James Sunderland and his wife Mary are a young, happy couple. Years earlier for their honeymoon, James took Mary to the quiet, peaceful resort town of Silent Hill. The couple returned many times, and the town became their "special place"; a place they could share their love for each other. But sadly this happiness did not last. Mary was diagnosed with a deadly, rare disease and had no hope of recovery. The reality of her terminal illness hit them both very hard. Eventually, Mary became so ill that she had to remain at the hospital. While she suffered, James did as well.
Three years pass by and Mary's condition only gets worse. James slowly drowns in his sorrow until, one day, it becomes too painful and he smothers Mary with a pillow, ending her pain. He puts her body in the trunk of his car and heads to Silent Hill to commit suicide. Then, they can be together and happy once again.
On the trip to Silent Hill, James becomes disgusted by what he has just done to Mary. In the car, his mind snaps and he loses touch with his painful reality. By the time he reaches the outskirts of Silent Hill, he has completely forgotten that he murdered Mary. Instead, he convinces himself that his wife has sent for him and that now he must find her.
Oddly, Silent Hill is not the same town from the Sunderlands' past. In addition to the strange, omnipresent fog, the whole town seems to be abandoned. Soon, James discovers strange creatures are roaming the streets. It seems that before he had even reached the town, he had been drawn into another dimension (a sort of self-induced purgatory), so that he could be punished for what he had done. The demons he must now face in Silent Hill represent the personal demons of his character.
While searching for his wife in his deranged state of mind, James meets others who were called to the town just as he was:
* Angela, a teenage girl (according to Konami, she's nineteen, but meant to look older) responsible for the murder of her father, a man who both abused and molested her. She fled her home afterwards and found herself in Silent Hill, where, seemingly confused and disoriented, she began to search for her mother, brother, and father. After presumably meeting up with twisted representations of each one (when she runs into James the final time, she more or less says that her mother is the only one she hasn't met yet), Angela decides to commit suicide.
* Eddie, a grown man who dresses like a child and mentally still seems to be trapped in grade school, where his fellow students were cruel to him for his weight. He killed a dog to see how it felt, and, when confronted by the dog's owner, a jock who used to bully him in high school, panicked. Eddie only shot the man in the leg and ran to escape the law, but he, too, found himself in Silent Hill, which sensed something darker in his soul. Evidence throughout the game suggests that Eddie does not see monsters in Silent Hill, but rather people who laugh at him, and by the end of the game he has gone from committing his first horror-filled murder to deciding that the solution to his problems is simply to kill anyone who looks at him funny. When James calls him crazy, Eddie turns on him, too, and James is forced to kill him in a strange meat locker that seems to lie simultaneously many miles beneath the Silent Hill Historical Society and right on the banks of Toluca Lake.
* Laura, an innocent eight-year-old orphan who met Mary in the hospital and hates James for abandoning Mary when she was sick. She does not know that Mary is dead at the outset of the game, and has come to Silent Hill in hopes of finding her friend, because she knew how much Mary loved it there. As she does not see monsters, she passes through the town easily, and thinks nothing of tricking James into a room and locking the door behind him. Mary wanted to adopt Laura.
* Maria, a young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mary in both face and voice -- only her taste in clothing, hair color, and attitude are different.It seems far from coincidental that James first encounters her in Rosewater Park, his and Mary's first potential "special place." Throughout James' time with her, Maria acts very seductively towards him.
Strangely, Maria knows things about James that only Mary would know and, coincidentally, is never around when James happens to bump into another person in the town. It's as if he is the only person she ever comes in contact with.
While on his search for Mary, Maria is killed. This causes James to suffer the same grief and sadness as when Mary fell ill. But later on he meets up with Maria again, and she acts as if nothing has ever happened to her. He's amazed that she's still alive, but sadly it happens again. She is killed. James is drawn deeper into his own purgatory until finally it hits him and he remembers the truth. He killed Mary. Maria later appear for a third time only to be killed again. Soon, everything becomes clear to James.
Maria wasn't real, she was imaginary. His grief and his desire to see Mary were so strong that he created Maria in his mind. In fact, many things including the monsters are a delusion. The letter that he received from Mary at the beginning of the game slowly disappeared as he begins to uncover the truth.
During this revelation, he realizes that his tormenters (Pyramid Head) are no longer necessary. Throughout the game, the actions of the player determine James' fate and whether he falls into damnation or rises to redemption.
Pyramid Head
Pyramid Head does not speak. He appears to be very brutal and sadistic, killing monsters and people alike, though only James (and possibly Maria) can see him. Though he never actually attacks monsters with either of his weapons, the monsters do seem to fall to the ground (presumably dead) after he has stopped attacking them. His role in the game is that of a punisher, created by James to punish him for his crimes. His sexual actions towards the monsters in the game represents James' aggressive sexual tension. After James kills Eddie, a second Pyramid Head appears, a reminder of a new crime; his second murder.
Just before battling the two Pyramid Heads at the end of the game, James seems to gain insight into his situation, and admits he needed them because he was weak. After James asserts that he does not need them anymore, Pyramid Heads become invulnerable to attack until they impale themselves. In contrast to the first and third games, in the Restless Dreams installment, the town of Silent Hill feeds off James' guilt and repressed sexuality. In effect, the town acts as a self-imposed purgatory for the people trapped in it, and is more of a canvas against which the games unfold rather than the actual subject matter of the games' story lines. Most of what James sees and experiences is directly related to, and symbolic of, his need to punish himself for his wife's death. It can even be said that the town indulges James' wishes and brings them to life. In this regard, Pyramid Head functions as both an executioner of Maria, but more importantly, the tormentor of James. James is subconsciously using the town and Pyramid Head to punish himself for his own sins. Watching Pyramid Head continuously destroy a highly eroticized version of his late wife is the perfect torture for someone in James' position, and most completely satisfies his masochistic desires. Once these needs are met, James is free from Pyramid Head. Their official functions having been fulfilled, and thus their usefulness having been spent, the Pyramid Heads destroy themselves.
In the additional back story material delivered by creators (Walter Sullivan Victims and Book of the Lost Memories) it was revealed that the physical appearance of Pyramid Head was an effect of James' fascination with Silent Hill folklore. As we may learn throughout the game, Pyramid Head's appearance was a variation of the outfits of the executioners from the Valtiel Sect (connected to the feeling of self-punishment) who were wearing red hoods and ceremonial robes to make themselves similar to the Valtiel, the angel of the town.
Three years pass by and Mary's condition only gets worse. James slowly drowns in his sorrow until, one day, it becomes too painful and he smothers Mary with a pillow, ending her pain. He puts her body in the trunk of his car and heads to Silent Hill to commit suicide. Then, they can be together and happy once again.
On the trip to Silent Hill, James becomes disgusted by what he has just done to Mary. In the car, his mind snaps and he loses touch with his painful reality. By the time he reaches the outskirts of Silent Hill, he has completely forgotten that he murdered Mary. Instead, he convinces himself that his wife has sent for him and that now he must find her.
Oddly, Silent Hill is not the same town from the Sunderlands' past. In addition to the strange, omnipresent fog, the whole town seems to be abandoned. Soon, James discovers strange creatures are roaming the streets. It seems that before he had even reached the town, he had been drawn into another dimension (a sort of self-induced purgatory), so that he could be punished for what he had done. The demons he must now face in Silent Hill represent the personal demons of his character.
While searching for his wife in his deranged state of mind, James meets others who were called to the town just as he was:
* Angela, a teenage girl (according to Konami, she's nineteen, but meant to look older) responsible for the murder of her father, a man who both abused and molested her. She fled her home afterwards and found herself in Silent Hill, where, seemingly confused and disoriented, she began to search for her mother, brother, and father. After presumably meeting up with twisted representations of each one (when she runs into James the final time, she more or less says that her mother is the only one she hasn't met yet), Angela decides to commit suicide.
* Eddie, a grown man who dresses like a child and mentally still seems to be trapped in grade school, where his fellow students were cruel to him for his weight. He killed a dog to see how it felt, and, when confronted by the dog's owner, a jock who used to bully him in high school, panicked. Eddie only shot the man in the leg and ran to escape the law, but he, too, found himself in Silent Hill, which sensed something darker in his soul. Evidence throughout the game suggests that Eddie does not see monsters in Silent Hill, but rather people who laugh at him, and by the end of the game he has gone from committing his first horror-filled murder to deciding that the solution to his problems is simply to kill anyone who looks at him funny. When James calls him crazy, Eddie turns on him, too, and James is forced to kill him in a strange meat locker that seems to lie simultaneously many miles beneath the Silent Hill Historical Society and right on the banks of Toluca Lake.
* Laura, an innocent eight-year-old orphan who met Mary in the hospital and hates James for abandoning Mary when she was sick. She does not know that Mary is dead at the outset of the game, and has come to Silent Hill in hopes of finding her friend, because she knew how much Mary loved it there. As she does not see monsters, she passes through the town easily, and thinks nothing of tricking James into a room and locking the door behind him. Mary wanted to adopt Laura.
* Maria, a young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mary in both face and voice -- only her taste in clothing, hair color, and attitude are different.It seems far from coincidental that James first encounters her in Rosewater Park, his and Mary's first potential "special place." Throughout James' time with her, Maria acts very seductively towards him.
Strangely, Maria knows things about James that only Mary would know and, coincidentally, is never around when James happens to bump into another person in the town. It's as if he is the only person she ever comes in contact with.
While on his search for Mary, Maria is killed. This causes James to suffer the same grief and sadness as when Mary fell ill. But later on he meets up with Maria again, and she acts as if nothing has ever happened to her. He's amazed that she's still alive, but sadly it happens again. She is killed. James is drawn deeper into his own purgatory until finally it hits him and he remembers the truth. He killed Mary. Maria later appear for a third time only to be killed again. Soon, everything becomes clear to James.
Maria wasn't real, she was imaginary. His grief and his desire to see Mary were so strong that he created Maria in his mind. In fact, many things including the monsters are a delusion. The letter that he received from Mary at the beginning of the game slowly disappeared as he begins to uncover the truth.
During this revelation, he realizes that his tormenters (Pyramid Head) are no longer necessary. Throughout the game, the actions of the player determine James' fate and whether he falls into damnation or rises to redemption.
Pyramid Head
Pyramid Head does not speak. He appears to be very brutal and sadistic, killing monsters and people alike, though only James (and possibly Maria) can see him. Though he never actually attacks monsters with either of his weapons, the monsters do seem to fall to the ground (presumably dead) after he has stopped attacking them. His role in the game is that of a punisher, created by James to punish him for his crimes. His sexual actions towards the monsters in the game represents James' aggressive sexual tension. After James kills Eddie, a second Pyramid Head appears, a reminder of a new crime; his second murder.
Just before battling the two Pyramid Heads at the end of the game, James seems to gain insight into his situation, and admits he needed them because he was weak. After James asserts that he does not need them anymore, Pyramid Heads become invulnerable to attack until they impale themselves. In contrast to the first and third games, in the Restless Dreams installment, the town of Silent Hill feeds off James' guilt and repressed sexuality. In effect, the town acts as a self-imposed purgatory for the people trapped in it, and is more of a canvas against which the games unfold rather than the actual subject matter of the games' story lines. Most of what James sees and experiences is directly related to, and symbolic of, his need to punish himself for his wife's death. It can even be said that the town indulges James' wishes and brings them to life. In this regard, Pyramid Head functions as both an executioner of Maria, but more importantly, the tormentor of James. James is subconsciously using the town and Pyramid Head to punish himself for his own sins. Watching Pyramid Head continuously destroy a highly eroticized version of his late wife is the perfect torture for someone in James' position, and most completely satisfies his masochistic desires. Once these needs are met, James is free from Pyramid Head. Their official functions having been fulfilled, and thus their usefulness having been spent, the Pyramid Heads destroy themselves.
In the additional back story material delivered by creators (Walter Sullivan Victims and Book of the Lost Memories) it was revealed that the physical appearance of Pyramid Head was an effect of James' fascination with Silent Hill folklore. As we may learn throughout the game, Pyramid Head's appearance was a variation of the outfits of the executioners from the Valtiel Sect (connected to the feeling of self-punishment) who were wearing red hoods and ceremonial robes to make themselves similar to the Valtiel, the angel of the town.
