Editorials
[Editorial] “They looked like monsters to you?” ‘Silent Hill 3’ Turns 15
In Konami’s Silent Hill 3, we got what some fans feel was “the last good Silent Hill game”. But at the same time, it’s also often the one that’s overlooked. Just how do you top what many consider one of the best (if not the best) Survival Horror games ever in Silent Hill 2? Silent Hill 3 was also one of the last traditional Surival Horror games before things became stagnant, and Capcom decided to reinvent things (for better and for worse) with Resident Evil 4. But seeing as Silent Hill 3 turns 15 today (in Europe, as Japan and North America had staggered releases later in the year), it’s worth looking back to see just how great the game was, but also just why it doesn’t get that recognition.
For those who’ve never played the game, Silent Hill 3 takes place 17 years after the original Silent Hill, and centres on Heather Mason, daughter of Silent Hill protagonist Harry Mason. While running an errand for Harry at the Central Square Shopping Center, Heather falls asleep inside a fast food restaurant and dreams about Silent Hill, where she finds herself in an abandoned amusement park. After being run down in her dream by a rollercoaster, Heather wakes up and attempts to leave the mall, but not before meeting two people who hint at her past. Soon Heather finds herself caught between two worlds, eventually leading her to venture into Silent Hill itself.
Technically-speaking, Silent Hill 3 still looks very good for a PlayStation 2 game that’s 15 years old. The characters still look realistic, retaining the recognizable features that the artists picked from real-life actors in the construction of the characters. Heather, for example, still retains features based on French actress Sophie Marceau. And Claudia still resembles Julianne Moore (sans eyebrows). Apart from some janky animations, the characters in the game are still able to communicate and express their emotions and eccentricities. And like some of the animations, the performances are a little overwrought in spots, but it fits in with the acting of the era. Predictably, Masahiro Ito’s monster designs carry on from what he started in the first game, and are ratcheted up in terms of gruesomeness and bizarreness. While the iconic Pyramid Head isn’t in the game, there are still plenty of weird designs that, as is typical in the series, are representative of the main character’s thoughts. Finally, the environments are appropriately rusty and grimy (as in the first game), and when combined with the scrapings and otherworldly noises, still hold that isolating and nightmarish feel a decade and a half later.
And you can’t talk about Silent Hill 3 without mentioning its music. Akira Yamaoka once again takes the industrial and ambient sounds from the previous games, but this time brings in vocals. Many have fallen in love with the opening song “You’re Not Here” with its melancholy vocals by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Other songs like “I Want Love” or “Letter – From the Lost Days” fit in perfectly during the more introspective moments of the game. The North American release of Silent Hill 3 came with a soundtrack CD, but lacked one track found in the Japanese release. If you’re a hardcore fan, the long out-of-print Silent Hill Sounds Box has the track (and then some), but you’ll be paying for it on eBay.
Silent Hill 3‘s gameplay isn’t too different from the previous games, although by no means is it any easier. Monsters this time around take more damage, meaning it’s better to run than fight. The Double Head will be the bane of your existence, as they tend come in packs. Luckily, you have the new beef jerky item that will distract the Double Head in order for you to make a getaway. New this time around is the ability to adjust the difficulty of combat and puzzles independently of each other. The Hard difficulty for puzzles will require you to brush up on your Shakespeare, to give you an idea of what you’ll be facing. There are plenty of scares to experience (such as the mannequin room), and will most certainly stick with you.
The story for Silent Hill 3 was borne out of a response from fans wanting to “tie up some loose ends” in regards to the first game, hence its function as a direct sequel. In fact, Silent Hill 3 mirrors the original game in numerous ways. Both games began in a supernatural location, where the character “dies” and wakes up in a restaurant. Soon after, both characters (whose names, Harry and Heather, begin with ‘H’) encounter law enforcement figures. Both characters also fight similar first bosses, and have encounters in similar locations, and face similar events. In fact, if you have save data from Silent Hill 2 on your memory card, there will be references to that game in SH3. And, Like the previous games, Silent Hill 3 makes references to Stephen King and other horror films, most notably Jacob’s Ladder.
There are several themes running through Silent Hill 3, with one of the more prevalent ones is a coming-of-age motif. I’ll try to be a vague as I can be in order to avoid spoiling things. Throughout the game, Heather stumbles upon birthday congratulations in various forms (including the infamous Happy Birthday Caller). Each time, however, the years will change. This is in reference to a certain plot point that you discover later on in the game. There are other references, such as the abandoned amusement park with the lifeless Robbie the Rabbit costume on the bench, the mall (a typical teen hangout), and the idea of birth (again, being vague). All of these lead to the idea of a crossroads between childhood and adulthood for Heather, who must take on adult responsibilities to survive her ordeal. Then again, as evidenced by the characters of Douglas Cartland and Vincent Smith, adulthood isn’t so great either. Both men are flawed individuals who have made mistakes, but only one seeks to change that. Whereas Douglas seeks to right the wrong of years past, Vincent seems content to ridicule and exploit others using his position of power for his own benefit. Claudia, the game’s main antagonist, would rather remain blinded by her devotion to her faith as a child would be to its parents, instead of being autonomous and aware of what’s going on.
Despite its positive reviews, Silent Hill 3 still doesn’t receive the attention as the second or the first. Is it because SH3 is more linear in its gameplay than the previous game? You don’t have a whole town to explore, but SH3 does have more of an isolated feel because of it. Or is it because the game adheres to the same formula as the previous game in terms of mechanics? The tank controls, the combat, the puzzles and camera angles. It’s all here from the previous games. Perhaps it’s just fatigue with the whole genre? That kind of seems preemptive, as there were still Survival Horror games being released at that time (and having good sales). However, it could also be said that things were on a downward trend, as with Silent Hill 4: The Room being released a year later, the sales and reception weren’t as positive, and people were starting to get tired of the familiar clichés found in the genre.
Whatever the reason might be, Silent Hill 3 certainly deserves more attention than what it’s been given. And especially now, since we all know about Konami’s current view of the series. The HD Collection that was released years ago is indicative of that. In fact, if you’re looking to play the game, you’d best track down the original, and avoid the “remaster” like the plague. If you’re not aware of why, there are plenty of videos explaining the reasoning.
By all means, track down a copy of this one on either PC or PlayStation 2, and give it the attention that it’s sorely lacked all this time. Sadly, as we know 15 years later, things haven’t turned out too well…
Expectations can run high whenever a buzzworthy filmmaker makes the leap from indie to mainstream. And Radio Silence — Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella and former member Justin Martinez — certainly had a lot to live up to after V/H/S. This production collective’s rousing contribution to the 2012 anthology film not only impressed audiences and critics, the same segment also caught the attention of 20th Century. This led to the studio recruiting the rising talent for a hush-hush found-footage project later titled Devil’s Due.
However, as soon as Radio Silence’s anticipated first film was released into the wild, the reactions were mostly negative. Devil’s Due was dismissed as a Rosemary’s Baby rehash but dressed in different clothes; almost all initial reviews were sure to make — as well as dwell on — that comparison. Of course, significant changes were made to Lindsay Devlin’s pre-existing script; directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett offered up more energy and action than what was originally found in the source material, which they called a “creepy mood piece.” Nevertheless, too many folks focused on the surface similarities to the 1968 pregnancy-horror classic and ignored much of everything else.
Almost exactly two years before Devil’s Due hit theaters in January of 2014, The Devil Inside came out. The divisive POV technique was already in the early stages of disappearing from the big screen and William Brent Bell’s film essentially sped up the process. And although The Devil Inside was a massive hit at the box office, it ended up doing more harm than good for the entire found-footage genre. Perhaps worse for Radio Silence’s debut was the strange timing of Devil’s Due; the better-received Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones was released earlier that same month. Despite only a superficial resemblance, the newer film might have come across as redundant and negligible to wary audiences.
Image: Allison Miller in Devil’s Due.
The trailers for Devil’s Due spelled everything out quite clearly: a couple unknowingly conceives a diabolical child, and before that momentous birth, the mother experiences horrifying symptoms. There is an unshakable sense of been-there-done-that to the film’s basic pitch, however, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett knew that from the beginning. To compensate for the lack of novelty, they focused on the execution. There was no point in hiding the obvious — in the original script, the revelation of a demonic pregnancy was delayed — and the film instead gives the game away early on. This proved to be a benefit, seeing as the directors could now play around with the characters’ unholy situation sooner and without being tied down by the act of surprise.
At the time, it made sense for Radio Silence’s first long feature to be shot in the same style that got them noticed in the first place, even if this kind of story does not require it. Still and all, the first-person slant makes Devil’s Due stand out. The urgency and terror of these expectant parents’ ordeal is more considerable now with a dose of verisimilitude in the presentation. The faux realism makes the wilder events of the film — namely those times the evil fetus fears its vessel is in danger — more effective as well. Obviously the set-pieces, such as Samantha pulling a Carrie White on three unlucky teens, are the work of movie magic, but these scenes hit harder after watching tedious but convincing stretches of ordinariness. Radio Silence found a solid balance between the normal and abnormal.
Another facet overlooked upon the film’s initial release was its performances. Booking legitimate actors is not always an option for found-footage auteurs, yet Devil’s Due was a big-studio production with resources. Putting trained actors in the roles of Samantha and Zach McCall, respectively Allison Miller and Zach Gilford, was desirable when needing the audience to care about these first-time parents. The leads managed to make their cursory characters both likable and vulnerable. Miller was particularly able to tap into Samantha’s distress and make it feel real, regardless of the supernatural origin. And with Gilford’s character stuck behind the camera for most of the time, the film often relied on Miller to deliver the story’s emotional element.
Image: Allison Miller in Devil’s Due.
Back then, Radio Silence went from making viral web clips to a full-length theatrical feature in a relatively short amount of time. The outcome very much reflected that tricky transition. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett indeed knew how to create these attention-grabbing scenes — mainly using practical effects — but they were still learning their way around a continuous narrative. The technical limitations of found footage hindered the story from time to time, such as this routine need to keep the camera on the main characters (or see things from their perspective) as opposed to cutting away to a subplot. There is also no explanation of who exactly compiled all this random footage into a film. Then again, that is an example of how the filmmakers strove for entertainment as opposed to maintaining every tradition of found footage. In the end, the directors drew from a place of comfort and familiarity as they, more or less, used 10/31/98 as the blueprint for Devil’s Due’s chaotic conclusion. That is not to say the film’s ending does not supply a satisfying jolt or two, but surely there were hopes for something different and atypical.
Like other big film studios at that time, 20th Century wanted a piece of the found-footage pie. What distinguished their endeavor from those of their peers, though, was the surprising hiring of Radio Silence. Needless to say, the gamble did not totally pay off, yet putting the right guys in charge was a bold decision. Radio Silence’s wings were not completely clipped here, and in spite of how things turned out, there are flashes of creativity in Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s unconventional approach to such a conventional concept.
Radio Silence has since bounced back after a shaky start; they participated in another anthology, Southbound, before making another go at commercial horror. The second time, as everyone knows, was far more fruitful. In hindsight, Devil’s Due is regarded as a hiccup in this collective’s body of work, and it is usually brought up to help emphasize their newfound success. Even so, this early film of theirs is not all bad or deserving of its unmentionable status. With some distance between then and now, plus a forgiving attitude, Devil’s Due can be seen as a fun, if not flawed first exposure to the abilities of Radio Silence. And, hopefully, somewhere down the line they can revisit the found-footage format.
Image: Allison Miller and Zach Gilford in Devil’s Due.
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