The Silent Hill series is a bit of an odd case because, on one hand, it has some of the most dedicated and diehard fans of all time. Some are even keeping Pyramid Head relevant as recently as this week. On the other hand, it’s been so poorly represented in the modern gaming age outside of homages such as The Medium.
The latest game in the franchise was Silent Hill: Book of Memories and that came out on the Vita way back in 2012 to a lukewarm reception. Let’s not even get into the whole Kojima’s P.T/Silent Hills cancellation tragedy that occurred in 2015. Still, through it all, people swear by Silent Hill 2 & 3 as some of the best Survival Horror games of all time.
But, that’s beside the point. There is plenty of media out there for people who like Silent Hill. What can fans watch if they want more small-town supernatural horror?
15 Junji Ito Collection
The Junji Ito Collection houses a bunch of intriguing short stories written by famed horror mangaka Junji Ito. However, the Collection is nowhere near close to Ito’s incredible illustrations.
Fans who are somewhat iffy about reading Ito’s manga can try watching a few episodes of the Junji Ito Collection. They’re fairly serviceable tales, and if fans decide to check out the manga to read the original tales then it definitely wasn’t in vain.
14 Stranger Things
Stranger Things is currently in its final season, and the stage has been set brilliantly. The nightmarish horrors that the gang encounter during their adventures definitely echo shades of the various monsters present in the Silent Hill games.
Stranger Things’ humor is also pretty great, although it’s noticeably different from the campy nature of certain cutscenes in Silent Hill. It’s a great show that fans of Silent Hill will especially love.
13 Kingdom
Sometimes, the horror of zombies is enough to make any setting riveting. Even a historical Korean drama turns into something completely different when players add the element of zombies to it.
Kingdom’s narrative is pretty engrossing as is, and the inclusion of the undead is just the icing on the cake. Fans of Silent Hill’s intricate plot will have a great time with Kingdom.
12 Hannibal
Hannibal is a show that was cut down before it could really reach its potential. In that way, it’s more similar to Silent Hill than most people would care to admit.
The show doesn’t pull any punches with its depiction of gore, albeit in a rather tasteful manner… both figuratively and literally. It’s a great watch for Silent Hill fans who love the thrilling nature of these plots.
11 Parasyte: The Maxim
Parasyte: The Maxim explores otherworldly beings who invade human bodies and become parasites. The show takes a look at a high school student who is saved from the parasite taking over his brain but loses his arm instead.
The animation of the series, coupled with its great storytelling, has led to critical acclaim for Parasyte: The Maxim. It’s one of the better anime out there that Silent Hill fans will definitely love for its mysterious elements.
10 The Haunting of Hill House & The Haunting of Bly Manor
The Haunting of Hill House and its sequel series are part of the Haunting Anthology. But neither of them are about small towns like Silent Hill. Rather, both series follow a smaller cast of characters as they go through multiple supernatural occurrences that incidentally help them come to terms with who they are as people.
That, in particular, is a very Silent Hill method of storytelling. Plus, there’s this real nihilistic tone throughout the entire show that matches the game series as well – especially Silent Hill 2.
9 Any Season Of American Horror Story
This next one is likely the most Horror-centric show out there and it’s also the show with the widest amount of content available. So, if fans are looking for something Silent Hill-esque to fill the time while waiting for another entry into the franchise, American Horror Story offers plenty. Incidentally, a new entry actually might happen based on certain rumors,
In the meantime, fans can binge 8+ seasons of this show with each one working as its own condensed story. While Silent Hill games (at least the fan-favorites) tend to be a bit more subtle in their horror, violence, and drama, American Horror Story likes to be blunt and out in the open about it.
8 The Returned
James Sunderland’s quest to reunite with Mary, his dead wife who has apparently revived in Silent Hill, is probably the best narrative of the franchise. It’s just such a complex love story that feels really human. There’s something so inherently offputting about the idea of a loved one coming back to life, years later, with no explanation. Well, that’s also what happens in a show called The Returned, a tv sitcom series that released back in 2015 for a single season.
The show is an American adaptation of the French series Les Revenants. For the most part, fan reception seems to agree that the source material is better, but that the American version did a pretty decent job overall. This show plays around with the idea of dead people coming back to life years later and returning to their old routines as if nothing had changed, As one can imagine, this creates some very unique problems.
7 Hemlock Grove
Now we’re moving on to an Award-Winning show: Hemlock Grove. But, as it turns out, this show didn’t win any awards for its quality as a complete product. It’s actually just the music & the special effects that got props while every other aspect is pretty low-quality as horror-fans are concerned. However, Hemlock Grove is a mix of many different things, as many shows are on this list.
Things like Twin Peaks, Wayward Pines, and of course Silent Hill factor into the show’s tone. But the main difference between this show and all the others is that Hemlock Grove doesn’t really build upon these influences in order to become its own thing. Rather, it just mashes all the influences together in the hopes that the result will be an amazing piece of media. Still, it’s not all bad; at least the gore is gratuitous and plentiful…right?
6 Sweet Home
Sweet Home is a very unique inclusion as it is a Korean TV show adaptation of a Webtoon/Manhwa of the same name. It might sound odd for a TV show to adapt a Webtoon rather than a novel or a comic book series, but Sweet Home brought in more than 1.4 billion views. Now, if Haunting of Hill House was a six on the nihilism scale, Sweet Home would absolutely be a nine or ten.
There are so many incredibly unique concepts in Sweet Home - in particular with how its monsters work. In general, the series just has some fantastically written characters, great action scenes, and a plot that consistently keeps people interested and wanting to see more. Reading the original Webtoon is also recommended by fans of the series.
5 Twin Peaks
Up next is likely the least horror-centric show on the list, but also the one that has influenced the most media going forward: Twin Peaks. The influence is everywhere from video games like Deadly Premonition, multitudes of TV shows such as Broadchurch, or in films like Gone Girl.
Much of the series’ oddness gets attributed to its director David Lynch. But it’s the ultimate show for someone who likes small-town mysteries. That is what most Silent Hill games boil down to at the end of the day. The sense of dread and uneasiness is just a natural part of the small-town drama.
4 Paranoia Agent
As far as supernatural, eerily horrifying mysteries go, Paranoia Agent is one of the best. It’s one part social commentary, one part mystery thriller, and one part intentionally uncomfortable horror. It fits right in with all the other shows on this list - even if it is animated instead of live-action.
There are just so many iconic aspects of this show whether it’s the Lil’ Slugger himself, Tsukiko’s mascot character Maromi, or the unforgettable opening for each episode. Silent Hill fans are sure to see the kindred spirits of styles between the two creations.
3 Boogiepop Phantom
Boogiepop Phantom is another unique inclusion simply because the source material is a collection of 22 light novels, but this Anime doesn’t adapt any of them. Rather, it acts as a separate story in-between volumes 1 & 2 as the animation studio Madhouse does their best to tell a variety of different stories about the disgusting depths of the human condition.
Along the way, watchers are treated to some truly petrifying horror elements. The music is fantastic, Boogiepop the character is fascinating as a concept, and the horror elements are very well done. S-tier content for Silent Hill fanatics.
2 The Mist (2017)
Moving on to a show that’s an adaptation of a novel but is more commonly known as a film: The Mist. Originally written by Stephen King, The Mist first became widely known because of the film adaptation in 2007. That seems to be the reason why most people tuned in to this tv show though most of them didn’t stick with it for all too long.
There’s a ton of drama, murder, betrayal, violence, and more in this show. The special effects are also pretty good in comparison to the industry standard. But, at the end of the day, the show was canceled after its first season due to a poor reception by the viewers.
1 Wayward Pines
Last up is yet another TV series based on a book called Wayward Pines by author Blake Crouch. This time the show has big names involved in it like M. Night Shyamalan, Terrance Howard, and Matt Dillon. Wayward Pines, as a show, brings to mind many different comparisons such as Twin Peaks, Shutter Island, a bit of the Truman Show, and even the animated show Gravity Falls.
But, most of all, Silent Hill fans will notice how similar it feels to their favorite satanic mining town in terms of setting. Wayward Pines is a town that won’t let anyone leave, no matter the cost. That alone puts it right up there with Silent Hill. In comparison to anything else on this list, Wayward Pines has the most direct things in common with the iconic horror franchise.
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