Emotional sound effects and metal machine music: Soundworlds in silent hill games and films

Abstract

The two Silent Hill films (2007, 2012) were constructed around the existing soundtracks of the source video games (1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012). As a consequence, they have highly singular soundtracks, on the one hand cementing the films’ relationship to the games and on the other sometimes appearing extraordinary for films. The films follow the games in having a soundtrack that, although it adopts some film aspects, reverses some of the film conventions, most notably in having sound effects that have an emotional character and music that appears unemotional and mechanical, like an inanimate object or traditional sound effects. Silent Hill sound and music articulates an ‘essence’ of audiovisual culture that can be both specific to video games and film.