The Order (Silent Hill)

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The Order is a fictional cult group in the game Silent Hill. It is thought that The Order also makes an appearance in the film adaptation in the form of a religious cult, although they are not explicitly named as such.

1 Function in games
2 Cult members (in games)
- 2.1 Known members
- 2.2 Possible members
3 Function in film
4 Cult members (in film)
5 Difference between game and film
6 External links

[edit] Function in games

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Order is essentially an evangelical doomsday cult that worships archaic gods. It is thought that they work primarily in the town of Silent Hill, but have begun to spread elsewhere. Their plans seem to include the resurrection of their god and, through that resurrection, world domination\destruction\salvation (different members seem to have different ideas of what will happen). In the first Silent Hill it becomes clear that, previous to the game, The Order was responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of a drug called PTV, which is derived from a plant indigenous to the area called White Claudia. The primary clientele for the group was tourists visiting from out of town. It is believed that the White Claudia drug has hallucinogenic/psychotropic properties that allow the cult members to brainwash or control its users. The Silent Hill police force, in conjunction with police force of Brahams, a neighboring town, were in the process of investigating the drug ring when the events of the first game took place. A Brahams police officer named Cybil Bennett, and notes in Silent Hill's Police Department alluding to an investigation conducted by an Officer Gucci who died under suspicious circumstances before he could complete the investigation, verify this.

Because of the actions in the first Silent Hill game, the town is distorted, setting the stage for each game. Prior to the first game, a ritual conducted by The Order was only somewhat successful in infusing the soul of their god into the body of a young girl, Alessa Gillespie. When the ritual went awry, only half the God's soul was born into the girl, who split herself into a second child. This child ended up on the side of the road near Silent Hill, only to be found by Harry Mason and his wife who adopted her and later named her Cheryl Mason. At the beginning of the first game, Harry returns with Cheryl to Silent Hill and Cheryl somehow rejoins with Alessa. Through the rest of the events of the first game Harry encounters one known cult member and a few suspected cult members, the cult's god is resurrected and the town is fractured into the Dark and Misty Silent Hills represented in the game. Despite Harry's efforts that ultimately destroy the god, it is implied that the games events have caused some sort of corruption that is spreading to surrounding towns (as suggested by the plot of Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room).

While Silent Hill 2 has no real ties to The Order, Silent Hill 3 focuses on the cult members trying to track down the protagonist Heather and her father so she can be returned to Silent Hill to complete the ritual to resurrect their dominant god. It is in this game that The Order is named as such for the first time. Throughout the game Heather confronts two rivalling cult members and, possibly, prevents the rebirthing of god.

The fourth game focuses on the murder victims of a character known as Walter Sullivan, who is said to have been part of the cult (either as a member or orphan from the Wish House Orphanage). This is one of the few links to The Order found within the game.

A book entitled The Book of Lost Memories is said to make distinctions between three difference 'sects' in the cult, but the book was only released in Japan and there is, as of yet, no official translation.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cult members (in games)

[edit] Known members

Dahlia Gillespie. (Holy Woman sect) A woman who seems to consider herself to be in charge of The Order. Silent Hill 1
Claudia Wolf. (Holy Woman sect) A supposed priestess of the cult, with intentions that are similar to Dahlia's to raise the Cult's God. Silent Hill 3
Father Vincent. (Holy Woman sect) Another high priest within the cult. Silent Hill 3
Leonard Wolf. (Holy Woman sect) Claudia's father. Silent Hill 3
Jimmy Stone. (Valtiel Sect) A priest of The Order, and murder victim of Sullivan. Stone was known for wearing a triangle-shaped hood & nicknamed 'the red devil'--He is the red devil mentioned in the article found in Silent Hill 2 about Walter's killings, but is not, in any way, related to the enigmatic Pyramid Head. Silent Hill 4
LS. (Holy Woman sect) An unknown member of The Order. Silent Hill 3
Cult Doctors. (Unknown) Two males who were seen in a residual memory of Alessa's where they discussed her future role in the cult with Dahlia and Kaufmann. One might be of Hispanic descent, while the other, of Asian descent. Silent Hill 1
Female Cult Member. (Saint Ladies sect) Another anonymous cult member who is heard talking to Vincent on a tape recording. Silent Hill 3
Jennifer Caroll (St Jennifer). Thought to be the founder of the Order. Silent Hill 3
Toby Archibald. (Holy Mother sect) A priest of the Holy Mother sect. He was also a murder victim of Walter Sullivan. Silent Hill 4
George Rosten. (Valtiel sect) A priest of the Valtiel sect, as well as the head of Holy Mother sect. He was also Jimmy Stone's right hand. He devoted himself to raising Walter Sullivan to become a skilled follower. He succeeded in having Valtiel placed into Walter's unconsciousness to permit the 21 Sacraments to take place. He was also a murder victim of Walter Sullivan. Silent Hill 4

[edit] Possible members

Dr. Michael Kaufmann. He is the hospital director at Alchemilla Hospital. Due to his access to the White Claudia drug, he is thought to be a member of the Order, although this is not confirmed. Silent Hill 1
Lisa Garland. A nurse at the Alchemilla Hospital and a possible subordinate member. She seems to be completely controlled by the cult as she is addicted to the drug The Order distributes. Her main role prior to the game was taking care of an injured Alessa Gillespie. It is unclear if she was ever considered a cult member. The first game indicates that she was killed by Dr. Kauffman before the town was fractured, possibly for some sort of treachery towards the cult. The Lisa Garland depicted in the game is not the 'real' Lisa Garland but is instead a 'fond memory' or projection caused by Alessa. Silent Hill 1
Norman Young. The owner and operator of the Norman Motel in the resort area of Silent Hill. He was a primary drug dealer for the town as he would often sell the White Claudia drug to those staying in his motel. It is unclear if he is a member or just a dealer. Silent Hill 1
Walter Sullivan. (Holy Mother sect) It is unclear if he was in fact a member, or simply an orphan child raised in the Wish House orphanage run by The Order, being raised with their harsh, twisted values. Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 4: The Room

[edit] Function in film

Despite their similarities to the cult in the video game, the name of the cult in the film is never revealed specifically as being 'The Order'. There are some similarities between the game and the film version, such as the presence of Dahlia and Alessa Gillespie as well as the practice of burning people for 'religious' reasons (for a more extensive comparison, see below), yet director Christophe Gans himself has stated that the two are not to be related^{[citation needed]} and that they are probably from different continuum.

The plot of the 2006 Silent Hill film centers around this religious cult with striking similarities to The Order from the games. In the film it is comprised of a group of witch-hunters that traditionally burn all they suspect of being a witch. This tradition is suggested to go back several hundred years, to the founding of the town itself. The burnings done by the cult depicted in the film are carried out in a ceremonial room designed for such practices. It is suspected that they are of Christian-based faith for multiple reasons: the cross is one of their major symbols (albeit an unconventional looking one); witch burning was a predominantly Christian practice (See Salem Witch Trials), and; one character recites a prayer from the Bible ("And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened ... and each person was judged according to what he had done. ... If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" Revelation 20:12-15).

After the events that led to the fracturing of Silent Hill the members of this group were confined to the alternate Silent Hill, believing the world underwent an apocalypse and that they are the only survivors. They maintain that they were spared from death because of their faith and look to the horrors surrounding them as a test. Their leader is a woman known as Christabella (Alice Krige). She uses the knowledge that they were allowed to survive the end of the world, the fear of the darkness that spreads across the town, and of course the fear of the monsters (to them, 'demons') wandering the town, to control those trapped in Silent Hill. She has them congregate in a Church and pray for forgiveness and to be spared from the darkness. All of the members seem emaciated and vacant, letting Christabella do most of the talking for them.

When going on excursions away from the Church that is their home base, probably due to the town traditionally being a mining town, they tend to wear coal mining gear (gas masks and coveralls) and carry a caged canary to warn them of the coming darkness (similar to coal miners using canaries to detect carbon monoxide).

As it turns out, Alessa Gillespie is keeping the group trapped in Silent Hill so she can exact her revenge on them. It is through Rose's arrival with her daughter Sharon, that she is able to do so.

[edit] Cult members (in film)

Christabella. The leader of cult. Before the members were stranded in Silent Hill she was presumably a teacher at Midwich Elementary School. She convinces Dahlia to let the 'witch-burning' congregation, described below, 'purify' Alessa and 'restore her purity'. When Dahlia arrives at the ceremony, it becomes clear that they intend to burn her daughter as a Witch.
Dahlia Gillespie. The mother of Alessa. When it becomes clear to her that Christabella intends to kill Alessa by burning she presumably leaves the cult. Although stranded in Silent Hill with the others, she is not allowed into the Church, yet does not seem to be affected by the monsters.
Anna. A young red-haired girl whose inflection suggests a low intelligence (seemingly characteristic of the other members as well). Anna is manually flayed by Pyramid Head\Red Pyramid on the steps of the Church.
Lone "Coal Miner". Rose DaSilva runs into a mutilated body tied to a fence, dressed up as a coal miner and discovers that the person inside is still alive. One can only assume that their presence and uniform are indicators that they are a member of the cult in Silent Hill.
"Coal Miners". Rose encounters these men in Midwitch Elementary and they attempt to capture her. Darkness falls over the town and they flee, only to be seen eaten alive by Pyramid Head\Red Pyramid's bugs.
Congregation. The rest of the members of the nondescript Christian group that is trapped in Silent Hill are found in the Church, often praying for God to protect them. The only two we learn the names of are Eleanor and Adam.
Witch-Burning Congregation. When Alessa is seen being burned in a flashback, members of this group are praying with Christabella when many are killed by an accident with the altar.

[edit] Difference between game and film

In the games it is not clear, but Dahlia seems to be the leader, a person who was expelled from the group in the film. Rather than being the suspected Christian-based group suggested by the film, the game puts The Order as a doomsday cult that seemingly worships pagan gods and Hebrew archangels (names like Samael and Metatron are mentioned throughout the series) and is quite possibly influenced by other Abrahamic traditions. Both representations are inadvertently responsible for the current condition of the town of Silent Hill, both from burning Alessa. The difference here is that in the game, it is not a ceremonious burning but is instead in order to cultivate the entity within her. The film has this cult try to kill Alessa by burning for simply being a witch. In the film, Alessa is rescued by an Officer Gucci (Kim Coates) and left in a hospital to be treated, where she is presumably approached by the entity that has possessed her/given her her powers. Alessa from the game is also confined to a hospital bed after being burned, but already had the 'demon/god/etc.' inside her. In the game Dahlia and Dr. Kauffman seem to be the only cult members trapped in Silent Hill, although there may be more that just aren't encountered. The film of course has every member of the cult trapped in the alternate Silent Hill, including the expelled Dahlia.

The film also goes so far as to explain the air raid siren heard when the town enters the Darkness phase. In the film a siren is attached to the Church's steeple and is set off when the Darkness is on its way. The games have no such explanation, and while the Church's siren could be a possibility, there is no indication that the siren is of human origin.