After Heather gave Claudia the Seal with the whole transformation-scene, I was left with one burning question:

How was Claudia in monster-form before this transformation?

Does she have some sort of power to allow her to become a Missionary while in the Otherworld? Is it merely how Heather sees her? Why is it that her "true nature" is that of a monster while at many moments she is in human form?

What's the deal with that?

In my opinion, I think it's some unexplained power she has. In the game, she's hinted to have Otherworld-controlling abilities, and it seems like certain aspects of this carried over into the movie. Either way, it's still shoddy writing.

The way I took it...The Seal shows your true form...When Combined with on Leonard...He changed....Same with Claudia....And She does have powers in the game....So I never question how she turned when she wanted to....Although I can see that as a problem for people who have never played the games....

Are you saying she just turns when she wants to? Your message is a little vague. How is it that she can show her symbolic "true form" seemingly at will with out the seal, when it seems that Leonard can't without it?

I am saying she can turn at will....She has powers....She did in the games....I mean she brought the fight to Heather and Harry in the game...and she did the same here, although in a different way.... Leonard didn't have that power....and thats why the Seal wasn't whole in the first place...to keep Leonard in his place...

By true self I mean....True Silent Hill form, or something like that...I think Heather was showing her true form after combining with her dark side...the good side won, so she was still just Heather......Even though Claudia had the power to change into the missionary when she needed too, The Seal Forced her true self out....Since she was Evil...Her true form was forced out....Just as Leonard's was...

What I think Resevil's saying is that the Seal makes a person take the shape of their heart. Claudia's own powers, in his proposition, allows her to return to her human form, atleast temporarily.

LOL...Wow...You come in and sum it up in two sentences....While I rambled on like a lunatic....

THe monster that killed the detective in the mall, that was Claudia right? Did she cause them to shift into Otherworld?

Yes, that was Claudia.....Are you asking if she caused Heather and Vincent to Shift into the Otherworld? If thats the question....I thinks its a yes....At Jack's Inn everything goes to hell and Claudia is right there to grab Vincent....Thats something Bassett should have explained....How much power does Claudia have? Apparently a lot....Yet they never really go into it at all...

Actually, it seems Heather's causing the shifts, since both of them seemed to coincide with Heather's extreme emotional state. Claudia being there usually has a bit of lag, so perhaps she's homing in on Heather.

Thats entirely possible....Again, its something that wasn't really touched upon....I am just looking at it this was.....It Claudia can change into the Missionary at will.....Does she have some control over Silent Hill?

In the games, Claudia had the ability to make humans look like Missionaries to Heather. It could be a more literal adaptation of that. However, I don't think Claudia is actually running all over the place, so perhaps she's just astral-projecting, like Alessa does. Her true nature is the Missionary, apparently, so perhaps that's what her soul looks like.

Astral Projecting....Didn't even think about that....Makes sense....

I thought Heather was seeing the Order members through her own perception, seeing them as Missionaries in the otherworld, with no involvement from Claudia at all. It makes sense that Heather would see the thing that killed her father as a monster (in the same context as how Anne sees Murphy as the Bogeyman in Downpour), along with all other people in the same group as it. But that's a different topic.

Anyways, not sure if I agree with Astral Projecting. Not much revolved around it in the first film, except for the car crash, so I'd consider that a little off-put to be the method in which Claudia travels outside in the movie. I always thought her game powers carried over in film, and that she was able to switch worlds at will, tracking down Heather in the mall at the same time Douglas and Vincent did.

She doesn't seem able to switch worlds at will in either continuity; and in the movie, she's clearly having a more literal transformation given the way she can leap around and cut through steel.

I thought it was just a way to play with the "they look like monsters to you" idea. Movie Vincent says it out loud : where some see people some see monsters. It seems In SH you can never say for sure whose perception it is that you' re looking at.

Gans also touched upon that idea when he described SH as a "Pirandellian" structure in the bonus material (see Pirandello).

Why do you think when someone dies in the otherworld he dies here too ? IMO, because the otherworld and the "real" world are fundamentally one and the same. It' s not the world that changes, just your perception of it. To illustrate :



Which is it ? A rabbit ? A duck ? Both ? Neither ?

I assumed the cenobite was really Heather' s perception of Claudia, that the medallion is just a tool to switch its user "perception filter" to the one born from his own mind (am I making any sense ?)

Your making sense....I might not agree with that particular theory, but that could be what Bassett was going for...I am going to see the movie again this week in 2D so I can focus more on what going on and see if I missed a few things....I usually do on a first watch anyway...

Considering the missionary creature's lithe and strength, I doubt it's only the perception that's changed.

Should I go all Matrix on you ?
TBH I' m not sure what your objection is exactly, could you please elaborate ?

In the meantime I' ll elaborate too, maybe this will be clearer : I suppose you' ve heard about the duality of light in school ? You can make experiments that put its wave nature in evidence, or you can make experiments that put its matter nature in evidence. What changes between those two experiments is your perception of light, not its very nature.

Whether Claudia actually changed into a monster or just drew a huge knife, demolished a wall or just scratched it (or both, or neither) is irrelevant to me, it' s a red herring. It' s not like we can empirically test any of our hypothesis about the movie otherworld physics and then ask for independent investigation of our findings, mostly all we can do is throw arguments from ignorance around. Point is Claudia seems to be a lethal threat either way, pragmatically it' s all that matters.

Absolutely you are. This is why Leonard says it unlocks the true nature of things, when he completes the seal he gains his sight and straight away sees Heather as a demon, and Heather hands it over to Claudia saying she wants to see the truth of her...

Silent Hill's monsters are the physical manifestation of the subconscious fears, desires and beliefs of, in some cases, Alessa, and in others, the person who has wound up in the town. We have known this about the series for years. So of course Claudia is able to jump around and stab people, and stand up to Alessa's protector. Didn't anybody else notice the missionary in Heather's nightmare? She's met with that particular image many times before she encountered Claudia.

I'm starting to wonder if Silent Hill fans are as smart and deep as they claim to be, the way this film's ideas have gone straight over their heads.

I may not be good at figuring these things out about the franchised but I know what you mean.