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When any adaptation of a beloved piece of media is announced, fans will always be a little skeptical. This skepticism comes from love, and it often seems like the people put in charge of those adaptations don’t share that same love. However, when it comes to the latest iteration in theSilent Hillfilm franchise,Return to Silent Hill, no one can deny that Christophe Gans is a true fan.
Gans’Silent Hill, which adapted the first game in the franchise, got a lot right. The atmosphere is perfect, the town itself is great, and the scares work. However, the script could have used a second pass, especially in regard to the dialogue. Now, 20 years after his last attempt, there’s a lotGans can do in this upcoming adaptation, which is based onSilent Hill 2.The adaptation should embrace that same atmosphere, with a script that offers an improved sense of tension and embraces the game’s difficult themes.
Silent Hill 2is considered thebest game in theSilent Hillfranchise, and not just because of its impressive graphics at the time of its release. The game is an uncomfortable experience, centering around grief and guilt. The characters have serious traumatic backstories, and a lot of the monsters that protagonist James Sunderland sees are based on his own repressed feelings. This makesSilent Hill 2a difficult property to adapt, but to do the story justice, it’s necessary forReturn to Silent Hillto face them head on. So what exactly are these tricky themes and topics?
Spoilers ahead forSilent Hill 2
Please keep in mind that this article will include discussions of trauma and sensitive subjects.
James' Complicated Motivations For That Twist Ending
InSilent Hill 2, James Sunderland receives a letter from his wife asking him to meet her in the titular Silent Hill, a resort town, which was the location of one of their happiest vacations. However, this is unnerving from the start, as Mary has been dead for three years. While James searches for Mary, many characters he meets along the way ask why he’s looking for his wife if he knows she’s already dead. Still, James cannot let it go.
James meets a doppelgänger of his wife called Maria. Eventually, it is revealed thatMaria is a creation of Silent Hill itself, meant to test James' loyalty to Mary. This comes to a head when James learns the truth about what happened to Mary. Before the events of the game, Mary had been diagnosed with an illness that deteriorated her skin, made her hair fall out, and left her surly. She would sometimes be verbally abusive towards James, and would alternate between wishing for death and wanting to live. Once she was discharged from the hospital to live the rest of her days under his care, James was at his limit.
Players learn that Mary didn’t die from her illness three years ago. Instead, James killed her just a few days before heading to Silent Hill. However, he was unable to deal with what he had done, so he tricked himself into believing she had died from her illness.
Of course, this reveal makes James complicated. He’s no longer a man searching for his lost wife, but a murderer who can’t handle what he did to someone he loved. Additionally, the game delves into even more complicated aspects of his mixed feelings over his wife’s illness. Some of the monsters in the game are sexually suggestive, which implies that James may have been repressing his own sexual desire during Mary’s illness. That also explains why the idealized Maria is a stripper, a more alluring version of his wife. There is alsothe infamous Pyramid Head, an executioner who is constantly going after James as a way to punish him for what he did. James may not be heroic, buthis complexities make him a great characterand one of the reasons the game is such a standout.
Angela’s Tragic Home Life
Like James, Angela is also looking for someone: her mother, who she claims she hasn’t seen in a long time. She is skittish and warns James that something is wrong with Silent Hill. Angela also corrects herself from saying “Mama” to “mother,” implying that there’s some kind of development issue with her and there’s more to her search. Eventually, players learn that Angela’s father was an abusive alcoholic who also sexually assaulted her. Her mother blamed her, telling her that she deserved it. When Angela was unable to take the abuse any longer, she stabbed her father to death.
InSilent Hill, Angela’s trauma ofher abuse is personified in the Daddy Abstract monster, who is afleshy mass resembling two figures intertwined on a bed. Interestingly, the version James sees of this monster is different from the one Angela sees, and likely less horrific. This is a grim part of the story, and one that would be very difficult to adapt into a film. However, it’s necessary to portray Angela’s contrast to James. Whereashis endings give him the choice to forgive himself, there’s no other path for Angela. Inher last cutscene of the game, it is implied that she chooses to end her own life.
How Eddie’s Bullying Led To His Instability
One side character, Laura, is an innocent and doesn’t see the Fog World that James and Angela are subjected to.Eddie isn’t so lucky. Eddie initially seems a little bit dim, but harmless. He’s just as disturbed by corpses as James is at the beginning of the game. However, as the game progresses, Eddie’s psyche begins to deteriorate. It turns out that before coming to Silent Hill, Eddie snapped, shot his bully in the leg, and killed his dog. When he first arrives, he tries to escape what he’s done, but as he spends more time in the town, he becomes convinced that everyone is equal in death and James is forced to kill him in self-defense.
Like Angela, Eddie is another juxtaposition to James' character. James feels immediate grief over killing Eddie, and this act serves as a step to reveal that he is capable of murder, leading to the realization of how his wife died. As grim as Eddie’s narrative is, it is necessary for James' overall story.
WhileSilent Hill 2has received praise for its story, it is an undoubtedly grim one. However, the only way that this next entry into theSilent Hillfilm franchise works is if Gans confronts that darkness head on. Just as James must confront his actions, the full darkness of the narrative is required to getthe full picture ofSilent Hill 2’s storyand what makes it so unique even over 20 years later.
Silent Hill 2
WHERE TO PLAY
THE SILENCE IS BROKEN…James Sunderland’s life is shattered when his young wife Mary suffers a tragic death. Three years later, a mysterious letter arrives from Mary, beckoning him to return to their sanctuary of memories, the dark realm of Silent Hill.Now James must go back to that special place to uncover the truth, unaware that the answers he seeks require the ultimate sacrifice.• Return to Silent Hill in an entirely new adventure with all-new characters and monsters.• Battle horrifying creatures with a new arsenal of weapons and items.• Riveting storyline, stunning graphics and true-to-life CG movies leave you on the edge of your seat.• Atmospheric lighting and ambient 3D surround sound shift and change at each terrifying turn.• Dynamic camera angles, beautifully rendered environments, and real-time weather effects deliver a cinematic horror experience.
Silent Hill
Silent Hill is a series of survival horror games best known for its original trilogy. The first three games stood out with how atmospheric they were, along with their engrossing storylines that were often told through symbolism and metaphors.Silent Hill 2 is set to be remade by Bloober Team, a game that could reignite the franchise.
Prime Video
Prime Video is Amazon’s streaming service that began as Amazon Unbox back in September 2006. The streaming service has gone through many rebrandings over the year but has managed to successfully compete with other streamers such as Netflix, Max, and Disney+. Some of their most notable titles include The Boys, Carnival Row, and Sound of Metal.
