Here's the symbolism behind Silent Hill's ominous air raid siren. The original Silent Hill arrived in what's considered the golden age of survival horror video games, which includes the likes of Resident Evil and Dino Crisis. Silent Hill stood out from the crowd due to its sheer originality, with the game being more concerned with instilling psychological dread than simply throwing monsters at players. The first three games are classics of the genre, and combined smart writing, beautiful (and terrifying) art direction and music with unnerving gameplay.
A Silent Hill movie adaptation arrived in 2006 from director Christophe Gans and is one of the few video games movies to receive decent reviews. The film followed the basic story of the original game, where a woman named Rose De Silva takes her dying, adopted daughter Sharon to her mysterious hometown of Silent Hill. Sharon goes missing and Rose has to explore the town, where occasionally the world turns upside down after an air raid siren is heard, and twisted monsters come out of the dark.
Silent Hill's siren is a recurring element of the game series and is intended to let players know the shift to "Otherworld" is coming. In the film, the Silent Hill air raid siren is actually to warn members of the Brethren - the fanatical cult that burned Alessa/Sharon decades prior - to seek shelter in the church, which is the one place the darkness can't enter. The game offered a more symbolic meaning behind the Silent Hill town siren, with prequel Silent Hill: Origins linking it to Alessa's burning.
The Subtext Of Silent Hill's Air Raid Siren
In Silent Hill: Origins, the player character Travis Grady rescues the badly burned Alessa from a house fire. He takes her outside and soon passes out, as approaching ambulance sirens were heard. The iconic Silent Hill siren can also be heard, which was likely to warn the town of the spreading fire. In Alessa's mind, this siren signaled the start of her suffering, so that's why it's heard when Otherworld - which is covered in blood, rust and hospital equipment as a reminder of her years of pain - starts to take over as one of Silent Hill's three layers of reality.
The Silent Hill siren heard in the movie is given a more practical explanation, however. It's worth noting that in the games, the air raid siren also signals the end of Otherworld where players return to the (slightly) less dangerous Fog World of the town. Silent Hill director Gans has confirmed he's working on a sequel, though no release date has been set.