Silent Hill was always feminist, Part 3: Silent Hill 2, James Sunderland, and the murder no one calls murder

[Editor's note: This article contains full story spoilers for Silent Hill 2.]

Silent Hill 2 is particularly crucial to understanding the franchise's feminist horror themes. Over the course of the game, it’s revealed that protagonist James Sunderland murdered his terminally ill wife Mary. She never asked for death, nor consented to die. This makes it murder, not mercy — yet the game structures itself around James' guilt, self-justification, and emotional journey, forcing players to inhabit his perspective while the narrative slowly reveals the monstrosity of what he's done.

Where the first Silent Hill game centered patriarchal religious violence against a non-compliant girl, and the 2006 film centered maternal fury confronting that violence, Silent Hill 2 forces players to inhabit the murderer himself. The game makes you complicit in femicide by making you play as the man who committed it, by structuring the entire experience around his guilt, and ultimately, by giving you control over whether he receives absolution or punishment.