Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto says 'as the series progressed, I felt that the essence of Japanese horror was lost'

The major highlight from Konami’s Press Start event was the anticipated announcement that
Bloober Team is revisiting the source material with a remake of the initial Silent Hill game.
Additionally, there was a significant behind-the-scenes section covering the forthcoming
Silent Hill F
, which we’ll be seeing much sooner than a remake that even lacked footage from Konami.

Silent Hill F acts as a prelude story set during the Showa era in Japan. This isn’t the first time the series has ventured beyond its titular location—consider how Silent Hill 3 begins with scenes outside of the usual setting—but this installment pushes boundaries by traveling to a remote village known as Ebisugaoka.

“Silent Hill was a series that fused the essence of western horror and Japanese horror,” series producer Motoi Okamoto said, “but as the series progressed, I felt that the essence of Japanese horror was lost. I began to feel a desire to create a Silent Hill with 100% essence of Japanese-style horror.”

One reason Silent Hill stands out is because it draws inspiration from numerous elements of American horror—such as the works of Stephen King and films like “Jacob’s Ladder.” However, this influence is filtered through a distinctly Japanese perspective. The game features streets named after authors such as Dean Koontz, Robert Bloch, Richard Bachman, and Ira Levin, yet it also incorporates themes from novels by Ryu Murakami and Kobo Abe. Additionally, the creatures encountered within and the alternate dimension visited possess designs reminiscent of a blend between Clive Barker’s style and David Lynch’s aesthetic interpreted with a Japanese touch.

“Japanese horror doesn’t just focus on the grotesque; it also blends beauty with unease,” Okamoto continued. “This idea guides our creation of this title: discovering beauty within fear.”

Al Yang, who serves as the game director at Neobards — the studio behind Silent Hill F — delved deeper into this aspect. He explained, “A core theme for Silent Hill F revolves around finding beauty within fear. Our approach was to craft visuals with an inherent unsettling quality yet imbued with such a horrifying allure that they become impossible to look away from.” These design ideas were inspired by works of artistry from Japanese creator
Kera
, who has worked on Spirit Hunter: NG and Magic: The Gathering.

Considering that many of the Silent Hill games developed by American studios have not been well-received, particularly Homecoming with its ex-Special Forces hero starkly contrasting previous installments’ focus on average characters, it makes sense for a follow-up to embrace more elements typically associated with Japan. Although I would probably miss quirky aspects such as basing a school-level stage on visuals inspired by Kindergarten Cop.