Solaris (And How it Influenced Silent Hill 2) | Monsters of the Week 

God I love Silent Hill 2. Great video, I need to watch Solaris sometime now.

I remember back when you had just a couple hundred subscribers- sounds weird to say but...I'm proud of you?

Fuck Solaris is such a good movie, i wish more people knew about it. But i feel like, just because it's russian, many don't even bother to check it out.

The humans tried to conduct an experiment by bombarding the living "ocean" with radiation. The planet probed back. _What are you? What makes you tick? We can learn by feeling your emotions and your reactions._ I want to see this movie now.

"Solaris" is amazing, but you have to keep in mind that Lem himself didn't accept the film, because he thought that A.Tarkovskiy was too far away from the original idea. So if you want to get the true Solaris, you need to read the book. The movie has a lot of personal and philosophical beliefs of Tarkovskiy himself. He recreated, rewrote and reinvented "Solaris", not just created the movie. Nevertheless all his movies truly are pieces of art. So if you like his style and his depth, "Solaris" is not the only film worth watching. Your videos are just amazing. Keep up the good work.

My fucking god your channel is one of the greatest things that ever happened since internet was invented

I'm so glad someone shares my view on the voice acting in sh2 - to me, it was obvious it was a conscious decision to make them sound like that, to add to the unease and strangeness of the whole thing. But wow, seeing those clips of the russian movie, it's obvious to me they were aping the way people speak in that.

This is the first time I'd ever heard of Tarkovsky having an influence on Silent Hill 2, but after looking at this video, it seems almost obvious. Great art inspires other great art. Greatest director of all time, greatest game of all time.

Masahiro Ito (concept artist and creature designer for the first few SH games) confirmed that Solaris had a big influence on SH2 in a tweet recently! So good on you for finding it out before that! Source: adsk4/status/942335145247260673

Stopped watching after five minutes and bought Solaris. Read the whole thing in a day, it's an incredible book. I know I'm way late to this party, but thanks for pointing me in the direction of an excellent read (also really sad to me, but highly worth it).

Hey man, just wanted to stop by and say that I love your videos and can't wait to see what you come up with in the future. Keep up the fantastic work!

(This comment contains some spoilers) I played Silent Hill 2 some months ago, immediately finding a very close resemblance (for what concerns the story and the atmosphere) with Tarkovsky's Solaris, and this video remarked some interesting points of similarity that go deeper in particulars that I didn't think about. Anyway, in my opinion another point in common is the element of water, we can see Lake Toluca and Solaris sea as magnetes that catch and attract the protagonists evoking their memories (Maria that appears for the first time "staring at the water", just like Mary and James were). These two places are both related to death or obscurity, impenetrability, psychological and physical depth. James is so attracted there to end his journey with her wife in the lake, committing suicide, in one of the endings, and just like Solaris, one can never escape this trap. It's significant that in the final scene of Solaris Kris Kelvin is still in Solaris' sea, and this makes you wonder if a person can come back home from Solaris/Silent Hill once entered there, if all we've seen is just Kelvin's phantasy, dream, mental production, if we all live in Solaris/Silent Hill (or we could just find ourselves there, in our restless dreams) without knowing it, how in everyday life what we desire or fear radically changes what we see. Water in this two masterpieces is a Mirror that has no shape in itself but that reflects the images, but it's also the depth of human mind, the obscurity (the human bodies in Toluca Lake), the stream of insanity that we can't stop flowing, the surface from which emerges what we pervertedly desire and fear at the same time. I don't know if team Silent consciously was inspired by Solaris, but in general it could be possible, since there are some cases of Russian influences on Japanese art, if we just think about Kurosawa, for example. Anyway, a really interesting video, it surprised me that I found it, because I thought it was just my personal and too much hypotetical idea.

Great Video as always mate, I'm constantly looking forward to watching one of your videos, your insight on these subjects are very interesting. Just a thought, perhaps you could see into making a video on Junji Ito's work?

Is that the Stalker soundtrack that comes in at 6:55 or am I just losing my mind. I've been struggling to write a piece about it recently. Oh it really is isn't it.

Man Ragnar you had me at Silent hill 2. Your videos never fail to dissapoint

What is the movie at 4:14 where he gets stabbed in the ass by the thing from Fallout?

Watched Solaris as a kid. Blew my mind. Now I love mind fuck sci fi.

I want Jordan Underneath to see your channel, I think he'd enjoy it

Saw the movie before playing it years ago and yes, it seems the town in SH2 works kind of like the planet. Not good or bad, just showing the underlying things at the heart of a person’s psyche when they come in contact. And you cannot kill the materialized loved one in both! Even in Solaris the protagonist goes because he is broken and has nothing to lose or live for. Tue Crime and Punishment influence has more to do with denial and going through hell to get over it and finally expose to oneself and the world the evil deed that was done to be punished and hopefully redeem yourself. Going through hell to be reborn. A very good match, and making a survival horror allows for surreal imagery, dream logic and great show don’t tell techniques with monsters and characters that can be analyzed through freudian and jungian prisms. What a fucking great game. The basis is so strong, so coherent. This is how you make games, structure them correctly and use the medium to produce actual art. It takes a lot of thinking, and technique, but once there’s a direction and logic everything has to adhere to… you don’t go wrong and everything feels like it belongs in this contained universe. If only more games used that logic instead of going for superficial bang bang action movie scene imitation, or empty sandbox fetch quest stuff with minimal writing! When’s the video on the horrible horrible psychosexual horror of Haunting Ground, and how family is turned into the most unsafe thing in the world? :)

You deserve more subscribers, I'm here from your Death Stranding video.

Man, I've nothing good to say about the Soviet Union, but I do love the idea of cinema which is made without profit as it's goal. That would be true artistic freedom for a filmmaker.

Oh my God it's Monsters of the week! Thank you RagnarRox!

I like a lot of Russian books and films ... I should look this up!

Never watch wnat film, but read book wnen i was teenager. Whan i first watch LP for Silent Hill 2 i actually think about what i read the book with plot like whis, but can't remember of name these book. Now i defenetly watch whis film for sure. I'm Russian so it not be a problem. We have so many film back when, shame our cinematografy now just parody of Hollywood(. Anyway thanks for pointing me to this film man.

Really happy I just found your channel. You produce amazing content, please keep it up.

Stanislaw Lem despise the approach of Tarkovski to his work, an opinion I find of a great value since the master Tarkovski relies more on the human side of the story whereas Lem wrote it just to theorize about the futility of human consciousness and was way beyond the existencialism itself. That being said, your video is great, I thin SH2 si one of the best gems on gaming history and making a dialogue between it and a masterpiece like Solaris is awesome. Thanks for doing this.

New patron here. Hope you will keep doing these high quality videos! Love your work! bte what is the intro music?

Stalker is an even better Tarkovsky film. Probably the most incredible movie I've ever seen.

It's been a month- Time to revisit this gem. No really, though I do tend to every six months or so revisit MoW Silent Hill content as it is just so well put together. Thank you so much for creating comprehensive content that lends so much to the appreciative viewers of these masterpieces we love so much.

This film looks amazing, I'm gonna make it the next film I watch!

This makes me want to watch the 2002 adaptation for sure really interesting video. I used to be a big reader, but I'm 20 now and prefer movies, games, and visual novels

*What an amazing channel you have here man... This channel is truly a blessing to this website in it's entirety...*

To comment on the voice acting, the one person I never really liked in terms of voice acting was James himself, though I think this has more to do with the fact that I absolutely detest James. Not as a character necessarily, I think he's interesting to be sure. Just...as a person. I find him despicable. From his dumb oblivious voice to him doing the thing that leads him to silent hill for unforgivable reasons (I'm not gonna go into it here in case some peeps haven't finished the game, but HOO BOY do I think nothing justifies what he did, and the fact that his remorse and desire to be punished comes partially if not entirely from a place of self pity just makes him even WORSE), and the fact that no matter the ending he BASICALLY LEARNS NOTHING BY THE END which I suppose is thematically relevant but honestly the one ending I always try to get because of it is In Water. Idk, I just hate James.

Great video! I'm always a big fan of Silent Hill 2 and the things that influenced it, but I'd never heard of this one before. I thought Solaris was just a recent-ish film. I'm gonna check this version out thanks dude :)

A rare type of content on youtube. A new subscriber!

*Video begins playing 'Meditation' from Stalker* Chills. Every goddamn time I hear that tune.

I just came across your channel and I'm already in love. Congrats on the great work! 😊

Nice vid ragnar :) and btw the new motw intro is amazing gj!

*Ode to Lem* O Lem, master of science fiction, Your stories are a revelation. You've challenged our understanding of ourselves, And opened our minds to new worlds. Your aliens are truly alien, With thoughts and motivations we can't fathom. You've shown us the potential dangers of AI, And the beauty of the natural world. Thank you, Stanislaw Lem, for your gift to the world. May your memory be a blessing. *LOVE FROM INDIA*

Can you do a video on Kindergarten Cop and how it influenced Silent Hill 2?

Nice video dude, well made. I got the book, but haven't read it yet. I feel more motivated to it now haha. Also Tarkowski films were on my mind for a long time, I also want to watch his "Stalker" movie at some time.

For my degree i did a class on adaption, and Solaris was one of the main materials we studied, i wish i came across this video sooner since I much prefer Silent Hill 2 to the film adaptions of Solaris lmao edit: Im very tempted to email the professor of that class a link to this since this is such a fascinating video

Just read Solaris. Thank you for this amazing recommendation and analysis. I will look for the 1972 movie now!

You're making some of the best and most well thought out videos I've ever seen when it comes to games and monsters. You're doing Glob's work, friend.

Small correction tarkovsky made the 1st hour of stalker delibiratly boring not solaris

Ii was reminiscing on silent hill3 . Heather was just starting to trust Douglas and even opens herself up to awkwardly telling a joke .. Douglas say she was like his son because he contemplating shooting her .. then as she walks she feels him pointing a gum on her and the Character stops and the soft what are you doing? I could feel the already fragile bond breaking .. before Douglas decides against shooting her ..now at 1st I thought how award it seems but now It makes since , Douglas is a stranger to her and she doesn't know freind from foe .. like silent hill 2 how disjointed the voice actors are but every stranger interactions would be aqward especially when each go into their own journey .their is times when Maria and James are comfortable with each other , the strain anoyance with laura . I think the voice actors are great and can't stand them using new voice actors ..

I always wanted a Maria character analysis video.There's much more to her than simply being a reflection of James' desires.This video serves as just that.The influence of Solaris on Silent Hill 2 is truly apparent and the connections are there(especially that mirror scene). Thanks for the video.You got yourself a subscriber.

Read Solaris last year because of this video. It's now one of my top ten favorites. Thank you

The Solaris novel and 1972 film are the same story as interpreted by much different artists. Both are masterworks but they are different, and that's good.

I checked out both movies and I must say (on my opinion) the story is better represented on the 2002 movie, while 1972 movie had better characters and scenarios. The first movie also made me think about a SH2 finale where in the end is Maria who's taking care of a diseased James.

I’m playing the game for the first time and my friend told me about the connection between the game and this story and it truly is fascinating! I loved the bittersweet story. A great video!

Watch soviet movie "kin-dza-dza". It is not related to Sillent hill or Solaris in any way and doesn't have much of that psychological drama but it has very charming acting and view on humanity. And it also sci-fi of some sort

"His Master's Voice" - small recommendation to those interested in Lem's work. A masterpiece.

Dude, I just stumbled upon your channel, and I've watched two videos about Silent Hill (including this one, which made me realize something I never picked up by myself) and one on jacob's ladder. I think... I think I like you.

RagnarRox and ahoy are probably the most unique gaming channels out there

I would never had thought there was a connection as I forgot about Solaris, but this is an amazing video pointing out the similarities. The wive images of the main character in solaris are very much like Maria, and definetely eddy from Silent hill has similarities to the other scientist. As a newcomer to the Criterion connection it is hard to keep track of slower soviet films but looking back it is ovbious how similar the stories are. Solaris is a Marvel for when and where it was created, and yes, very Russian in its form of the supernateral horror in it's scientific nature. Tarkovsky had a huge budget and captured more than just the essence of the movie he made. I think it was his commentary of sensationalism and impatience, and the need of people to have everything now now now. it is sad modern man does not have the patience to understand why cliches about Russia being cold and boring are loaded and also have a hidden good, when you see how beautiful the quiet and snow in the country are compared to the anger and foolishness the people of the city exude.

I had already watched Stalker, but I was only able to watch Solaris for the first time while going through cinema school and it had such a huge impact on me, especially because my girlfriend had committed suicide the year before. Tarkowski was a genius and even at the time I couldn't help noticing some similarities between Silent Hill 2 and Solaris-- this video made me realise that it wasn't just me, afterall. Thanks for another great video, Ragnar! :)

i'm big dumb! i just realized that dead space has a very similar story line with issac and his partner. silent hill 2 in space!

Huh, I never thought of the connections to Solaris, and I love Tarkovsky. Been watching your videos all night. Awesome content, dude!

RagnarRox, Silent Hill 2 and Solaris... Three of my favorite things coming together in a single video : )

Lem is one of the best scifi writers ever, on top next to Asimov, and it's great that he was a Pole.

Can't believe I never made the connection between the two before, it's so obvious once you mentioned it. I recommend that anyone with an interest in deeply thoughtful art should check out Tarkowski's films. They are some of the most masterful works to come from any medium.

I'm fairly confident you dont read comments from videos made this long ago but I want to say that I have been subscribed to your channel for roughly five years and I still come back to watch the good old ones(which is all of them). I love your content and your outlook stay blessed. Even if you never read this, thank you for helping me through some times where I just needed to know that some people saw things like I did. Thank you and your great community.

Seems that the creators of "Event Horizon" took some inspiration from it as well.

Man I can't believe I never saw the similarities! I'm such a Silent Hill nut and Solaris is one of my favourite movies. Bravo, RagnarRox, bravo good sir! Very enlightening video

Ahh! The clip of Tarkovskis *Solaris* at 11:44 - The set is the same as the one used by Machine Games in *Wolfenstein: The New Order* when you reach the moon!

Excellent catch. I don't know how I overlooked the similarity, but it has been a while since I last watched Solaris. Looking at the parallels, I don't see how someone in the SH2 story dev team could have not had this in mind as an influence.

You know, that never occurred to me but you’re absolutely right it really really did.

People ask me what Silent Hill 2 is like and I tell them “Satanic Solaris”

Funny enough Stanislav Lem did not like Tarkovsky's take on Solaris, he said Tarkovsky made Crime and Punishment rather than Solaris.

I won't ignore such a recommendation to such a film and also I like old films, so I'll definitely watch it. Thanks!

If you think that in Starship Troopers the Arachnids are the villains, then you really hadn't pay attention to that movie, the whole purpose of that movie is being a giant political commentary, an anti-war movie, a fascist parody, how a regimen want to keep the status quo and prolong their existence by beginning a war against an enemy that they underestimate, creating a endless war that never ends.

Not going to lie, my first thoughts when you were describing the "planet" Solarice all I thought about was H.P. Lovecraft and Ito Junji.

Nice video! Tarkovsky is my favorite director. It was interesting to see Solaris connected to Silent Hill 2.

Stanislav Lem is my all time favorite! Thanks dude! :)

Solaris saved me from a boring sunday. However it didn't save my mind from being fucked. Thank you for your excelent reccomendation Ragnarox!! Please do more like this one

Plot twist at 2:10 got me like :media.giphy.com/media/n5bn2qnHEp3bO/giphy.gif It is truly amazing how you explain things, if I watched the movie I wouldn't have figured it out. By the way would you make a video on Stanley Coleman from SH3 ? I would love to see your analysis about him.

I have thought about Silent Hill 2 resembling Solaris for years ! I had discussed it on a RU-vid video page a long time ago, glad to see it materialized here ;) Thanks

Such great in depth videos. I've probably watched each one at least three times. Perfect to listen to while I work.

So eloquent and intelligent, great hypothesis my friend. silent hill 2 is such an important archetype in gaming and storing telling. Shame games do not take these risks anymore. A game way ahead of its time but keeps amassing a cult following and recognition. Keep up the good work ragna

You have an astounding vocabulary. Phantasmagorically? I have never known another human being who's used that word, save for myself. Nice one. ;)

I like how Silent Hill didn't have any affect on Laura because of her innocence and purity.

I think there’s an interview that said the cgi director got his influence from tarkofski (at least that’s how it’s spelled in the interview but they didn’t remember the first name) so you could probably be right that it influenced them at least a little bit :)

Great Video, I think I should watch that Movie. If you like possible but never-affirmed Inpirational Sources for SH2, you may want to have a Look at the (german) Opera "Die tote Stadt" (The dead City). SPOILERS: It is about a Guy, Paul, lamenting over the recent Death of his Wife Marie, then he meets a Dancer named Marietta who looks just like his late Wife. He falls in Love with her because of the Similarity, but actually kind of hates Marietta as the Person she really is. Marietta treats the Keepsake of Marie disrespectfully and this leads Paul to choke her to Death. He realizes that everything after meeting Marietta was just an almost visionary Dream about his Inability to cope with the Loss of his Wife Marie and consequently decides to commit Suicide.

2nd Solaris as reviewed here will bend your preconceptions. Horror with no slavering beasties!

Hmm, I like the bit at the beginning. Let me try (spoilers ahead) So this is a RPG that breaks down conventions of RPGs where you can talk your way out of fights and be good, evil, or neutral In this game, you play as a blank slate character, you wake up lying down to discover you're in a strange new world but this strange world has something to do with the protagonist's past in some way, On your journey, you come across a wise cracking skull like character, a woman in white that has something to do with your past and loves you deeply, a hot blooded red head who hates you at first (but warms up to you or doesn't depending on how you play), a man on fire in a bar and a mechanical character You discover more about who you are as the journey continues. When you get near the end of the game, everyone you know and love dies but you can bring them back to live and save them. Finally you learn what your real name is and meet your other self, colored green. What game am I talking about?

Now I know why liked Silent Hill 2 so much

This is amazing! Solaris by Lem is my second favorite book of all time! Thank you soooo much for this!!!

Very interesting. I think I started to see that version of _Solaris_ a long time ago, but I think it bored me at the beginning. Definitely I'm going to watch it now.

This also reminds me of Event Horizon.

please make a video of the cat lady!! 😄

"Man doesn't want other worlds¿? he wants mirrors!... man needs man!!¡!"

Please, please, please, talk about Junji Ito.

SH 2 is "that" masterpiece in psychological horror! 10/10 😊

Point for communism/socialism. And, yeah, Silent Hill 2 is the best game ever made (I can just imagine what games would the Soviets make; it blows my mind to think about it, and based on games like Pathologic 2 (Russia), or Darkwood (Poland; formerly a Soviet satellite state), I imagine they would also make the best games. Anyway, SH2. Everything about this game is on point. And the voice-acting is perfect! People accostumed to shallow mainstream cinema might find it unsettling, and therefore not of their liking, but personal taste (and the problem of whether being trained like a dog to like some things and dislike some others counts as personal taste is still open*) doesn't equal quality. *not really, it's not their actual taste, it's simple mind manipulation

Dude this is so cool. Thank you so much for the stuff you do :)

Worth to mention, Stanislav Lem was not happy about Tarkovsky's adaptation at all. =) Nothing surprising. The original book tells us a strong sci-fi story and the film is more focused on themes of guilt and redemption. All that sci-fi stuff works only as a background here. However, for me both (the book and the film) are great, but each in its own way.

No wonder Silent Hill 2 turned out to be one of my favourite games of all time. I fucking LOVED Tarkowski's Solaris. It was a true masterpiece of filmmaking. I need to rewatch it.

I'm super late tothis video but I hope you see my comment. You completely forgot to add how big of an emphasis on water Silent Hill 2 has which I think only gives more credence to your theory. Toluca Lake, the most rising from the lake, the cults church on the lake, Pyramid Thing rising from water and so much more. It's kind of implied everything is caused by the lake too.

I wish you uploaded more than just once a month.