The release of theSilent Hill 2remake will inevitably bring new fans flocking to the landmark horror franchise. This is the first time any major installment in theSilent Hillseries has been available on modern consoles;its lackluster HD remasterwas limited to PS3. Couple that with the fact that it’s the series' most iconic installment - anda pretty faithful adaptation ofSilent Hill 2to boot - and there’s scarcely been a better time in the past two decades to get intoSilent Hill.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for theending of Silent Hill 2.]
But with scores of new players descending into the fog for the first time, many players will be fooled by a familiar face: Pyramid Head: canon name Red Pyramid Thing.Silent Hill 2marked the debut of the pointy-headed punisher, who’s since become a series icon, in no small part due to Masahiro Ito’s stunningly brutal character design. He represents the series inDead by Daylight, makes a cameo inAstro Bot, and even hashis ownMagic: The Gatheringcard. Butdon’t mistake Pyramid Head for something he’s not; he’s uniquely tied toSilent Hill 2in a way that the rest of his appearances don’t always make clear.
Who Is Pyramid Head?
Pyramid’s True Identity & Symbolism In Silent Hill 2
Like all the monsters inSilent Hill 2, Pyramid Head is an invention of protagonist James Sunderland’s imagination. Specifically,Pyramid Head is a physical manifestation of James' guilty conscienceover killing Mary. Players receive a major, cryptic clue to his identity in the latter half of the game: there’s a painting hanging in the Silent Hill Historical Society that depicts an executioner wearing a triangular hood, presiding over prisoners in cages. James likely saw this painting when he and Mary first visited Silent Hill, and it stuck with him, eventually forming part of his guilt.
Bloober Teases Work On New Konami Projects After Silent Hill 2
Bloober and Konami will continue to collaborate on future projects following the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake, according to a new interview.
The triangular hood also served as the ritual garb of the murderous cult that controls Silent Hill, the Order, as established in the very firstSilent Hill, and later confirmed bySilent Hill 4: The Room. Pyramid Head serves to remind James that he’s a criminal on the run, and deserves to face justice. Thus, Pyramid Head represents the executioner, come to punish James for his crimes.Only when James remembers his own crimes is he able to say, “I don’t need you anymore,“and kill the monster.
But again, thanks to his uniquely horrifying design andSilent Hill 2’s enduring popularity,Pyramid Head has become a series mascot, even though he may not be deserving of the title. He appears again inSilent Hill: Homecoming, somewhat recontextualized as the Bogeyman in order to squeeze him into that game. He’s also theSilent Hillseries' go-to representative in cameo appearances ranging fromAstro BottoDead By Daylight.
But the issue is thatPyramid Head doesn’t make any sense detached from James. Unlike otherDead by Daylightcameos, like Michael Myers, for example, he’s not just a bloodthirsty monster who will chase down anyone he sees. He’s not another generic servant of Valtiel, as the comics andSilent Hillmovies portray him. He may somewhat resemble a ritual executioner in Valtiel’s service, but his actual appearance is twisted by James' perception of one particular painting. He exists purely to serve as a source of torment for James, and was never intended to be a generic series mascot.
Frankly, while Pyramid Head is misrepresented in a lot ofSilent Hillmedia, he doesn’t make many appearances. The developers knew well enough to use their greatest monster sparingly, and not to destroy the scare factor by over-explaining Pyramid Head through lore. At least, they did so for a while. Pyramid Head is perfectly intact in his truest form in theSilent Hill 2remake; it’s only the sequels and spin-offs that get him wrong. Still, it’s important for new fans starting with theSilent Hill 2remake to know that Pyramid Head isn’t the series mascot he’s made out to be.
Silent Hill 2
The Silent Hill 2 Remake is an upcoming Survival Horror release from Bloober Team, the same creative squad behind Layers of Fear and Observer. Developers are reimagining James Sunderland’s adventure through Silent Hill, with updated graphics and gameplay.
