Silent Hill Downpour Plot Themes Analysis

Herein, the plot themes of Silent Hill: Downpour will be explored via what has been learnt from the preview trailers.Interestingly, many of the aesthetic themes that appear to occur in the game are old Shakespearean-time devices such as crows symbolizing death and bad weather an ill omen. It is important to note that this guide is speculative and may contain spoilers.

Imprisonation

Imprisonation appears to be a strong theme of Downpour, with much of the plot being focused around it. Furthermore, the otherworld of this particular game seems to feature claustrophobia and entrapment, with cages often surrounding the areas. The siren of this particular game, a reoccuring motif in the series, is also very likely to be a prison siren.

Red and Blue

The colors red and blue seem to play a strong role in the plot of the game. The nightmare world has a reddish, bloody hue associated with it which seems to enshroud some of the more bizarre creatures and a very particular red visual effect occurs whenever Murphy is hit. Perhaps an indication of a bloody past or even the colors associated with police lights?

Weather

Rain, Water and the weather promise to feature prominently, with the director of design Brian Gomez stating that water will be used as a symbol and furthermore as the weather gets worse and it rains the situation becomes more and more dangerous. There is also a slight theme of electricity that may be a reference to Murphy being a prisoner on death row.

Crows

An interesting new aesthetic theme that seems to be appearing is the crow, particularly flocks of crows and the odd lone crow. Their sounds can also be heard in many of the trailers. The traditional use of the crow was to symbolize impending death, so perhaps they also have some eerie connotation in this game. Maybe there will be a reference or two to Alfred Hitchcock's The Crows?

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