all of us wander through a haze or fog in our so-called lives, uncertain where our harnessed knowledge in the years of our educational phase or the bitter experiences in the real world will lead us to the answers we're looking for, or the kind of life we seek. we press on, still searching, eventually discovering and or realizing within ourselves the reason for our endless questioning. this is what i think the movie silent hill is trying to potray. it is set as a horror story as real as the real world can get. yet at times we have difficulty comprehending the real from the fantasy. we get so wrapped up in our dreams of a better life, dreams of a peaceful life, that we tend to shut out reality altogether.

the little girl in the movie represents our endless search for answers; our ever-growing search for sanity and sense in amidst the turmoil of everyday life. it keeps calling us, whether it be as soft as a whisper, or as loud as a deafening scream. yet in as much as we do not understand why it keeps calling us, we somehow acknowledge it and we take the path. this is what the lead character represents–us taking the initiative, heeding the call of our self-unrest, trying to make sense of everything that is going on.

while the lead character is our own personality, the police officer represents the voice of reason; everything that we have taught ourselves, from the feeling of our present lives being secure, to the sense of self-preservation by the simple reasoning that our search for whatever it is we're looking for will end in futility. yet behind that character is also an ally who we could count on to pull us through and face any adversity head on. the husband represents all of our loved ones, who try to help, rescue or bring us back and who also serve as our inspiration in the assurance that whatever we do, we'll have their support.

the town itself represents everything else, thus the sheer chaos and complexity that blinds us or make us swerve from the direction we're headed, slowing down our search. add the fog and the transitional turn to darkness which represent our deepest and darkest fears, together with the townsfolk who stand for our traditions and beliefs our families and civilization has taught us, and it all comes out as one ultimate test of our resolve. whether we come out of it unscathed or scarred for life like the little girl's twin (which by the way represents our unfulfilled desires and frustrations, our need for revenge and our anger unleashed on the nurse, which represents our innocence that has been destroyed for life), we ultimately come out maybe not physically altered, but mentally relieved, satisfied that our search has ended the way we wanted it to end, and not the way we expect it to end.

this is what i think the entire concept of silent hill is all about. it is not just a town, but an entire journey in itself. a journey which will question our beliefs, play with our imagination, challenge our courage, puzzle our knowledge, and test our resolve. as i would like to put it, "silent hill…a place all of us want to go to; where the answers to our most intimidating questions can be found, and yet will turn our deeply rooted beliefs inside out; a place where everything will be realized, where the journey starts and ends at the same time."