Editorials
In Memoriam: Remembering ‘Silent Hill’
Today’s the day. I didn’t want it to be, and I’m sure you didn’t either, but none of that matters anymore. This is the day when you and I were suddenly, cruelly and unceremoniously separated from tomorrow’s generation of gamers.
Last month, Konami effectively shuttered Metal Gear developer Kojima Productions and announced they’d soon be parting ways with one of its top designers, Hideo Kojima. The house that Metal Gear built may be no more, but the man who helped mold its legacy will be sticking with its killer long enough to wrap up development of The Phantom Pain.
After leaving us to simmer in our own frothy mixture of frustration and anxiety regarding the fate of Silent Hills, Konami finally got around to letting us know they’ve officially pulled the plug on a dream project that would’ve brought together Hideo Kojima — one of this industry’s greatest and strangest minds — and director Guillermo Del Toro.
Guillermo is an undeniably brilliant director and storyteller who also happens to be uniquely skilled at breaking my heart. Between InSane and Silent Hills — not to mention the numerous canned film projects he’s been involved in — this wonderful man is racking up quite the body count of slain dreams and unfulfilled promises. I still love him, but goddamn if this relationship doesn’t feel one-sided sometimes.
Before we get too deep, I’d like to warn you of what’s to come.
Our music editor, Jon, recently dedicated a piece to explaining how nonsensical it was to cancel Silent Hills. It’s a good read that you may want to keep in mind, if only so you’ll have something to use as a chaser for what I’m about to add to the conversation.
This will almost certainly be a bummer of an article. I’m upset, and since I’m not that interested in counting my blessings or observing silver linings — I’ve already tried being optimistic — the next best thing I could think of was a tribute. This may even qualify as group therapy.
I was away this weekend, sweetly unaware of the fact that Konami had made the bizarre decision to kill a series that’s had a monumental impact on this industry, the horror genre, and me. Especially me. There’s a solid chance I wouldn’t be writing this story now if it weren’t for how deeply Silent Hill 2 resonated with me so many years ago. It might not seem like much, video games get cancelled all the time, but few have this much potential, and fewer still are burdened by the future of a storied franchise like Silent Hill.
As disappointing as this news was to many of us, the worst part of all of it lies with what it means for Silent Hill. It’s disappointing that I won’t be able to play this game, but that’s not the reason why this is upsetting. We gamers have a tendency to feel more entitled than we actually are. Konami was fully within their right to do what they did, and we too have the right to say their decision sucks.
This series deserved this rare chance to be relevant again. It deserved to have two of the most creative minds in entertainment working to make it glorious again. It deserved so much, and while there may very well be a future after this, it won’t be able to regain that momentum. The P.T. demo wasn’t just clever, it was also ridiculously effective, but even it will soon be scrubbed away by the empty husk that now calls itself Konami.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen to them. It’s no longer listed on the New York stock exchange, but many of the claims that the publisher is doomed tend not to take into account their many projects that aren’t related to console gaming. So while I don’t think that Konami, as a company, is dead, I do think that Konami, as a presence in this industry, is just about there.
Let’s say Konami decides to pursue another Silent Hill game. After all this, it’d be an understatement to say that my confidence in the company has diminished significantly. That leaves us with one option I can think of. Konami doesn’t owe us a thing, but if they’re at all interested in making a good decision amid all these horrible ones, they should sell the IP to a more capable publisher.
This leads me to my big question: Which publisher do you trust with the future of Silent Hill?
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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