Sexual Assault, Trauma, and the Horror Genre: Angela Orosco
Jocilynn Colombo | January 27th, 2025
Instances of sexual assault are common in the horror genre, in fact, it is one of the most frequently used horror ‘tropes’. Often utilized for shock value and, at worst, as a way to sexualize victims, sexual assault is not taken seriously by many writers, sending a harmful message about a very real issue. However, when written realistically and with care, sexual assault and trauma can play an impactful role in the genre. An example of this is Silent Hill 2’s Angela Orosco, a young woman dealing with a severe case of PTSD after being sexually, physically, and mentally abused by her father and brother. The original game, released in 2001, portrayed Angela with remarkable sensitivity towards real victims of trauma, and the 2024 remake has refined and perfected this portrayal.
In the remake of Silent Hill 2, Bloober Team gave players quite a different Angela than the original. Due to the emphasis that the franchise places on subtlety and symbolism, even small changes can lead to major impacts on the story and messaging of the game. Between her physical design, vocal delivery, added scenes, and the elements added to the boss fight with her father, her character and the messaging behind her story has been fundamentally altered and strengthened.
Silent Hill 2, 2001
Silent Hill 2, 2024
DESIGN AND VOCAL PERFORMANCE
After Bloober Team released pictures of Angela's redesign in May of 2024, many fans panicked over the physical differences between her new and original design. A major defining feature of Angela’s original design was her mature appearance: despite only being nineteen years old, she seemed older due to her sharp facial features, deeper voice, and ‘plain’, modest clothing. Bloober team kept Angela’s original outfit, but took creative liberties with her facial structure, making her now closely resemble her actual age by giving her fuller cheeks and an overall more youthful appearance. Additionally, her English voice actor, Gianna Kiehl, delivered quite a different performance than the original voice actor, Donna Burke. Kiehl’s performance more accurately reflects the fact that Angela is only nineteen; she sounds like a scared, disoriented teenager.
The dialogue is almost identical in both games with the remake only having a few subtle changes. Despite this, Angela feels like a much different character. Beginning with her introduction where the protagonist, James, meets her in the graveyard, original Angela comes off as so completely dissociated and outside of herself that she hardly feels like a person who is fully sentient. Burke’s delivery comes off as uncanny and unreal. The remake offers a different introduction, one where Angela feels more grounded and real. It feels less like bumping into a mysterious, erratic woman and more like meeting an anxious, confused teenager. Her voice is more stable and consistent and the way she moves feels as if she is more deeply engaging in a real conversation. However, her body language still conveys a level of disorientation received in the original game; she is fidgety and keeps holding her hands together in front of her, potentially in an attempt to self soothe and/or close herself off from James. Additionally, she tells James she is looking for her “mama”, then corrects herself, saying “mother”, showing that Angela potentially has childlike urges: a trait commonly related to childhood trauma (Tanasurgarn).
Angela’s next cutscene occurs in a hotel room. James finds her laying in front of a mirror and fiddling with a knife. Similar to the graveyard scene, original Angela’s voice continues to reflect a woman who is almost outside of herself; someone extremely unnatural and unsettling. In the remake, her voice remains more stable, yet it often sounds like she's on the verge of crying, and she sounds overall more fearful. She still comes off as if she is detached and dissociating at times, but not to the extent of the original, where Angela felt almost otherworldly. Her psychological withdrawal and general disengagement with the world around her is much more communicated through Angela’s expressions and her eyes rather than her voice in the remake.
They also added in a completely new scene: James finds Angela in a park and she confesses to him that her mother, who she came to town to for, does not want to see her. Towards the end of the interaction, James asks Angela if she has seen a little girl running around the town (in this portion of the game, James is seeking out Laura, an eight year old girl). Upon being asked about this, Angela immediately zones out and then begins breaking down. Her begins to tremble as she backs away and begins to cry. Noticing the complete change in her demeanor, James reaches out to comfort her, and she screams at him to not touch her as she runs away. Angela’s strong reaction to James' pursuit of Laura could be representative of her thinking of her younger self, the danger adults put her in, and the trauma she went through. Or, it is potentially because she is immediately profiling James as a predator when she learns he is seeking out a little girl, despite his intentions not reflecting this. A grown man seeking for a little girl directly mirrors Angela’s experience with her father, and due to her severe trauma, she is unable to discern between a grown man seeking out a little girl to help her rather than to harm her.
BOSS FIGHT - ABSTRACT DADDY
The additions made to Angela’s character can be analyzed not just through scenes with her, but perhaps most significantly through the boss fight with her father.
Angela’s father, named ‘Abstract Daddy’, is the most symbolically loaded creature in the game. The appearance looks as if two humanoid figures have been pressed together on a bed in an intimate, suffocating manner. It is completely encapsulated in flesh. A bed is likely where a decent amount of Angela’s assault occurred, and the creature very clearly represents this repeated experience she faced during her childhood.
The remake maintained this same design, keeping all of the core elements: it still depicts two figures in a sexual position over a bed frame. And, due to the enhancements of modern graphics and technology, he is even more grotesque and unsettling. Since the appearance is the same in both games, the key differences in the way the remake handles this boss fight is, instead, represented through the setting of the fight.
Silent Hill 2, 2001
Silent Hill 2, 2024
In the original, the entire fight takes place in one room; one that is extremely small and claustrophobic, contributing to a feeling of entrapment. Lining the entire room is a flesh-like material that resembles a womb. The walls feature a bunch of circular holes with mechanical rods moving in and out of them. The fleshy, womb-like room resembles the nature of Angela’s childhood, turning a space that is supposed to be safe into one that is oppressive and extremely dangerous. Further, this contributes to the characterization of Angela’s mother, as the player learns that she was never protected by either parent; a mother is supposed to provide security, yet Angela never experienced this. The rhythmic movements of the mechanical rods are symbolic of forced penetration, representing the violation and defilement that Angela was subjected to throughout her childhood.
Unlike the original, the remake forces you to go through a maze of different rooms, altogether representing a house that has been completely torn to shreds with holes in walls, framed pictures falling down, and stained floors. This is very clearly a representation of the broken home that Angela grew up in. Due to the maze-like setting, players are forced to run away, turn and fight, then run away again until he is defeated. Despite taking place over a series of rooms, between them are long, narrow hallways, contributing to an even deeper feeling of entrapment than the original. The mapping of the fight feels as if it will continue forever and that there is no way out.
Silent Hill 2, 2001
Silent Hill 2, 2024
Several rooms contain TV’s playing audios while static displays on the screen. The audios are muffled, but they are of an angry man yelling about how he takes care of the whole family and how he knows best. This is symbolic of his manipulation resulting in Angela likely feeling guilty for fighting back and guilty for hating her family. The relationship between a child and an abusive parent is an extremely complex, difficult one to navigate, and guilt is a feeling that Angela experiences as a result of this. Her guilt is also potentially intensified by the fact that we later find out, through notes, that Angela killed her father and brother. Despite the fact that she acted in self defense, the guilt eats at Angela, which is why she was sent to the town in the first place.
As James continues to run through the destroyed home, the setting slowly reverts closely to the one from the original; flesh-like and mechanical. This fight not only represents the feeling of danger and entrapment within her childhood home, a space that is supposed to represent a safe haven, but also calls back to the womb symbolism. Angela has never been safe and was never provided safety at the hands of her parents.
The most impactful feature of this boss fight is hidden within a small closet in one of the rooms. The closet contains a blanket, teddy bear, and a torn family photo. This was likely the space where Angela went to hide from her father and brother. The torn family photo symbolizes Angela’s anger towards her family, the teddy bear represent her innocence, and the blanket likely provided comfort for her. It is a painful reminder of who Angela is and what she represents. She was, and still is, just a child who had her innocence stolen from her ruthlessly; a girl who never experienced any bit of safety besides the one she built for herself in her little closet.
Silent Hill 2, 2024
THE FLAMING STAIRCASE: ANGELA’S DEATH
Angela’s final cutscene takes place on a staircase surrounded by fire that is slowly enveloping the entire area, mirroring her childhood home being completely broken and Angela feeling like she is living in hell. When James finds her here, Angela mistakes him for her mother, representing her state of complete dissociation at this point in the narrative. Once she realizes it is James, she also realizes her mother is truly never going to save her. She then begins telling James that her family was right and she deserved what she went through. James rejects this immediately, resulting in a speech from Angela: “Don’t pity me. I’m not worth it. Or maybe you think you can save me. Will you love me? Care for me? Heal all my pain?” When James does not respond to her immediately, she says, “That’s what I thought. James… Give me back the knife.”
The verbal delivery in this scene is quite different in the remake. In the original, although still heart wrenching, it almost feels as if Angela is taking on a mocking-tone, frustrated at James for trying to help her. In the remake, there are still hints of frustration, yet the most prevalent emotion she is clearly feeling is a major sense of helplessness. She feels certain at this point that nothing and no one can save her; she was doomed from the start of her life. James refuses to give her the knife, and Angela resolves to walking up the stairs into the flames, literally and metaphorically dying in her trauma. As she walks upstairs, James says “It’s hot as hell in here,” to which Angela responds, “You see it too? For me, it’s always like this.” Despite the fact that Angela killed her perpetrators and eventually escaped the assault, she could not free herself from her trauma. A large part of her stayed there; she could not leave that house.
Silent Hill 2, 2024
FINAL NOTES
Portrayals of sexual assault in the media are oftentimes blatantly horrific; notably so in the horror genre and in video games. However, when writers utilize these mediums to produce a thoughtful, in-depth portrayal of someone facing sexual trauma, it can have a highly powerful impact. Both mediums are particularly engaging forms of media, potentially affecting audiences enough to genuinely alter their perceptions of trauma and its consequences. Additionally, it gives victims a healthy outlet to project their traumas onto, as well as feel a sense of relatability in a situation that oftentimes feels isolating.
Considering the horror genre relies heavily on provoking intense emotional reactions, when sexual assault is not written responsibility, it can have a desensitizing effect to real-world traumas. When written correctly, it can provide a meaningful exploration of vulnerability and survival. It allows writers to confront the issue without reducing it to an empty trope.
Video games, being a highly interactive medium, allow players to actually participate in a story rather than just observe it. This curates an experience where the consumer is fully immersed in the emotional journey of someone who has survived trauma, allowing them to experience the weight of it in a stronger way than they may feel with more passive mediums.
Both forms of media hold a specific ability to either reinforce harmful stereotypes or foster empathy. Given the emotional power they hold, when written correctly, they can result in a more deeper understanding of victims and foster meaningful conversations about assault and trauma. Since the entire Silent Hill franchise is known for being analyzed and discussed deeply among audiences, the care that the writers have put into Angela Orosco has been irreplaceably beneficial to the narrative.
References:
Silent Hill 2. Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, Team Silent, Creature Labs, 2001. Sony PlayStation 2.
Silent Hill 2. Bloober Team, 2024. Sony PlayStation 5.
Tanasugarn, Annie, PhD. “Why an Adult Gets ‘Stuck’ at the Age of Their Trauma.” Medium, 16 Feb. 2024, medium.com/invisible-illness/why-an-adult-gets-stuck-at-the-age-of-their-trauma-2e26f14d1f11.