The movies that inspired the Silent Hill series and where to watch them

Earlier this week, Silent Hill 2 finally emerged from the fog of its development. A remake of the original 2001 game of the same name by Polish developer Bloober Team (Layers of Fear, The Medium), Silent Hill 2 is easily the most anticipated and ambitious hor…

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In my restless dreams, I see that film… Blue Velvet If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. by Toussaint Egan, Austen Goslin, and Michael McWhertor If you buy something from a Polygon link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Earlier this week, Silent Hill 2 finally emerged from the fog of its development. A remake of the original 2001 game of the same name by Polish developer Bloober Team (Layers of Fear, The Medium), Silent Hill 2 is easily the most anticipated and ambitious horror game of 2024, a modern take on one of the most iconic and influential survival horror games of all time. Whether this is your first time playing the Silent Hill series or not, now is as perfect a time as any to explore the movies and artists who inspired it. To that end, we’ve compiled a list of the movies cited as inspirations behind the series (as listed in the appendices of the official Japanese strategy guide for Silent Hill 3), where you can stream or purchase them, as well as what the members of Team Silent — the original developers behind the first four Silent Hill games — had to say about each film. What the creators had to say: “Personally, I think his greatest work is Twin Peaks. Also, when I saw Dune in junior high school, I was shocked by its beautiful images.” —Masahiro Ito, art director and monster designer for Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What it is: David Lynch’s bizarre urban neo-noir follows a man who starts receiving mysterious VHS tapes — including one showing him murdering his wife, something he didn’t do. With the film’s dreamlike quality and strange mixture of real and invented memories, it’s easy to see why it was a huge influence on Silent Hill. Where to watch: The Criterion Channel, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Eraserhead follows a man named Henry who lives in a horrifying industrial dystopia world — not entirely unlike some of Silent Hill’s creepy settings. Eventually Henry finds out that his girlfriend has had his child, a strange inhuman creature that Henry attempts to care for. Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Blue Velvet is all about the sinister underpinnings of the American Dream, and the darkness that lurks in seemingly perfect suburbs. The movie’s main character, Jeffrey, returns to his hometown and stumbles upon a severed ear, which leads him into a dark world of conspiracies and violence. Where to watch: Hoopla, Tubi, Pluto TV, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Lynch’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, the son of a powerful extraplanetary dynasty in the future who must rally the people of the desert planet Arrakis to avenge his family’s demise at the hands of their ancestral enemies. The film was critically panned when it premiered in 1984, but has since become a cult favorite among fans of David Lynch’s work. Where to watch: Max, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What the creators had to say: “Full Metal Jacket is a sadistic depiction of humanity that I just can’t get enough of.” —Masahiro Ito, art director and monster designer for Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What it is: Full Metal Jacket is director Stanley Kubrick’s grim examination of the Vietnam War. The movie follows a group of Marines through their grueling and dehumanizing basic training that shapes them for deployment to Vietnam. Vincent D’Onofrio’s character, Private “Gomer Pyle,” was used as the basis for Silent Hill 2’s Eddie Dombrowski. Where to watch: Paramount Plus, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita is an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel of the same name. The 1962 film explores the forbidden (and disturbing) relationship between a middle-aged professor and a 14-year-old girl he becomes infatuated with, as well as themes of sexual frustration and abuse. Where to watch: Hoopla, Kanopy, Tubi, Pluto TV, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian crime drama that explores themes of violence, free will, and the nature of good and evil. Set in a near-future England, the story follows Alex DeLarge, a sociopathic and charismatic gang leader who engages in brutal acts of violence — and later undergoes reconditioning to atone for his crimes. Where to watch: Available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What the creators had to say: “I would never recommend this to anyone, but each one is a mysterious work that leaves a strong impression on me.” —Hiroyuki Owaku, scenario writer for the Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What it is: El Topo is a trippy Western where a man goes on a morally dubious quest to defeat all the greatest gunslingers in the world at the behest of a woman he has a questionable relationship with, and who seems to have motives of her own — which likely sounds familiar if you’re a fan of Silent Hill. Similarly, like many of director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s films, El Topo is also full of beautiful, quasi-psychedelic imagery, which is highly similar to some of the aesthetic choices in the Silent Hill series. Where to watch: Available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain is a surrealist film that blends religious symbolism, mythology, and social satire. It follows a Christ-like figure on a transformative journey through a series of bizarre and symbolic encounters, culminating in a psychedelic vision of the universe. The Holy Mountain appears to have had a strong influence on Silent Hill 4: The Room. Where to watch: Available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Likely the strangest of the movies on this list, Santa Sangre is mostly about a bizarre circus that features all kinds of different otherworldly performances, which are perfectly recognizable but still feel strange and unnatural — and largely pointedly sexual. The movie’s odd dreaminess and particularly the ways that it attempts to visualize subconscious ideas and feelings gives it a clear and obvious connection to the Silent Hill franchise. Where to watch: Prime Video, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What the creators had to say: “The reason why Vincent’s eyes are asymmetrical [in Silent Hill 3] is because of Brad Pitt.” —Shingo Yuri, character modeler and facial motion animator on Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What it is: Terry Gilliam’s apocalyptic sci-fi thriller stars Bruce Willis as James Cole, a man sent back in time to stop a suspected terrorist organization from unleashing a deadly virus that wipes out nearly all of humanity. After arriving in the past, James is committed to a mental hospital, where he meets Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), a patient who may or may not be behind the virus. Where to watch: Tubi, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What the creators had to say: “I saw this movie when I was in high school and it was the first movie that scared me.” —Masahiro Ito, art director and monster designer for Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What it is: One look at Jacob’s Ladder and it’s easy to see how its influence crept into Silent Hill. The movie is about a Vietnam vet whose combat experience leaves him seeing broken, horrific, fragmented hallucinations that he can’t quite understand. Where to watch: MGM Plus, YouTube, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What the creators had to say: “The ‘Light Bulb in a Can’ scene in [Silent Hill 2] was influenced by this work.” —Hiroyuki Owaku, scenario writer for the Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4: The Room, and more What it is: This 1988 Czech film adapts Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and twists it into a macabre and violent horror fantasy. Combining live-action performances with stop-motion animation, Jan Švankmajer’s Alice has since gone on to become a cult classic among admirers of experimental animation. Where to watch: Hoopla, Kanopy, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What the creators had to say: “[Silent Hill 2] was inspired in no small way by [the] final scene [in Betty Blue].” —Hiroyuki Owaku, scenario writer for the Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What it is: This controversial erotic drama follows Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade), an aspiring writer and handyman who pursues a illicit love affair with Betty (Béatrice Dalle), an emotionally volatile teenage girl. If you’re familiar with James Sutherland’s relationship with his wife, Mary, you can probably guess about how well Zorg and Betty’s relationship goes. Owaku specifically cited the 185-minute director’s cut of the film as an inspiration behind Silent Hill 2. Where to watch: The Criterion Channel, Mubi, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What the creators had to say: “I’ve been using it as a reference for various aspects such as visuals and performances since the first film.” —Masahiro Ito, art director and monster designer for Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What it is: William Peter Blatty’s 1990 horror-thriller follows a detective named Kinderman who is investigating a series of murders linked to a serial killer. The Exorcist III — a direct sequel to the original 1973 film — takes a turn for the supernatural when Kinderman encounters a priest who is possessed by a demon. The Exorcist III boasts one of the most unsettling jump scares of all time. Where to watch: AMC Plus, Shudder, Peacock, Hoopla, Tubi, available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What is it: Paul W.S. Anderson’s sci-fi horror film (which would later inspire 2008’s Dead Space) follows a rescue team that is dispatched to investigate the reappearance of a spaceship that disappeared during its maiden voyage. Upon boarding the ship, the crew members experience hallucinations based on their past emotional trauma. Where to watch: Available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Director Tarsem Singh’s The Cell is a sci-fi surrealist thriller in which a psychologist, using experimental technology, explores a comatose serial killer’s psyche in an attempt to save his next victim. The Cell is a visually striking movie thanks to its disturbing, surreal landscapes and gorgeous costuming. Where to watch: Available to rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple What it is: Based on the works of Japanese mystery novelist Seishi Yokomizo, this horror mystery follows Kosuke Kindaichi, a scruffy Columbo-esque detective who investigates the murders of three sisters on a small island in 1946. Where to watch: Not available to stream at this time. What the creators had to say: “I bought the Aphex Twin video and was surprised at how good the footage was.” —Masahiro Ito, art director and monster designer for Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and Silent Hill 4: The Room What they are: Chris Cunningham is considered by many to be one of the most prolific music video directors of the mid-’90s and early 2000s, creating music videos for artists such as Autechre, Portishead, and Squarepusher. Cunningham’s most famous works include the 1999 music video for Björk’s “All Is Full of Love” and his collaborations with Aphex Twin, particularly the 1997 music video for his drill ’n’ bass single “Come to Daddy.” Where to watch: YouTube The best of Polygon in your inbox, every Friday. © 2024 Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved

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