Editorials
Six Atmospheric Horror Films for ‘Silent Hill’ Fans
Unlike most other survival horror franchises, the Silent Hill games keep fans coming back for more by investing in a certain feeling rather than familiar monsters and recurring characters. Yes, Pyramid Head and the nurses are some of the biggest icons in gaming, but it’s really the series’ unique blend of Nietzschean psychology and moody atmosphere that makes it stand out. That’s why it’s only natural that fans would also search for the same eerie vibes in other media.
And while I’ll admit that there’s nothing out there that feels exactly like the Silent Hill games (even the adaptations can’t quite replicate the surreal solitude of the source material), today I’d like to share a list attempting to answer one of the most common questions asked by new Silent Hill fans: are there any movies that feel like Silent Hill?
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Silent-Hill-adjacent cinema as films which contain creepy atmosphere and dark psychological themes similar to Konami’s franchise. That being said, feel free to comment below with your own recommendations if you think we missed a particularly spooky film.
And while we’re here, I’d also like to give a shout out to a few relevant films that didn’t quite make the cut simply because most horror fans have probably already seen them: The Mist, Shutter Island, and Session 9!
With that out of the way, here are six atmospheric horror films for Silent Hill fans…
6. Citadel (2012)
Horror is usually associated with isolation, and I think that’s why it’s so hard to get urban horror right. I mean, how do you make someone feel alone when they’re surrounded by millions of people in a concrete jungle? Well, Ciarán Foy presented a clever solution to this problem in Citadel, a film about an agoraphobic father attempting to protect his infant child from feral teenage gangs that may or may not inhabit a local apartment complex.
It’s not a perfect movie, suffering from low production value and an obtuse script, but there’s enough doom and gloom here to keep Silent Hill fans satisfied – especially when you consider that the film’s condemned tower block feels a lot like a decrepit location from the games. Plus, the whole thing was based on a real encounter that the director had with deranged youths, which I think makes it even scarier.
5. Angel Heart (1989)
It may not have been a huge hit upon release, but the years have been kind to Alan Parker’s horror-noir feature Angel Heart. A loose yet loving adaptation of William Hjortsberg’s novel of the same name, this underrated gem follows a hardboiled detective (Mickey Rourke) during the late 1950s as he attempts to locate a missing singer, with this strange case ultimately revealing an occult conspiracy involving cults, voodoo and the devil himself.
This premise may not sound all that similar to a survival horror game, but Angel Heart’s gritty visuals and occult themes were actually a huge influence on the development of the otherworld in Silent Hill 3. It’s also one hell of a compelling mystery, which is why I couldn’t help but include it on the list.
4. Deathwatch (2002)
A psychological horror film about World-War I soldiers trapped in a never-ending trench that appear to be punishing them for their wartime sins, it’s easy to see why Deathwatch eventually landed MJ Bassett a gig as the director of Silent Hill: Revelations. However, while that official SH adaptation was ultimately sabotaged by studio meddling, Deathwatch remains Bassett’s scariest feature.
From homicidal barbed wire to the protagonists losing their mind as they realize the trench has a mind of its own, there’s plenty to like here if you’re a fan of mean-spirited horror stories that put their characters through nightmarish ordeals. After all, if war is hell, trench warfare must be the seventh circle.
3. Possum (2015)
I’ve already raved about Matthew Holness’ work on the criminally underseen horror-comedy show Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, but even I was surprised when Holness’ indie horror flick Possum turned out to be a legitimately disturbing tale about confronting trauma. In fact, I’d argue that this is one of the scariest films on the list despite starting out as a low-stakes story about a puppeteer returning to his childhood home.
Not only is the film’s Norfolk setting surprisingly atmospheric, but the film also treats its dark subject matter with an admirable degree of respect – and that’s not even mentioning the iconic cursed puppet that earns the film its title. The deliberate pacing and unsettling story may not be for everyone, but this British gem will almost certainly appeal to fans of Silent Hill.
2. Lost Highway (1997)
My personal favorite David Lynch movie, Lost Highway combines nightmarish storytelling with noir sensibilities in a one-of-a-kind experience that you’ll either love or hate. Telling a surreal story about murder, marital spouts and VHS voyeurism, the film may not be easy to understand, but at least it’s never boring.
And though Lynch has been an obvious influence on the Silent Hill series since his early work, Lost Highway stands out by featuring an overarching plot that likely inspired much of Silent Hill 2.
However, even if you’re not a fan of surrealistic thrillers, you’ve got to admit that the Trent-Reznor-produced soundtrack still kicks all kinds of ass.
1. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Demonic entities, surreal otherworlds and a haunted protagonist who can’t quite get a grip on reality – Jacob’s Ladder doesn’t just feel like Silent Hill, it also happens to be one of the greatest inspirations for Konami’s long-running franchise. From the uncanny shaking of the monster heads to its depictions of urban decay, there are too many similarities here to count, and yet Adrian Lyne’s 1990 cult classic still manages to surprise viewers over three decades later.
Featuring a deeply compelling lead performance by Tim Robbins (as well as a surprisingly scary basis in real world conspiracy theories), I wouldn’t just recommend Jacob’s Ladder to Silent Hill fans, I’d recommend it to any cinephile willing to risk a dive into a terrifying waking dream.
The penultimate season of Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996) aired its first three episodes on October 31, so it’s understandable that at least one of those three stories is set on Halloween.
Sandwiched between “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” (Russell Mulcahy, Ron Finley) and “Whirlpool” (Mick Garris, A. L. Katz & Gilbert Adler) is the most severe episode of the bunch. Maybe the entire series? William Malone and Dick Beebe’s “Only Skin Deep” traded the show’s typical sense of fun for startling amounts of bleakness and kink.
“Only Skin Deep” is, apart from the Crypt Keeper’s intro and outro, noticeably unfunny. There are no considerable attempts at making the viewer laugh. Come to think of it, if those bookends had been replaced, and there was more of a sci-fi element in the story, HBO could have easily squeezed this tale into that successor anthology, Perversions of Science (1997). In Crypt, though, “Only Skin Deep” is much too grim for an audience that had become accustomed to campiness and levity.
What makes “Only Skin Deep” feel dark, among other things, is its protagonist. Showing up to a Halloween party where he’s not welcome, and where his former girlfriend (Diane DiLasco) is attending, Carl Schlag (Peter Onorati) first comes across as your standard bitter ex. You soon realize it’s much worse than that, once Carl threatens Linda (“You know, silly me, thinking I gave you what you deserved. If I’d have done that, I’d have killed you”). Now, I haven’t forgotten that Tales from the Crypt was teeming with vile men who did women harm. Yet Carl’s brand of misogynistic menace hits differently—it borders on being too realistic for this kind of series.
Mike Vosburg’s EC-style comic cover for “Only Skin Deep”, as seen in the Tales from the Crypt episode.
Despite donning a party mask for much of the episode, Carl can’t ever mask his true nature. The invitation did say “come as you are”, after all. That inability to change and be better, however, is why Carl ends up in such a karmic predicament. His outburst of anger at the party attracts the attention of one loner partygoer named Molly (Sherrie Rose, who was also in Season Four’s “On a Deadman’s Chest”). Her bone-white, featureless “mask” and body-bag costume don’t initially register as too strange, especially on a night like this. But at a party chock-full of colorful, cartoonish, and lighthearted ensembles, it does look out of place.
Darkness attracts darkness as Carl ditches the party and accompanies the mysterious Molly to her place. Which, by the way, should have been an immediate red flag. But perhaps she’s so hot, he doesn’t seem to mind the serial killer aesthetic. Resembling a warehouse that has been converted into living spaces, but never then decorated to remove the cold, industrial look, Molly’s home (or lair) is as gloomy as this whole episode feels. It’s like the set of a grungy music video, albeit a tad cleaner. The environments in a typical Crypt episode tend to be small, overfilled, and broken-in. Warm, regardless of any weird goings-on. All that empty space in Molly’s hovel, on the other hand, elicits a creepy feeling that Carl was unwise to ignore.
Tales from the Crypt featured more sex than it didn’t, but hands down, “Only Skin Deep” boasts the steamiest scene in the show’s history. Pushing it over the line, in addition to Onorati showing bare buns and the camera never turning down one of his pelvic thrusts, is the twisted dirty talk. Carl stays in the moment, whereas Molly unleashes charged lines like “the hurt, the anger, give it to me” and “take it out on my flesh like you want to”. It’s all quite kinky, as well as tied into the story’s theme of pain.
How else “Only Skin Deep” differs from other episodes is its twists. Or rather, its lack thereof. Nothing comes as a great surprise here, particularly because the deuteragonist’s ulterior motives are so obvious. By no means is Molly a wolf in sheep’s clothing; her face is a fright mask, she practically reeks of death, and she lives in what can best be described as a serial killer’s hideout. That last-act revelation of Molly’s mask really being her face is also nothing shocking. Cleverness is certainly not this episode’s strength.
A page from “…Only Skin Deep!”, as seen in EC Comics’ Tales from the Crypt.
While “Only Skin Deep” isn’t the most universally loved episode of Tales from the Crypt, it’s an interesting preview of William Malone’s future as a director. Most notably, he went on to helm House on Haunted Hill (1999) and FeardotCom (2002), the former of which was co-written by Dick Beebe, this episode’s writer. Dark Castle Entertainment, that genre house founded by Crypt producers Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler, was instrumental in bringing out Malone’s gruesome, over-the-top vision in House on Haunted Hill. However, FeardotCom and Malone’s Masters of Horror episode, “Fair-Haired Child”, are the most stylistically compatible with “Only Skin Deep”.
As one might guess, this episode is nothing like its source material. The “…Only Skin Deep!” found in the pages of EC Comics is set during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and save for its last couple of pages, is pretty sweet in nature. There, a man named Herbert is enamored with a woman he met five years prior to the present-day story. Every year, he has come down to Mardi Gras to see Suzanne, who’s always dressed as a hag-faced witch. Well, this time, Herbert plans on popping the question and marrying someone who is, for the most part, a total stranger. Suzanne accepts his proposal, but with one condition: they stay in costume until they’re officially hitched. You can probably see where this is going…
Once they are married, Suzanne remains incognito, even when she and Herbert have consummated their vows. A semi-predictive nightmare then rattles Herbert; he dreamt that Suzanne’s real face was as wizened as her mask. Finally, in his haste to find out the truth, Herbert winds up killing his new wife. Faceless and well on her way to bleeding out, the dying Suzanne manages to say she never wore a mask.
For more traditional EC-style ghastliness, your best bet is reading the comic. It’s wickedly sad. For something less conventional, as far as Tales from the Crypt goes, the role-reversing adaptation is worth watching. It’s not the best this show had to offer, although Malone’s visual style, plus the sexual abandon, does set the episode apart. If nothing else, “Only Skin Deep” leaves an impression that, even years later, shows no signs of fading.
Season Six of Tales from the Crypt can be streamed on Shudder, starting on June 5.
Tales from Tales from the Crypt celebrates the show’s Shudder premiere by singling out one episode from each season. So don’t even think about changing that dial, boys and ghouls. More spot-“frights” are to come.
Carl discovers Molly’s collection of human ‘masks’ in the Tales from the Crypt episode, “Only Skin Deep”.
You must be logged in to post a comment.