Randy Mootooveran
Sci fi, Fantasy, Horror Lit
January 31, 2018

The Lore behind Siren

One the surface, Siren is no very different from other Japanese horror games like Silent Hill or Fatal Frame. All three center around characters trapped in a forbidding environment that carries a dark history. Essentially, a group has summoned trotted spirits called the Shibito. Unlike traditional ghosts, they still retain elements of their former lives; a cop patrols the streets with their gun echoing the night he died, a woman whose family was murdered stalks her house with the knife that slit her throat, or a harmless child lies at the bottom of a pool looking up at those who pass it. The majority of the Shibito want to do the protagonists harm, but many also wander aimlessly like they were wound up toys. They possess some level of intelligence to put them above zombies, but are distinctly spirits inhabiting rotted corpses. In Siren, the group that awakened the Shibito is looking to free their souls. However, the souls end up engulfing the island off the coast of Japan. Rather than fighting them, stealth is what the protagonists opt for (especially in the blind teenagers case) due to the fact that Shibito envy the living, and attack uncontrollably when they spot one. 

In my opinion, Siren is more of a tragic puzzle game; it relies on players understanding what kind of spirit lies in front of them rather than how many bullets you need to pump into them in order to subdue them. I've noticed Japanese horror (at least the best stories) always uses a troubled protagonist facing an unknown entity that serves to reflect their own personal struggles. There's usually a mystery around the entities in between subtle advances the creatures make in their attempt to dwindle their victims sanity. In my opinion, it builds more sympathy for the protagonist while also fear in the creature's intentions. I believe it takes cues from Ridley Scott's Alien in how the monster isn't shown often and lets tension sink in before it inevitably strikes. The mood tends to be slow and oppressive, allowing the atmosphere to unnerve you more than the reveal of immediate danger. It's no wonder people are more interested in Asian horror than American horror since our movies generally demand as much visceral gore and jump scares as humanly possible.