Silent Hill 2 has finally gotten a remake after 23 years, but the PS2 original remains an elusive thing, best experienced on original hardware and CRT displays. Virginia Commonwealth University student Niko Wilkins, meanwhile, has created an even more ephemeral version of the classic psychological horror story: "Our Special Place," a non-profit stage adaptation that unsettled audiences for a three-night limited run in September.
"The goal of the show was to create an immersive experience for the audience and put them into the mind of our protagonist, James Sunderland," Wilkins explained over email. "For years, I've been coming up with ideas on how to make a truly frightening theatrical experience, but couldn’t find the right story to fit all these ideas into. Then I played Silent Hill 2, and I fell in love immediately."
The student director got the go ahead on the project from VCU's non-profit, student-led Shafer Alliance Laboratory Theater back in May, with Wilkins beginning work on the play's unique set design: "I spent the summer collecting set pieces, such as old cabinets, desk, lamps, and even a toilet. Once the show began I passed off the set pieces to my set designers for them to distress and make them more decrepit."
The production used tracks from composer Akira Yamaoka's iconic soundtrack for Silent Hill 2, including White Noiz, Alone in the Town, and Black Fairy, but Wilkins also sampled some of the sound effects and ambience from Silent Hill 2 to deliver more of the game's atmosphere, as well as provide cues to the actors.
But the production also included some divergences from the game's story, with the most significant being the absence of Pyramid Head. Part of this was a sheer practical concern: "[the] last thing I wanted was a gimmicky cosplay of such an iconic character undermining the story," said Wilkins, with an actor in possession of the proper physique a challenge to find, and the character's signature headgear potentially being unworkable with the size of the stage.
But Wilkins told me he also wanted to sidestep Pyramid Head's dilution into just another slasher mascot from his origins as this vile and unknowable manifestation of James Sunderland's psyche. Part of his removal was proving that Silent Hill does not need [Pyramid Head]," Wilkins explained. "What a better way of doing it than by removing him from the one story that actually justifies his existence."
I was tickled to learn that Wilkins had considered closing with Silent Hill 2's easter egg dog ending, but it unfortunately "wasn't in the budget." The conclusion of the play was left deliberately ambiguous, but Wilkins thinks it hews closest to the "Leave" ending from the game. "The show ends with Mary reading her letter in a voiceover as James sits alone on stage," Wilkins said. "Once it's over, James walks away from it all. We watch him leave, and from there it’s up to the viewer to decide where he goes. "
"I had become so desensitized to the show that I had forgotten people would find it as scary and uncomfortable as it was," Wilkins said of Our Special Place's impact on audiences. "I crafted everything in this show to create some level of discomfort, and I underestimated how bad it would get to some people. According to my mother, it left her “emotionally exhausted” and she even had concerns over [lead actor Danny Villalobos'] mental wellbeing."
But more than anything else, Wilkins was pleased at how many audience members said they were inspired to check out Silent Hill 2 for themselves. "If they could sit through a whole play designed to make them feel as terrible as possible and still want more of it, then I felt like I did my job honoring this one of a kind game."
