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[Editorial] “They looked like monsters to you?” ‘Silent Hill 3’ Turns 15

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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…

Writer/Artist/Gamer from the Great White North. I try not to be boring.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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