Split Worm and Pendulum

These monsters are from Silent Hill 3. (this game was also featured in this post) This game is set in the year 2000, but was released for the Playstation in 2003. The protagonist is Heather(or Cheryl) Mason, Harry Mason's(protagonist of Silent Hill 1) daughter.

((get ready for some fun symbolisms))

Split Worm: (also known as, to some, the penis monster) a giant worm-like thing. It has a lavender-colored protective outer shell. Its skin splits to reveal a fleshy head with no eyes or nose, but a mouth. It has many strips of gooey skin connecting it's head to the protective layer of skin.
Symbolism- it is sort of designed after Split Head, the first boss in Silent Hill 1. Some people say that it could represent Heather giving birth to God, the opening being a vagina and the "face" as God. It also has some phallic symbolism, which is supported by the monster entering and exiting various holes in the walls. Another speculation could be the protective layer of skin symbolizing the womb, safe and defensive. The monster could also represent Heather's fear of sex.
~why I like it~ I just think this dude is rad. I really love that Silent Hill has these weird and interesting symbolisms. Also this was the first monster I wanted to make a post about in October, but I figured I should wait it out because this is different compared to some of the monsters. Also this monster is fun to draw.

Pendulum: this looks like two human torsos were cut and then attached at the hips by a circular metal thing. Each torso is facing the opposite direction. The arms are tied and bandaged behind their backs. It has two stilt-like blade legs. There is a blade attached to the bottom head. It makes loud, screeching noises.
Symbolism- The Pendulum represents Heather's constantly changing feelings about her life and the people she loves. It could also be a manifestation of Heather giving birth to God. The top head belonging to Heather, the bottom head belonging to the God being birthed. In this case, the screeching noises it makes would represent the pains of childbirth.
~why I like them~ I actually forget about this monster a lot. I really, really love the character design. Also the blade on the bottom head swings around, like a pendulum, which is p cool.

nice chompers

yum

spooky

ooooo git 'em

Twin Victim and Gum Head

((I'm writing this at 4AM so I'm sorry if this is severely lacking, friendo))

These monsters are from the game Silent Hill 4: The Room. This game was released in 2004 for the Xbox, Playstation 2, and PC(Microsoft Windows). The protagonist's name is Henry Townshend, a man who had been stuck in his apartment for a few days. There's this ghost dude named Walter Sullivan(he died some years before when the game is set. He killed himself with a spoon while in jail for killing two children. For a sacrifice-y thingie.) who's after you and your neighbor who accompanies you, Eileen Galvin. In Walter's religion, he can sacrifice 21 people in order to bring his mother to him(sorta. Silent Hill is difficult and I'm very tired, and this blog post is mainly about the monsters, I'm just trying to give you some background information eLKIN). 

Twin Victim: Also known as Doublehead. A large set of Siamese twins with a big body, two heads, and large adult arms, no legs/feet. If they are a distance from Henry, they will point at him and whisper "receiver". (that's kinda his "role" in Walter's sacrifices) They are the 7th and 8th victims of Walter. A pair of twins, named Miriam and Billy Locane were murdered by Walter(this was mentioned in Silent Hill 2). 

Symbolism- Conjoined twins occur when a fertilized cell fails to split properly, so two beings are "fused" together. The Twin Victims could be a representation of Walter's demented level of attachment to his mother. 

~why I like them~ This was one of the first Silent Hill monsters that I really liked. I just think it's really rad that they had children die(omg elkin dont judge me). One of my favorite things about them is that originally, their voices were gonna be high-pitched and much more child-like, but they replaced the noises with low, deep grunts. This was because in Europe, killing children in video games is illegal(why tho), which is also why they replaced the Grey Children with Mumblers in Silent Hill 1. I also absolutely looove the character design. vry spooky 

2spooky4me 3spoopy5me

Gum Head: Also known as Rubber Face. They are ape-like, and are usually found in groups. They have greyish, decaying, icky skin, and make monkey-like screeching noises. They are implied to be stupid, and behave that way. 

Symbolism- They are a manifestation of Walter's views on society and his fear of adults. If Henry has a golf club or a pipe, they can steal it from him, giving the monster authority and the ability to punish(like an adult). 

~why I like them~  I'm actually not super fond of them?? They're actually really annoying, but fairly chill. I really like the character design. 

?????? get out of derrrr

shit's goin doooooowwwwnnn

run run run run run

nice

yum

Insane Cancer and Slurper

click on the pictures for extra yumminess

These monsters are from Silent Hill 3. The game was released in 2003 for the Playstation. It's set in 2000, the protagonist being Heather Mason, Harry Mason's(protagonist of Silent Hill 1) daughter.

Insane Cancer: a large humanoid creature, covered in fatty, cancerous flesh and some pus-excreting sores.  Symbolism-Some people speculate that the Insane Cancer represents Silent Hill's corruption, like an evil cancer spreading. It's also been said that they are Alessa's(I talked about her in this post) feelings about herself, that she is a cancer and won't stay dead. It could also be a manifestation of Silent Hill's cult's God in Heather's womb(there is a God fetus thing in her), growing like a disease. 

~why I like them~ I'm not super fond of them, I just think they're cool and mega icky. 

Slurper: a male, wears masks, has long, tube-like snouts(like an anteaters), large club-like front limbs. They make loud, screeching noises and have a long tongue to slurp up blood and carrion. 

Symbolism- Slurpers can be viewed as children. They are noticeably smaller than most of the other monsters in the game, they have incomplete limbs(like a growing baby), make loud and annoying noises, the leather shorts they wear could be seen as a diaper, and they are only capable of crawling. It also attacks Heather and crawls over her, like how a child is very attached to it's mother. A Slurper knocking down Heather could be seen as an unborn baby, "knocking down" it's mother. 

They also represent bottom-feeders/lowlifes of the human world. Slurpers can be seen as drug addicts, licking the ground to get any spilled chemicals/substances in desperation. 

The way they attack and climb on Heather could be seen as a rapist, or stalker.

Their hands are useless lumps of meat, signifying incapability, like a drug dealer is incapable of controlling their addictions.

~why I like them~ I really love that there are so many symbolisms/specualtions about them. I also really enjoy the character design. 

As you can see, Insane Cancers are pretty gross dudes

Grey Child and Mumbler

These monsters are from the first game in the Silent Hill series, Silent Hill(or Silent Hill 1). Harry Mason, the protagonist of the game, encounters them throughout Silent Hill. 

This game was released for the PlayStation in 1999. In this game, Harry Mason goes to the town of Silent Hill for vacation with his adopted daughter, Cheryl. At the edge of the town, he gets in a car crash. He wakes up and realizes that Cheryl is missing. The game follows Harry as he searches for Cheryl.

Some information:

Alessa Gillespie is a major character in this series. She is the daughter of Dahlia Gillespie(a priestess of a cult called the Order). She was born with amazing mental powers including telekinesis, premonitions, and astral projection(could enable her to project her desire for someone to die by using her thoughts). She was ostracized by everyone at the school she attended, and was called a witch. When she was seven, her mother thought that by sacrificing her own child, she could summon the cult's God. She was offered as a sacrificed by immolation. Travis Grady(protagonist of the game Silent Hill:Origins) rescued her body, but she became pregnant with the embryonic form of the God.  

Grey Child: This is the first monster that is encountered in the game. They are only featured in the North American version of the game, where the Mumblers replace them in the European and Japanese versions. They were thought to be too creepy and resembled real-life children too much.

 These monsters are found throughout the school, alleyways, and sewers of the Otherworld(a demonic and nightmarish "parallel" of Silent Hill, filled with grotesque monsters and horrific settings). 

They resemble distorted, slender children with long arms. 

Symbolism-They are the disturbing perception of Alessa's classmates through her eyes, and the ridicule they tormented her with. This is backed by the fact that they laugh childishly when attacking Harry. 

~why I like them~ When I first watched the Silent Hill movie(the first one), I thought that the Grey Children(which are perceived a little differently in the film adaptation) were really cool and grotesque. Icky, weird creatures are very cool and interesting to me, and Silent Hill's monsters are like no others. 

Mumbler: These replaced Grey Children for the original European and Japanese versions of the game. In the PAL version(for Europe and Australia), they only appear in the sewers. 

They, like the Grey Children, are found in the alleyways, school, and sewers. 

They look like headless teddy bears, with a hole where their face should be. Their name comes from the mumbling noises they make when they approach Harry Mason.

Symbolism-They resemble the small, menacing animals and demons from the fairy tales that Alessa read as a child. 

~why I like them~ Basically the same reason for the Grey Child. They're just really cool and grossie and awesome. 

((get ready for cool 1999 graphics))

Harry shooting a Grey Child. 

Harry fighting more Grey Children.

A suit used in the film adaptation.

Harry facing a Mumbler.

Mumblers attacking Harry.

Lying Figure and Mannequin

Both of these monsters are from the game Silent Hill 2. This game was released in 2001, for the Playstation 2. 

Lying Figure: the body looks as though it is trapped in a straitjacket, made of its own flesh. It has a feminine body shape, with platform shoes in the skin. When they are skittering around on the ground, they make a high-pitched noise that sounds like metal scraping against cement. 

According to the guide Book of Lost Memories, this monster represents a hospital patient "squirming in agony". In Silent Hill 2, it seems to represent the main character's(James Sunderland) wife, Mary Shepherd-Sunderland. James killed Mary, because she had a terminal illness(also he was sexually frustrated about not being able to do the do with his wife) and she was in a lot of pain. Lying figures spit a poisonous acid at the player, suggestive of vomiting(illness). It could also be hinting at the hateful words Mary said to James during her illness. At some part in the game, when Mary was alive she'd said "I look like a monster!" insinuating that she thought she looked like a Lying Figure. The fact that the Figure's arms are restricted could be referencing James's disgruntlement from being unable to touch and hold Mary.

Mannequin: this body consists of a feminine torso, with two pairs of legs. The bottom pair is for walking, the top pair for fighting. There is a leotard made from flesh on the torso. According to Book of Lost Memories, this monster is a materialization of James's frustrations with his wife's illness. When the monster Pyramid Head is first shown, he is abusing two Mannequins. This could be implicating that these monsters resemble innocence and helplessness against a strong, masculine force.

James attacking a Lying Figure.

A Mannequin.

  

shAKIN THINGS UP A BIT

So I just wanted to change things up and maybe post about an excellent video game series, Silent Hill. This series is of the horror genre. It has my favorite video game soundtracks, monster designs, symbolisms, and storylines. The first game was released in 1999(for the Playstation). There are 9 games(and an "HD Collection", with remakes of the second and third games) in the series. There are two movie adaptations.

For a few weeks I will post about the monsters and their symbolisms. Each post will contain two or three monsters, their descriptions, meanings, etc. 

Claire Redfield pt. 2

Claire in Code: Veronica X.                             Claire in the "remake", Darkside Chronicles

So today we shall talk about Resident Evil Code: Veronica X.

Code: Veronica X took place three months after the Raccoon City incident(or three months after RE2, RE3, and RE:Operation Raccoon City). 

During RE2 Claire Redfield had been searching for her brother, Chris Redfield(more about him here, here, and here). In the beginning of Code: Veronica X, Claire had broken into an Umbrella facility in an attempt to find her brother. She was captured and taken to Rockfort Island(a private island owned by Umbrella, containing a prison and a large mansion). A viral outbreak occurred and the island was soon filled with many zombies and large B.O.W.s.

Claire was released from her jail cell by the man that delivered her there, Rodrigo Juan Raval. He had been injured(not infected) so Claire helped him by retrieving medicine for him and giving him her lighter.

She meets a young boy(17 years of age) named Steve Burnside. He was fairly obnoxious and cocky, and would run away from her quite often.

While exploring the island, she gets hunted down and stalked by an Alfred Ashford, owner of the mansion and son of a Umbrella geneticist. 

After uniting and reuniting with Steve multiple times they find an airplane and set off, thinking they are heading to Hawaii. But Alfred redirects the plane to an Umbrella Antarctica Base. The worn out Claire and Steve fall asleep on the plane. They crash-land in the snowy base, and begin to search for another escape. In the base, they encounter Alfred and fight him. He falls in a "crevasse" and supposedly dies. However, he survived the fall and limped to free his sister(Alexia, his twin) from her 15 year long cryogenic sleep(she was in a "coma" for fifteen years so she could adapt to the T-Veronica Virus: see below for more information). She awakens as he dies and soon after she recaptures Claire and Steve. 

She injects Steve with the T-Veronica Virus(created by Alexia Ashford, a product of the Progenitor Virus mixed with some plant genes and possibly ant/bug genes). He mutates and begins to fight Claire, but saves her and gets smashed by a giant tentacle. He transforms back to his former self and tells Claire "I'm glad I met you... Claire... I... love you...".

At around this time Chris(Leon gave him the coordinates of Claire) fights and kills Alexia. He then reunites with his sister again. She sets off a self destruct sequence in the base. They safely evacuate and the game ends.

Claire is one of my favorite characters in this game series. She can be very sweet and maternal(as seen in RE2 and in the movie Resident Evil Degeneration) and also totally badass. She's also sarcastic and good-humored, but still very caring. 

Claire and Steve.

Claire lookin' at a gross flaming zombie.

Claire running away from Umbrella employees in Paris.

Chris comforting Claire over Steve :''''''''''cccccc (Darkside Chronicles)