Silent Hill: Among the Damned

Silent Hill: Among the Damned
Released	October 10, 2011
Running time	23:31
Previous review	Silent Hill: Paint It Black
Next review	Silent Hill: The Grinning Man
Tagline	Have you seen a better comic? Just turned seven?
Link	http://atopthefourthwall.com/silent-hill-among-the-damned/

(Linkara's room is full of fog)

Linkara: Hello, and welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. Well, if last week's Silent Hill comic was the absolute worst we've seen of Scott Ciencin's Silent Hill stories, this is probably the best. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's still awful, but I hate it the least.

(Cut to a closeup of the cover of the comic in question: "Silent Hill: Among the Damned")

Linkara (v/o): I think what helped save this comic is that this is the first of all these stories that gives us a likeable protagonist.

(Cut to shots of characters from "Silent Hill: Dying Inside" and "Dead/Alive")

Linkara (v/o): Troy Abernathy comes close, but then, when he became a servant of the town, he showed no regret or sorrow for what he had become. Lauryn, as we've covered, sacrificed other people so she could have zombie minions. Kenneth Carter was just boring and barely did anything, and even then, he decided to shack up with some random-cocaine snorting woman instead of the girl he actually loved because... because.

(Cut to "Paint It Black")

Linkara (v/o): And then there was "Paint It Black", which we looked at last week, featuring a full cast of unlikeable pricks.

Linkara: So what is it about this week's hero that actually works? Well, let's dig into (holds up today's comic) "Silent Hill: Among the Damned" and find out.

(AT4W intro plays; title card has "The Terminal Show" from Silent Hill: Homecoming playing in the background; cut to a closeup of the comic's cover)

Linkara (v/o): So, you still want the covers, eh? Well, here it is: a tentacle emerging from some woman's stomach. I hope that properly grounded you for the story.

(The comic opens to the first page)

Linkara (v/o): We open on a guy in sunglasses [Jason], standing on a mountain and watching the sunrise.

Jason: (narrating) This is what I dream about. This perfect time. This perfect place.

Linkara: (as Jason) Could've brought a warmer jacket, though. Perfection is chilly.

Jason: (narrating) The last thing I'll ever see. The dream never stays this way for long.

Linkara: (as Jason) It quickly turns into that dream where you go to school in your underwear.

Linkara (v/o): No, actually, he dreams about being in a military unit and being attacked by the monsters of Silent Hill, though they appear to be in a desert, so who knows what the heck is going on? Our main character, Jason, save his best friend [Aaron]'s life from one of the monsters. However, the dream ends when he's attacked from behind by this weird butcher kind of monster that's wearing solar panels as an apron. Well, the monsters from Silent Hill may be horrific abominations against God and nature, but at least they're green. Jason wakes up from the dream.

Jason: (narrating) Good one. And there's Dahlia watching* this (beep).

• NOTE: Jason actually says "catching", not "watching".

Linkara (v/o): Dahlia?

(Cut to a clip of a Silent Hill game)

Man: Dahlia Gillespie.

(Cut back to the comic)

Linkara (v/o): This is the second comic in a row where we see names of people from the games for no reason! And here's where things get a little confusing. He wakes up, talking about how Dahlia saw him... I don't know, wake up with a start. Don't quite know why that's a problem. But now he's in a barracks that has writing in blood all over.

Bloody text: Look. Then tell them all.

Linkara: (holding up hand dramatically) Tell them about the low, low prices they can get for car insurance.

Linkara (v/o): He looks at the door, then BAM! We cut to a motel, where he's checking in. Great, and I thought the time transitions in "Paint It Black" were bad. At least it was always moving forward. Is this in the past? The future? Was that just another dream? Well, he says in the panel before that it isn't a dream, so what the hell?

Jason: (narrating) Funny, I was dreaming about killing myself even before I saw the enemy left for us.

Linkara: (holding up index finger) Aaand I've gotta stop right there. As I said, this is the first of these comics where we actually have a likeable protagonist. Jason is a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor's guilt, and that is something we can get behind as the person we're rooting for.

(Shots of previous Silent Hill "protagonists" are shown: Troy, Lauryn, Ike, and Ken)

Linkara (v/o): Let's face it: previously, our heroes have been a womanizer, a sociopath, a lazy sociopath, and Ken Carter, who's only the best out of the rest of them for being so damn bland.

(Cut back to "Among the Damned")

Linkara (v/o): Having a character with a troubled past like this actually makes for an interesting story and can also create some interesting visuals for the town to take advantage of, kind of like what Homecoming was supposed to be like, instead of just a rehashed Silent Hill 2. That doesn't really happen here, but hey, it's a good idea. Anyway, on with the plot: Jason meets this Dahlia woman at the motel.

Dahlia: Now aren't you something? Good-looking stranger like yourself comes to town, seems like someone ought to do something to make you feel welcome.

Linkara: (as Dahlia, pretending to hold something in his hand) Here, have an Applebee's coupon.

Jason: Well, sweetheart, I'm just getting enough food to keep my strength up so I can make it to the mountains one last time before I put a bullet in my goddamn head.

Linkara: (as Dahlia) So you don't want the coupon?

Linkara (v/o): She leaves, now apparently wearing a see-through bikini... The hell? ...and Jason returns to his car. Dahlia walks along, and apparently, she's a famous singer, and she listens to her own music ["Reason to Love"] on the radio.

Radio announcer: I've had a lot of people ask if I think there's some deeper meaning in that song other than, "Yeah, duh, of course I'm depressed. Haven't you been listening?"

Linkara: (as radio announcer) Well, personally, I think that if you slow it down and play it backwards, you can hear, "Paul is a dead man. Miss him, miss him."

Linkara (v/o): And apparently, the cover to her album features her in pink lingerie, and another recurring motif in these one-shots: WOMEN IN PINK!

(Cut to a clip of the game Red vs. Blue)

Private Donut: It's not pink, it's lightish red!

(Back to the comic again)

Radio announcer: Didn't Dahlia take her own life?

(Cut to a clip of the MST3K gang watching Cheating, showing a huge question mark on the screen)

Crow: (imitating the Riddler) Riddle me this, Batman! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo!

(Cut back to the comic)

Radio announcer: Or is she out there somewhere... looking for someone who'll give her that reason to live?

Linkara: (pointing to camera) Don't give up! You've got a reason to live! Can't forget! You only get what you give!

Linkara (v/o): And once again, it's time for a fractured timescale. From what I can tell, Jason apparently crashes his car, not that we see the car crash or anything.

Jason: (narrating) Huh. Could have had my head taken clean off. Fate wants me to make it to the mountains, I suppose.

Linkara: And there's no suspense for that character motivation because the comic OPENED with him getting to the mountains!

Linkara (v/o): It would be one thing if he initiated the flashback after reaching the mountains, where he thinks back to the wacky misadventures he had in order to reach it, but again, time is just all over the place, and the writer apparently feels narrative captions are unnecessary in this story. Jason says he thinks he saw someone darting out in front of the car, but he doesn't see anything now.

(Cut to footage of the opening of the first Silent Hill game)

Linkara (v/o): Wait a minute! This sounds an awful lot like how Silent Hill 1 opened! Great, not only is Scott Ciencin lifting names from the games, he's now lifting plot points!

(Cut back to the comic)

Linkara (v/o): And yeah, he walks into Silent Hill and heads for the police department, considering how he's going to explain himself to the police, when it suddenly dawns on him that there are no people around. However, he does notice the patient demons standing over the bodies of some cops. Hey, I guess we found that state trooper Ike was talking about in "Paint It Black".

Jason: (narrating) I know what I was planning to do but... not like this.

Linkara (v/o): Not like this!

Linkara: (as Jason) I mean, how sad would it be if it was a patient demon that took me out? It's the first enemy, for crying out loud!

Linkara (v/o): He doesn't think they're real since he saw them in his dreams. When he realizes they're going to attack, he weighs his options, especially since he can just sense that there are more of them everywhere, and darts for the cops' rifles. He grabs one and some shells, bashing one of the patient demons and quickly loading the gun. He starts shooting just when Dahlia shows up.

(Cut to a clip of The Golden Child)

Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy): (to Numspaa, terrified) I can see you're busy right now. I'll come back some other time.

(Back to the comic again)

Linkara (v/o): He has some triggers to his time in the army, but quickly recovers. However, Dahlia teleports again, and he wanders around the streets, looking for her. He makes his way to the amusement park, as Dahlia keeps appearing just out of his reach, finally getting to her as she's confronted by a number of monsters.

Dahlia: I think they're pretty.

Linkara: (exaggerating) A pop star who's vapid and stupid? Who's surprised?! Hiyo!

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