Pyramid Head
Pyramid Head, also known as "Red Pyramid Thing", "Red Triangle Head" or "Triangle Head", is a character from the Silent Hill series, a survival horror video game series created by Japanese company Konami.
Introduced in the 2001 installment Silent Hill 2, he is a type of monster that serves as the secondary antagonist, stalking James Sunderland, the primary player character, who comes to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his deceased wife, Mary. The Silent Hill series, particularly the second installment, frequently utilizes psychology and symbolism; Pyramid Head represents James's wish to be punished for Mary's death. Masahiro Ito, the designer of Silent Hill 2s monsters, created the character because he wanted "a monster with a hidden face". Known for his large triangular helmet that conceals his head, Pyramid Head lacks a voice or a visible face, and his appearance stems from the town's past as a place of execution.
He has since appeared in the 2006 film Silent Hill as "Red Pyramid", in the 2007 first-person shooter Silent Hill: The Arcade as a boss, and in the sixth installment of the series, Silent Hill: Homecoming, as the "Boogeyman". He has also made an appearance outside of the Silent Hill series as a playable character in the games New International Track & Field, Super Bomberman R, and Dead by Daylight. Positively received in Silent Hill 2 for his role as an element of James' psyche, he has been cited by reviewers as an iconic villain of the series and part of Silent Hill 2s appeal.
Concept and design
Ito wanted to create "a monster with a hidden face", but became unhappy with his designs, which resembled humans wearing masks. He then drew a monster with a pyramid-shaped helmet. According to Ito, the triangle's sharp right and acute angles suggest the possibility of pain. Of the creatures that appear in Silent Hill 2, only Pyramid Head features an "overtly masculine" appearance. He resembles a pale, muscular man covered with a white, blood-soaked robe reminiscent of a butcher's smock. He does not speak, but grunts and moans painfully. His most outstanding feature is his large red, triangular helmet. His weapons consist of the deadly and heavy Great Knife, which the player can find and use for the rest of the game, and later a spear. As a German World War II tank enthusiast, Ito was inspired by the lower hull of the King Tiger heavy tank when designing the edges of the character's helmet; other military vehicles from that region and era informed design elements as well.According to Konami's Lost Memories, his appearance was a variation of the outfits of the executioners from the fictional history of the town. They wore red hoods and ceremonial robes to make themselves similar to Valtiel, a monster who appears in Silent Hill 3. Like Valtiel, Pyramid Head dresses in gloves and stitched cloth and pursues the game's main protagonist. According to Silent Hill 2s character designer Takayoshi Sato, he appears as a "distorted memory of the executioners" and of the town's past as a place of execution.
Christophe Gans, the director of the film adaptation of Silent Hill, suggested that Pyramid Head "was one of the executioners in the original history of the town" and "there is not one particular or exclusive manifestation of him as an entity." However, Ito rejected this suggestion, stating "they really misunderstood Pyramid Head. I designed that only for James." In October 2022, it was revealed that Pyramid Head's executioner background was inspired by characters in the 1995 film Braveheart.
Appearances
In video games
In Silent Hill 2, after receiving a letter from his deceased wife, Mary, and arriving in the foggy town of Silent Hill to search for her, the game's protagonist and primary player character, James Sunderland, encounters Pyramid Head several times over the course of the game. Pyramid Head, under the new moniker "Bogeyman", makes a significant appearance in 2008 installment Silent Hill: Homecoming, but his role is limited to non-interactive scenes, appearing only twice to the game's main protagonist Alex Shepherd. His last appearance is in a possible ending to the game: Alex wakes up in a wheelchair as two Pyramid Heads appear, each with part of a helmet, which they use to turn Alex into one of them. After this ending is played, the player obtains the Bogeyman's costume for Alex to wear. Mindful of Pyramid Head's role in Silent Hill 2, the developers chose to include him as "the embodiment of a myth parents started to keep the children out of trouble" and "the accretion of the activities going on in the town of Shepherd’s Glen."Pyramid Head appears as a boss in the 2007 first-person shooter Silent Hill: The Arcade, as well as Silent Hill: The Escape, but with a composite design with the Butcher, and as a super-deformed selectable character in the 2008 Nintendo DS title New International Track & Field, an installment of the Track & Field series, another spin-off Krazy Kart Racing alongside Robbie the Rabbit, and in 2017's Super Bomberman R as Pyramid Bomber, alongside Simon Belmont from the Castlevania series, and Gradius's Vic Viper. The 2007 game Silent Hill: Origins also included a similar monster named "The Butcher", whom the protagonist occasionally encounters killing other monsters and a painting of Pyramid Head is seen in the burning house of Alessa. In the 2012 installment Silent Hill: Downpour, Pyramid Head makes a cameo appearance in the "Surprise!" ending, along with various other characters from the franchise. Pyramid Head's most recent appearance was in 2012's Silent Hill: Book of Memories, where he is a monster that can spawn randomly to fight the player. Pyramid Head also appeared as a costume for the Playstation Home.
Pyramid Head was included as a purchasable killer for the survival horror game Dead by Daylight with the release of the CHAPTER 16:Silent Hill DLC on June 16, 2020. His title is "The Executioner", a nod to his past as the executioner of Silent Hill. Pyramid Head was a boss character in the Silent Hill DLC of Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals, In where he's referred to by his original name of Red Pyramid Thing. Pyramid Head also makes a cameo appearance in the PlayStation 5 game Astro's Playroom.
In other media
Pyramid Head makes an appearance in the 2006 film adaptation of Silent Hill as "Red Pyramid", and is portrayed by Roberto Campanella. In the film, the psyches of the female characters shaped the character's physical appearance. Gans claimed that replicating the character's head exactly and having the actor move while wearing it proved to be impractical; he noted that, despite the name, Pyramid Head actually wore "a basin" instead of a triangle-shaped helmet. Red Pyramid's sword and helmet were constructed out of lightweight material painted to appear heavy. For the role, Campanella wore a "five-part prosthetic"; it took two-and-a-half to three hours to get him into costume and make-up. His boots had a hidden sole which made him just under tall. Patrick Tatopoulos, who worked on the make-up effects and monsters, enjoyed the project of designing the character. According to him, Red Pyramid serves as a symbol of the town's darkness and harbinger of its changed character. Gans considered the monsters of the film "a mockery of human beings", and commented: "The real monsters are the people, the cultists who tortured Alessa. When I approached the film, I knew that it was impossible to represent the monsters as simply beasts that jump on you."In the 2012 film Silent Hill: Revelation, the Pyramid Head, once more portrayed by Roberto Campanella, is both a monster and a guardian. More than once, it saves Sharon from the forces of Silent Hill. This is explained by its loyalty to Alessa: since Heather is the good half of Alessa's soul, it sees them as the same being and is thus bound to protect both from harm. Pyramid Head is also seen controlling the carousel where Heather and Alessa face off against each other, then it kills the cult leader Claudia Wolf after the amulet shows her inner, monstrous nature. He also makes an appeareance in the 2026 film Return to Silent Hill.
He also makes a cameo appearance in the 2008 Silent Hill comic book Sinner's Reward, published by IDW Publishing. The writer, Tom Waltz, later said he regretted the cameo, which only functioned as fan service. To him, Pyramid Head is a psychological construct created for James; however, he stated that: "At the same time, I don't think that ruined the comic. Some people really liked it. To some people, Pyramid Head should be in all the stories because they do like him." Additionally, the character was portrayed from October 2 to 31, 2009, in the haunted attraction Sinister Pointe, based on Silent Hill, in Orange County, California, United States. Merchandise featuring Pyramid Head includes action figurines.
Analysis
The Silent Hill series uses symbolism and psychology; the town of Silent Hill draws upon the psyche of its visitors, ultimately creating an "otherworld," a twisting of reality that manifests delusions and elements of their subconscious minds, varying from character to character. Specifically, in the case of Silent Hill 2Pyramid Head's Great Knife is actually one half of a pair of scissors. The developer's intent was for James to obtain the other half of the scissors later in the game, symbolizing Pyramid Head's role as a reflection of his psyche. However Ito did not have enough time to put a second Great Knife in the game. James ultimately obtains the same knife wielded by Pyramid Head.
Reviewers have suggested various interpretations. According to Christina González of The Escapist, Pyramid Head acts as "judgement personified, a dark butcher," and "James' masochistic delusion" which punishes him for Mary's death. Ken Gagne of Computerworld suggested that the monster "represents James' anger and guilt." A critic for IGN, Jesse Schedeen, considered Pyramid Head's role throughout the Silent Hill series to be "a manifestation of a person's guilt", commenting: "Pyramid Head is just there to help you serve your penance in the most painful and grotesque way possible."