Monster Symbolism

Discuss the original 2006 movie.

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Taige
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Monster Symbolism

Post by Taige »

Ok, so I'm looking at the film as just chock-full of symbolic imagery, especially the monsters. My theory is this:

SH is Alyssa's manifestation, so everything in it (monster-wise) is her creation, a warped view of the town's inhabitants and things in ALyssa's life. Are the monsters just manifestations, created by Alyssa, or are they real people turned into monsters? It was said in the movie that most than half of the people in the town were never found, so some could have been turned into monsters.

The child-things: her classmates who taunted her, burning as she did.
The Janitor: obvious. He hurt her and now he's paying for that crime.
The nurses: they tried to help her, but in the end were useless for her. Thus they don't do anything unless there is a stimulus the motivate them.
Pyramid Head: I think he's a manifestation of her father-figure. I've explained this in other topics, so I won't go into it here. Enough to say 'Freudian'.

The following I have no realy theories about. Anyone else?

The bugs
The straightjacket thing that spits
The Red nurse: I can't make up my mind if she's a monster or a person

Also, most of the humanoid monsters are feminine in appearance (nurses, straightjacket, children) except for pyramid head. I think this is significant. Even the human characters are female (exluding the cult men in the background). In the real world we see almost exclusively men, but in the SH world we see almost exclusively women. Is this important?

Anyone else have ideas?
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Post by kisho »

Little girls don't like bugs,

The straightjacket could be symbolic of Alessa feeling trapped within her skin, and her anger and frustration, hurting those who try to be near to her, might be symbolized through the acid spitting.

Red Nurse was beautiful. She's a monster, but only in the sense that Alessa keeps her memory trapped there, with her beautiful face ruined. She was jealous.
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Post by Anonymous »

Thanks Kisho, for some reason I was thinking that the monsters in the town ALL used to be people, which is not true. In the game you had all of the monsters who were manifestations of Alessa's mind. And also in the movie ofcourse they say "they will live your worst nightmare." Or somthing along those lines. Also, I really liked your explanations.
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Post by Taige »

There is the fact that some monsters appear in the fogworld (like the straightjacket things). If Alyssa's powers are mainly confined to the darkworld (I don't know the official name for it), then who are these monsters? Do they fit into the symbolism idea? Or Do they count only as random monsters?

Noisy Plain, I'm thinking all the monsters are at least BASED on real people, but I don't think they're actually people. They are all dreams of Alyssa
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Post by kisho »

Well, still fits if you consider the idea that the monsters of the darkworld were trying to break through to the foggy world, and they were maybe being constrained by the skin straightjacket. Besides, I believe that Alessa's powers were responsible for maintaining the fog over the city. She wanted to keep the people trapped and oppressed within her domain.
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Post by Taige »

Are you saying that the straightjacket things were actually AGAINST Alyssa?
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Post by LaraeGunn »

kisho wrote:Little girls don't like bugs,

The straightjacket could be symbolic of Alessa feeling trapped within her skin, and her anger and frustration, hurting those who try to be near to her, might be symbolized through the acid spitting.

Red Nurse was beautiful. She's a monster, but only in the sense that Alessa keeps her memory trapped there, with her beautiful face ruined. She was jealous.
Actually, Lisa was the only one there to take care of Alessa, she adored her for being so heavenly toward her in that horrible hospital basement.

Lisa's face is bleeding because she's realised that she is only a memory, therefore she is about to expire. That is what happens in the game when she realises that she is only a memory. She disappears.
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Post by Anonymous »

I agree that almost everything in the movie symbolizes something in some way. I believe the lying men (straightjacketed gals) are a representative of the lack of assistance the town lended Alessa. The way their bound shows that they can not assist even themselves, and their acid bile could be represenative of the lies the swore (witch, witch). As for the roaches / PH, Ill repost a short short tidbit on my essay in the endings thread.

I also have a theory on PH as well. Many people are referring to him as a father figure, referring back to SH2. However I believe PH to actually be many-names. Sure it doesnt fit with the games, but as I said earlier, they sure did draw heavy inspiration from them, but it doesnt follow every detail. Now if PH is Many-names, it would also explain why all you "fanbois" out there missed out on a PH slaughter in the chapel scene: PH was busy frolicking around in gore. Now I can already see the argument brewing "But good sir, why would many-names then try to kill their salvation? (fan room scene)." Well to be honest, I dont really think PH was giving 100% chasing those two down. I mean when he wants to grab a cultist, he merely conjures up behind one and does fairly nasty unmentionables to them. Why would he not have done the same in the fan room? Even if for some reason he couldnt have there, he just (to me) seemed to be rather lackluster about the whole thing. I mean sure he took a few good swings, but the overall feeling to me was "Yea if I get them good, if I dont meh". Possibly Many was testing their resolve to fight on and not give up? This would also tie up the only loose end I see on the monsters. PH seems to control the roaches, which in essence leaves just PH. Thus its very possible that "he" is a seperate entity from Alessa, lending some backup to my theory. Furthermore, maybe Many-names will play a recurring role as the catalyst for justice / revenge, and in the sequel will give someone else control of either porting souls into purgatory / pulling bodies into the gray realm. Wouldn't that be interesting? As an added bonus its the only way I can see to have continuity unphased while including PH every time.
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Post by Taige »

I like the association of the straightjacket guys with 'lying'. That really does make sense. I never thought of that.

And BTW, I've not played SH2, so I don't know about him being a father figure in that. I've only read that he was some sort of repressed sexuality on the main guy's part.

And he didn't give the fan-room his whole effort because Alyssa was always testing Rose. She didn't want to kill Rose, but test her devotion to Sharon, as well as show just what horrors Alyssa went thru before she died.

Stray thought that just hit me: Demon-girl/ evil alyssa mentioned that everything Rose had seen was what happened to Alyssa before she was burned. The children attacking her, the janitor molesting her, etc. So where does PH fit in. We first see him in the school, and he doesn't attack Rose at first. Perhaps the idea that he was a teacher actually has some ground to stand on. The pyramid head could be some warped mortar board, like headmasters used to wear.
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Post by kisho »

Actually, Lisa was the only one there to take care of Alessa, she adored her for being so heavenly toward her in that horrible hospital basement.

Lisa's face is bleeding because she's realised that she is only a memory, therefore she is about to expire. That is what happens in the game when she realises that she is only a memory. She disappears.
Yeah, but we're talking about the movie, where none of that was explained, and thus, shouldn't neccesarily be considered what was going on. Just trying to make sense of how the movie presented itself.
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Post by AzN-sEnSaTiOn »

Ahem.

Christophe Gans himself said that all the monsters in the movie all used to be people, or are at least based off of people. Even the roaches, he says...look at the scene where Cybil saves Rose from Pyramid Head and the roaches and she shuts the door and looks down...the camera focuses on the bug, and you can see how human its face is.

I'd look for the link for this interview, but I believe I found it through searching these forums.
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Post by Hjartu »

AzN-sEnSaTiOn wrote:Ahem.

Christophe Gans himself said that all the monsters in the movie all used to be people, or are at least based off of people. Even the roaches, he says...look at the scene where Cybil saves Rose from Pyramid Head and the roaches and she shuts the door and looks down...the camera focuses on the bug, and you can see how human its face is.

I'd look for the link for this interview, but I believe I found it through searching these forums.
That idea is probably taken from the Making of SH2, where they directly state that every monster is meant to have human features which make them more horrifying.

Nyeh, just figured I'd add.
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Post by Biomechanical »

Let's talk a little about the symbolism of COLORS also.

For example, I noticed at the beginning that Sharon was drawing with a BRIGHT red pencil and a BRIGHT yellow notebook. Taking clues from the game, about the yellow god serves the main god, and the red god sits at the main god's right hand?

Could this help prove that PH really is serving Alessa as a punisher?

I know that example was really bad, but the colors were so bright, it is almost as if it was digitally enhanced to make them stand out to us more.

I'm going to see it again next week, and I'll try to pay more attention to color throughout the whole movie.
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Post by saevitia »

I agree those colors were esspecially bright looking.

On the otherhand, I kind of thought of PH as Alessa's missing 'father' or at least father figure thoughout the movie, which I guess also fits the description of 'protector' or 'punisher'.
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Post by Biomechanical »

I was curious, could PH shoving his sword and ripping open that door, symbolize Alessa getting raped?
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Post by Hometown »

Biomechanical wrote:I was curious, could PH shoving his sword and ripping open that door, symbolize Alessa getting raped?

Probably not, since that was more of the Janitor's thing.


But interesting observation.
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Post by saevitia »

I was curious, could PH shoving his sword and ripping open that door, symbolize Alessa getting raped?
Yeah, I kinda just think that was him trying to get at them. The Janitor was the rapist, and since he definitively apears as a different monster (contorted bathroom guy) I think we can rule him out as PH.
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Post by Anonymous »

Biomechanical wrote:I was curious, could PH shoving his sword and ripping open that door, symbolize Alessa getting raped?
That's a question that I've been asking myself.
I heard somewhere that it was symbolizing a re-entering of the womb. I think that it's a little far-fetched, but it's an interesting explanation.

I'll get back on that after I think about it for a few minutes. :P
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Post by Fatal_Sims »

I think PH is there to punish those who have spoken of lies and believe in lies.
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Post by Taige »

Back on the colour thing, I noticed that PH was a lot brighter than the rest of the creatures. His skin was yellow-ish. All the other creatures are dark and grey. I'm not sure what this means, its just an observation.

And the symbolism of the sword being forced through the door, creating an opening is typical Freudian. Penetration, and then the insects flowing through the opening... Its been said before, but I'll say it again: PH is the only male manifestation in the town (other than the punished janitor). His actions are bound to be seen differently than the actions of the other monsters

As for PH punishing those who have lied, I don't think that's all. It could be that Alessa controls ALL of the creatures in the fog world, and they all act on her whims. So PH and the spitting things trying to kill Cybil, the dark children attacking Rose, etc.
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