A
broad term (usually used as an adjective) that describes
art and other media that is under a specific classification of horror; commonly, material associated under psychological horror, decay, physiological abnormality, and macabre.
Silent Hill is originally a
popular survival-horror game series by Konami. It was favored by the horror gaming audience because Silent Hill had a refreshing style when compared to its earlier, "traditional" genre relatives, such Resident Evil.
Silent Hill's recognizable characteristics were decrepit architecture, ambience and symbolism. The game used eerie atmosphere (commonly expressed through building that were aged or wrecked.) as opposed to the earlier horror games that used shock tactics and
surprise to achieve horror. Where other games used
hideous visage and
grim faces for their enemies, the creatures in Silent Hill were characterized by bizarre anatomy and disfigurement. Games commonly used
gore in order to shock the
player. However, Silent Hill usually avoided gore, at least for the majority of the time.
So, when media is described as 'Silent Hill,' it is implied that it is composed of either disfigurement, subtle horror, deterioration and is
something frightening that doesn't out-right involve violence or gore. It is common for media under the horror genre to use unsettling, but minimalist, imagery; because there is no specific classification for this, it is commonly associated with an the 'Silent Hill' series, much like other
work is considered 'Lovecraftian' or 'Orwellian.'
