Otherworld
From SilentHill
The Otherworld is also commonly known as the Dark World or Alternate Silent Hill.
Movie Version
The Otherworld is an alternate reality that is brought into existence by the hate of Alessa Gillespie and her doppelgänger, Dark Alessa. It is based off of the general design of the real town of Silent Hill, but it is a darker, more demonic version of the town. In the dark world, blood drips from the walls, wood melts away to reveal rusted metal, and various twisted and disturbing monsters roam the town. These monsters are victims of the rage of Alessa; manifestations of her pain that represent either her or her attackers. Dark Alessa narrates the creation of the dark world, saying:
- "I promised, they would all fall into her darkest dreams."
According to the director,
- "It's a town of people trapped in dark dreams, and she inflicts onto the town what those people did to her body. That is, to me, the meaning of the darkness. The appearance of the town is corrupted in the way that her own flesh was wounded. "
When Alessa was 9 years old, she was burned alive by the people of the town, and the changing from the foggy world to the dark worldis symbolic of her torture. Blood drips down the walls during the shifting of dimensions- just like Alessa may have bled during her torture; wood melts to the floor leaving rusted metal underneath- representing how Alessa's soul was changed to something much darker by the burning. The dark, industrial world seems to represent the burned Alessa; while the lighter, foggy world most likely represents her fearful and lonely emotions before the fire. The dark world first appears in Alessa's hospital room, as Alessa makes the deal with Dark Alessa; allowing her to release her darker emotions onto the town. The movie shows us dark versions of Midwich Elementary School, a bowling alley, the graveyard outside the church, and Brookhaven Hospital.
