Editorials
It’s Time for the Original ‘Silent Hill’ to Receive a True Remake
Nothing stings fans of Silent Hill quite like seeing Resident Evil‘s current triumphs. It’s not necessarily out of resentment (you can love both y’know), rather it’s because they know that if handled right, Silent Hill could also be revitalized like it almost promised to be a few years back. You know, before that ill-fated Kojima Productions rebirth was ground into dust?
The crux of that pain inflicted by Resi‘s revival as a horror force is that it is indirectly due to that P.T. demo. Capcom smartly capitalized on its fate to make Resident Evil 7 what it was, and now here we sit on the 20th anniversary of Silent Hill‘s debut, with no promises on the horizon and no sign Konami is eager to do something for it.
Konami could, of course, argue it doesn’t need to do anything about it, as its still healthy and profitable despite the doomsayers declaring its death after the Kojima debacle.
Yet there is a compromise to be made if perhaps at this point, Konami gave the keys to that particular IP to someone else in order to do the most fan-pleasing (and somewhat necessary) thing. By that I mean to remake the original Silent Hill. Something a touch meatier than Shattered Memories, if we’re going to be a little more specific.
If Capcom can make a buck or two off Silent Hill‘s misfortunes, then why shouldn’t Konami take a leaf out of its book and go the remake route? Twice this has proven successful for Resident Evil, and if the reception to Resident Evil 2 is anything to go by, there’s plenty of goodwill to be earned from updating a classic. Especially one that stands to be lost to time if things carry on the way they are.
Silent Hill deserves to have its name made relevant again. A remake doesn’t have to be high budget (which has been the off-putting issue for Konami with anything, hence the remaster, annual sports games, and spinoffs made of stapled-together assets from previous work), and it’s perhaps the safest way to gamble in the series once more.
Of course, finding the right development team to essentially remake Silent Hill from the ground up isn’t the easiest task. In an ideal world, you’d let the series creators and writers back into the fold to steer the new vision in the right direction, but whose to say any of them would still want to work for Konami at this point?
As much as it would be a feel-good story to have old hands on it once more, a fresh take could also do wonders, especially for a portion of the audience that never got to experience the series in its prime. Bloober Team, with its head-spinning horrors Layers of Fear and Observer, would be a good, understandable, fit for Silent Hill, as would Penumbra and Amnesia developer Frictional Games. Frictional, in fact, could be very effective at injecting new life into Silent Hill given how smart and psychological its games tend to be.
Yes, Silent Hill as a franchise has had a major problem with being shipped around from sequel to sequel, and that’s a risk, but surely with such an intriguing and solid framework to work from, there’s just enough guidance to keep a remake feeling like it should whilst allowing for reinvention.
Is it optimistic to think Konami would budge on such a thing? Perhaps. We’ve seen where its overall gaming interests lie in recent years, but unlikely turnarounds can happen, and even Konami as a company can change.
Seeing horror gaming thrive without Silent Hill is a sad sight indeed, and it’s one I’d love to see rectified sooner rather than later. Whether Konami chooses to be involved or not remains to be seen.
Who would you have remake Silent Hill? Let us know your dream development team to revive the classic series.
No conversation about cartoons based on live-action movies is ever complete without mentioning The Real Ghostbusters.
This animated continuation is, warts and all, a notable example of turning a hit movie into a hit series. And although the new target demographic skewed a little younger, even kids-at-heart could partake in the further adventures of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and Egon Spengler.
For a good part of its run, the show required fans to wait at least a week for more Ghostbustin’. That’s torture for a kiddo. Luckily, though, the entire series, or at least most of it, is now available for streaming.
So, as you revisit The Real Ghostbusters on Tubi—for now it’s just the first five seasons there—use this guide to help prioritize some must-see episodes.
The Boogieman Cometh
“The Boogieman Cometh” (Season 1)
Season One’s “The Boogieman Cometh” is a classic episode featuring one of the show’s more iconic villains. It’s hard to forget the unique character design used for the Boogieman (whose creepy voice was provided by Ray and Slimer’s actor, Frank Welker). In this story, Egon is reunited with that bump-in-the-night entity who haunted his own childhood, all while trying to keep him away from his latest targets: the brother and sister claiming to have the Boogieman in their closet. Although the Ghostbusters do save the day here, the Boogieman eventually returns (“The Bogeyman Is Back“). That same episode also features the love-’em-or-hate-’em Junior Ghostbusters.
Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream
“Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” (Season 1)
You could say the namesake of “Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” had good intentions for putting mankind to sleep for the next few centuries—he wanted to end war and keep everyone dreaming. Sounds nice until you remember that whole free will business. But when it seems like the Ghostbusters have lost to their latest foe, the last one standing, Winston, gains a sudden ally. Janine’s dream of becoming a Ghostbuster is manifested, and she helps put this rogue spirit to bed.
When Halloween Was Forever
“When Halloween Was Forever” (Season 1)
Before the show’s execs capitalized on Slimer’s popularity by making him the focus of later episodes, early stories like “When Halloween Was Forever” better utilized that gooey ghost. Here, the spirit of Halloween itself, Samhain, hopes to make the holiday a permanent thing by stopping time. And who does the embodiment of All Hallows’ Eve use in his nefarious plot? Slimer, of course. Thankfully, the lil’ green bud knows where he really belongs, and Samhain is banished (at least until Season 3’s “Halloween II 1/2“).
Night Game
“Night Game” (Season 2)
Because Season Two was rather long, in comparison to other seasons, it accumulated quite a few solid episodes. One of the most beloved, though, is that ultimate good-versus-evil story, “Night Game“. Winston gets to shine here as he participates in a battle that was 500 years in the making. Except this time, the fighting is done on the baseball field. The other-dimensional settings in The Real Ghostbusters are always great, but the one here is particularly memorable.
Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin
“Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” (Season 2)
Not all ghosts and whatnot were bad in The Real Ghostbusters. As “Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” showed, some were actually benevolent. Sadly, it took a lot of convincing, and one very heroic act, for Peter and the others to see past this goblin’s grotesque appearance. The heroes find more than one shapeshifter at a sideshow carnival in the Poconos; a sinister Class-4er called the Metamorph does a swell job of menacing the Ghostbusters before they finally realize Drool’s not their culprit. The good guys indeed win here, but that victory is a bittersweet one.
The Collect Call of Cathulhu
“The Collect Call of Cathulhu” (Season 2)
While “The Collect Call of Cathulhu” does misspell “Cthulhu” in the title (probably to avoid legal issues), it is clearly the Old One in this Lovecraft-inspired episode. The story kicks off with the Necronomicon being stolen by the deity’s modern-day cult, who then raise their ancient god at Coney Island. From there, the Ghostbusters’ typical methods don’t work on the big guy, so they seek advice from an old issue of Weird Tales (or “Wierd Tales”, as it’s spelled on screen). That build-up to the finale comes with a decent amount of dread before the Ghostbusters, as well as a scholar named Alice, face off with one of the show’s most powerful entities.
Knock, Knock
“Knock, Knock” (Season 2)
A number of Real Ghostbusters episodes could be reworked into big-screen features, but perhaps “Knock, Knock” is the most hopeful. It helps that this story feels in step with the first two movies. Here, some ignorant construction workers accidentally uncover and open an ancient door in the subway. What’s behind said door is none other than those unspeakable evils that only the Ghostbusters can quell. A good deal of the imagery here is prime for adaptation.
The Grundel
“The Grundel” (Season 3)
One of the darker episodes, which was written by the prominent J. Michael Straczynski, is “The Grundel“. Here, a boy is being influenced by the titular entity, a type of ghost who ultimately turns his targets into new Grundels. The episode does have something of an after-school special quality to it, but that doesn’t take away from the eerier moments. For more Grundel lore, be sure to check out the episode “Grundelesque” from the sequel series, Extreme Ghostbusters.
Standing Room Only
“Standing Room Only” (Season 4)
It’s no secret that The Real Ghostbusters experienced multiple changes after the second season. Out of all of them, though, retooling the show so that Slimer would get more of the spotlight is maybe the most egregious. Thankfully, Season Four (the first to be called Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters) didn’t completely obey that new directive; episodes like “Standing Room Only” felt more like the old days. The focus here was on the well-being of the city and its people, rather than on the series’ green mascot (or the Junior Ghostbusters). In the episode, Peter’s new ghost attractor isn’t to blame for the ensuing chaos; the ghost-eating Mee-Krah is what’s really imperiling everyone. And the Ghostbusters must dish out everything they have to avoid a doomsday situation.
The Halloween Door
“The Halloween Door” (Season 5)
While many fans will skip the later seasons in their rewatches, episodes like “The Halloween Door” are still worth checking out. This colorful helping of Halloween pandemonium premiered on primetime, so the animation is better than usual. And save for a random musical moment, it’s an enjoyable event. Here, a group of anti-Halloweeners tries to cancel the holiday, but they only end up making things worse by unleashing a baddie named Boogaloo.
The first five seasons of The Real Ghostbusters are available on Tubi, starting on July 15.
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