Village of the Damned.
- The Silent Hill series also has some similarities with John Carpenter's film In the Mouth of Madness. For example, the town Hobb's End seems like a ghost town, and in the center, its evil there is a church. There are also demonic children in the film, like in Silent Hill 1. In the scene where Stiles transforms, she looks very similar to The Janitor in the Silent Hill movie.
- The cult television series Twin Peaks is said to have had an influence on many aspects of the games. Both the game and the TV series take place in a resort town. David Lynch's often dream-like sequences in the series are also very similar to the surrealist occurrences throughout the games. The show also contains a girl named Maddie, the cousin and dead-ringer of the murdered Laura Palmer. The fact that many characters mistake her for Laura shows a striking resemblance to the relationship between James Sunderland and Maria in Silent Hill 2. Also, the little girl in SH2 was named "Laura". The book Lost Memories lists Twin Peaks as a main influence for the first three games.
- Silent Hill 2 also uses elements from David Lynch's movie Lost Highway. For example: James meets a woman that looks like his wife; there is a video tape on which he kills his wife. Both events also take place in Lost Highway.
- Throughout the series, it becomes clearer that there may be three levels of reality in Silent Hill. The 'top level' is where people live out their lives as normal, bearing hardly any difference to any other town of its kind. The next level could be called 'Foggy' Silent Hill (or the 'Alternate' Silent Hill), where an all-pervading fog obscures visibility to a matter of feet, similar to Stephen King's The Mist (a favorite story of one of the series' developers). Some monsters are apparent at this point, but the town environments are practically unchanged. The third layer down, where the real corruption of the reality lies, can be called 'Otherworld'. This darkness is not just a physical darkness, which is used to put the player on edge, but also corresponds to the kinds of monsters found here. This 'Otherworld' is the rotten core of the town. However, the recent comic book adaptations only have two layers, with Silent Hill being in fact an abandoned and monster-infested ghost town. Paint It Black points out that cable, power, and phones all work within the city limits, and the stores are refreshed with food.
- Though the town of Silent Hill is officially located somewhere in New England, there is a body of water in the town named "Toluca Lake", named after the real Toluca Lake in Southern California, near Burbank, North Hollywood, and Studio City. This serves as a roundabout homage to Director David Lynch; Lynch is legendary for having eaten lunch at Bob's Big Boy restaurant every day for approximately seven years straight. [5] That particular Bob's Big Boy is located in Toluca Lake, CA on Riverside Drive, just down the road from Warner Bros. Studios and Universal Studios.
- The game Monster Party for the Nintendo Entertainment System is said to be a possible influence to the Silent Hill series. It is similar to the series in the way that the beginning of the first level starts out normal and then half way through the level, it turns into the bloody "Otherworld." When this change occurs, stronger and more grotesque monsters start to appear. Most notably, mutant dogs appear, a type of monster that is in every game in the Silent Hill series, except for Silent Hill 2.
- Many elements of the series, including out-of-season snowfall (or ashes, as it appears in the film), air raid sirens, power failure and diseased animals, bear connection to nuclear apocalypse, although none of the games ever make this connection outright.
- Many streets of Silent Hill, especially the main ones shown in the map above, are named for authors with skill at the macabre, including Twilight Zone writer Richard Matheson, crime author James Ellroy, Stephen King's pseudonym Richard Bachman, and SF/horror writers Robert Bloch and Ray Bradbury.
- The dirty and hellish locations encountered throughout the Silent Hill series were inspired by the works of artist Francis Bacon. This is mentioned in the bonus "Making of Silent Hill 2" DVD recorded throughout production by "Fun TV" and featured in a limited release 2-disc set. This set was released only in certain countries as an added gift to compensate for the much later release date in said regions.
References
- ^ EuroGamer. Silent Hill 4: Two Guys In A Room 25 August 2004, 09:00.
- ^ EuroGamer. Silent Hill 5 coming to next gen 17 August 2004 16:57
- ^ IGN Silent Hill 5
External links
- Official Silent Hill series site (Konami Europe)
- Official Silent Hill 2 site (Konami Europe)
- Official Silent Hill 3 site (Konami Europe)
- Official Silent Hill 4 site (Konami Europe)
- Official The Silent Hill Experience site (Konami America)
- Silent Hill series (Konami Japan)
- Welcome to Silent Hill The official site for the 2006 movie, contains teaser and information.
- Silent Hill the Movie at Rottentomatoes.com
- Silent hill: Origins
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