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“In My Restless Dreams…”: Celebrating 15 Years of ‘Silent Hill 2’

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Fifteen years ago today, Konami released Silent Hill 2 in the United States. Hailed as one of the greatest sequels AND as having one of the greatest stories in video game history, Silent Hill 2 is one of those rare games that transcends simple entertainment and instead becomes an experience, one that stays with us for years.

I remember buying the game the day it came out. I had it pre-ordered months in advance because my excitement was nigh well unbearable, so picking it up on opening day was not an option, it was a necessity. I rushed home and, after doing my homework (I was still in high school at the time), I dove into the game, eager to once again enter the town that gave me so many nightmares just a few years prior.

To celebrate its anniversary, I wanted to revisit the game, which still has enormous meaning for me. It’s a way to pay homage and respect to a title that has influenced countless titles since its release. Join me as we venture back into Silent Hill.

Entering Silent Hill

What set apart Silent Hill 2 for me was the length of the introduction. Most games throw you into the mix nearly straight away. Within moments of the train stopping in Final Fantasy VII, you’re in a battle. Leaving to the left or the right of the town of Jova in Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest also puts you right into the fray. But not Silent Hill 2.

Instead, the game begins with an almost picturesque view of Toluca Lake and the woods that surround it. A thin fog hovers over the air, but there isn’t enough to obscure your view. It’s ghostlike, wispy tendrils blurring the air ever so slightly.

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James Sunderland, after facing his reflection in the mirror of a roadside bathroom, stands at the railing of the rest stop, looking out over the lake and coming to terms with his mission. He has received a letter from Mary, his wife who died three years prior, and he needs to know how…and why. Steeling himself, he descends the stairs and follows the path from the rest stop that leads into Silent Hill.

Now, normally a game would put in a cutscene that would show him walking a bit and then ending up in the town. But that didn’t happen here as the player has to go with James along this path, which takes several real time minutes, hearing the strange noises that are coming from the woods around him. And as we journey further, the fog gets thicker and more impenetrable, as though James is entering a different world, one that seeks both to dissuade him from taking another step forward as well as welcome him, wrapping him in a gray blanket of fog.

James’ story forward is one of struggle, pain, loss, grief, and facing wounds that had seemingly healed but reopen all too easily. We share in his emotions because not only do we control him, we are ever aware of the pains and struggles he is going through, as evidenced by the letter he constantly carries with him, which can never be dropped and is, in fact, integral for some of the various endings the game offers.

As the revelations arrive towards the end of the game, we, the player, find ourselves in a tough position with James. Can we empathize with this character, especially after what he’s done?

The Town

Entering Silent Hill, we are not given direction or guidance. It is up to us, the players, the figure out our path to continue the journey of finding Mary. This freedom is both liberating and daunting. After all, how does one find what they need when they have to look across an entire town?

This encouragement of exploration continued the tradition of the first game and made the player feel like they were much like James, lost in the story and, just as James expressed in the beginning of the game, uncertain of where in the town to go.

The town felt fully realized and fleshed out. From the bowling alley to the gas station to the historical society to the hospital, Silent Hill was a real town that would’ve held real people. The sense of familiarity that I mentioned previously was aided by this attention to detail. These are places we would go to in our own real life, so seeing them here jogs memories of our own experiences, subtly connecting us.

The Atmosphere

When I heard of the first Silent Hill, it was described as “‘Resident Evil’ but with less bullets.” It’s not wrong but it certainly doesn’t capture the nuance of what the game offers. The way I’ve always described it is, “If ‘Resident Evil’ were to ‘Aliens’ then ‘Silent Hill’ would be to ‘The Shining’.”

One of the biggest draws of the Silent Hill games is their ability to create an atmosphere that is palpable. It feels different from all other games before and after it. The reason is because, for as terrifying and uncertain as the game is, there is a beauty, an aching yearning that rests at the foundation. The town is a source of temptation and part of its seduction technique is to use nostalgia, familiarity, and beauty amidst its gritty filth.

Much of this can be ascribed to the music of composer Akira Yamaoka, whose notes hover and tremble, much like the fog that has blanketed this town.

The Music

Whereas the music for Silent Hill focused far more on industrial noises and sounds that make your teeth itch, Silent Hill 2 ventured into a different yet equally appropriate direction. Embracing ambience and beauty, Yamaoka wrote a spellbinding series of tracks that never strayed from his first OST yet evolved it, much the same as how the game evolved from Playstation 1 capabilities into the far more powerful Playstation 2. Tracks like “White Noiz” and “Noone Love You” are prime examples of pieces that are heart-achingly beautiful yet also harbor something sinister.

“Fermata in Mistic Air” is another piece that almost hurts to listen to. You can hear the desperation and pain, the horror of everything that Silent Hill embodies expressed in this one piece. There might not be another track that so wonderfully represents what the series has to offer.

I’ve made it clear over the years just how much I love the music of the Silent Hill games and this soundtrack, depending on the day, ranks as my favorite.

The Enemies

When one thinks about it, the Silent Hill games may have more enemies than Resident Evil. After all, when you clear an area in any of the RE games, the zombies usually don’t return. Not so in the Silent Hill series, at least in the town itself. The amount of enemies never seems to drop, the body count rising with each enemy fallen. This alone is horrifying in that we can never feel safe, we can never feel some sense of security. Yes, we can clear a building of every enemy within but that doesn’t change the fact that the outside harbors an endless amount of terrifying denizens.

While in Silent Hill 1 the enemies were reflections of Alessa and her fears, Silent Hill 2‘s enemies are reflections of James and his guilt, with the exception of the “Abstract Daddy”, which is a manifestation of Angela’s nightmares of the rapes she endured at the hands of her father and brother. The nurses and mannequins are strangely erotic, their bodies a representation of James’ repressed sexual frustrations and fantasies.

Mannequin

One of the most iconic characters not just in the game but now in the series, Pyramid Head’s first appearance in the apartment building is masterfully crafted. He just stands there, seemingly bathed in a red light, unmoving yet imposing, his body covered in blood stains. Seeing him for the first time, I felt genuine fear. I knew that this entity was something different from all the other enemies, those who pursued and attacked with seemingly mindless abandon. This was a calculating vision, one that would pursue me relentlessly yet intelligently, determined to strike James right where it hurt the most. There’s a reason Pyramid Head has gone on to become a video game icon and it’s not just his design.

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Conclusion

When I bought Silent Hill 2, I expected to be scared, to see some incredible, macabre visuals, to hear some wonderful music, and to have a damn good time. What I didn’t expect was to experience a story that was so nuanced, so brilliantly thought out, that it would forever change my view of how games were approached.

Silent Hill 2 proved that games could transcend the misconception of being a “simple form of entertainment”. It elevated the medium to a level that demanded respect and appreciation. There’s a reason it’s one of my favorite games of all time and will forever be so. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to hook up my PS2 and give it a playthrough.

silenthill2maria

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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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