Insane Cancer is an enormous, obese, and monstrous humanoid. These abominations, possessing hulking strength, appear in Silent Hill 3. Heather Mason first encounters one sleeping in Hazel Street Station after she picks up a shotgun in an abandoned train car on platform 2.
They also appear occasionally in Silent Hill: The Arcade and Silent Hill: Book of Memories. They explode after they are defeated in the latter, making them lethal even in death.
Insane Cancers are also seen in the comics Dying Inside, Paint It Black, and Hunger.
Appearance[]
The name "Insane Cancer" is derived from its outward appearance being reminiscent of a cancerous mass. They are almost completely covered in fatty, bulbous flesh, with pus-like excretions oozing from open sores. Their heads aren't very distinct, being small bulbs with a wound-like opening as their only feature.
Character[]
Heather shoots an Insane Cancer in Monica's Dance Studio.
As with the Closer, they often block off portions of the environment with their sheer mass. They attack by swinging their fat, claw-tipped arms and throwing themselves on top of Heather. Although they usually move slowly, shifting their weight back and forth, they will sometimes run towards Heather and knock her down with surprising speed for such a juggernaut. Normally, it's best to avoid these monsters and look for a safe way around them; however, their size may block the path and force the player to fight them.
Heather shooting an Insane Cancer in the subway's car.
If the player is looking to defeat an Insane Cancer, then knocking over the behemoth with the shotgun and repeating this process is generally the safest choice. Once the Insane Cancer is downed, switching to the maul and using the overhead swing on the monster is perhaps the quickest and least ammo-consuming way to slay it. Should the monstrosity rise from the ground, then switch to the shotgun and repeat the process. They are usually found lying down or sleeping, and this is how they regenerate their health; during this time the damage inflicted will be minimal. They will "deflate" after dying, which is the only way to ensure they are truly dead and not merely resting.
Symbolism[]
Silent Hill 3 - Monstruos Insane Cancer 4 9
Insane Cancers in action.
The Book of Lost Memories claims it represents a "cancer running wild", and its name stems from its cancerous-like appearance.
Insane Cancers may also bear similarities to Silent Hill's very corruption, like an evil cancer spreading throughout the world. They can also illustrate Alessa Gillespie's re-emergent feelings about herself, that she is a cancer that won't stay dead. These feelings are also reflected in the message left behind by the Memory of Alessa. Their mimicry of dying, when in reality they are regenerating, may be related to Alessa's hospitalization; to everyone (other than her mother, Lisa Garland, and Michael Kaufmann), she was dead, when actually she was alive in the hospital and wanted to die, but was unable to due to Dahlia's incantation and the god in her uterus protecting its mother's host body.
There is a running theme of maternity and femininity in Silent Hill 3 and its monsters due to the central conflict of the game centering on impregnation in the cult's attempts to force Heather to birth their god. The Insane Cancer might be a manifestation of the fetal god in Heather's uterus, slowly growing like a disease and coming back after seemingly dying. This is supported by the science of how cancer operates: it is the uncontrollable growth of cells, which can be seen as synonymous in the game as the development of God within Heather, which the Order believes is inevitable. The Insane Cancer could also represent elements of body horror associated with pregnancy, as some mothers fear they will become obese or overweight, bloated, disgusting, and generally unattractive during pregnancy. Their sheer hulking appearance might be similar to a heavily pregnant mother due to give birth soon.
Trivia[]
Silent Hill 3 Secret Voices
An Insane Cancer speaking Japanese.
- According to Masahiro Ito (who acted as art supervisor for Silent Hill 3), the Insane Cancer is the sole creature designed by Kazuhide Nakazawa, the game's director.[1][2]
- Jeremy Blaustein provided the voice and motion capture for the Insane Cancer.[3]
- While wearing the Princess Heart costume, if Heather fights the Insane Cancer in the Otherworld Hilltop Center (in the room with the pork liver), it will exclaim「お〜い、なあ」(o~i, naa "HEY, now") in dialectal Japanese, with a robotic voice. Heather will say「はいやんか」(hai yan' ka "yes, isn't/doesn't it?")—also in the Kansai dialect—when attacked or killed. If Heather swings the maul, she makes a comical war cry. It is currently unknown if this occurs anywhere else.
- The Insane Cancer was inspired by a figure seen in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch.
- The creature's appearance and themes are comparable to those of the nuppeppō, a monster figure in traditional Japanese folklore.
Gallery[]
Silent Hill 3[]
Other games and comics[]
References[]
| v · e · d |
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| Eric - Tina - Bill - Jessie - Ryan - George - Emilie Anderson - Frank Anderson - Michelle Anderson Hanna - Lorraine - Captain - Scott Fairbanks - Greys |
| Monsters |
| Creeper - Double Head - Greedy Worm - Gum Head - Hummer - Insane Cancer - Mama - Numb Body - Nurse - Phantom - Pyramid Head - Robbie the Rabbit - Scraper - Split Worm - Toadstool - Tremer - Tuberculosis |
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| Brookhaven Hospital - Central Square Shopping Center - Jacks Inn - Labyrinth - Lakeside Amusement Park - Silent Hill Historical Society - Spiral Staircase - Toluca Lake - Toluca Prison |
| Terms |
| Flashlight - Fog World - Little Baroness - Monster - Otherworld - Radio - Real World - Siren - Welcome Sign |
| v · e · d |
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| Characters |
| Christabella LaRoache - Lauryn LaRoache - Whately - Troy Abernathy - Julianna Abernathy - Lynn DeAngelis - Brett - Oliver Foch - Phil - Raymond Foch - Francesca |
| Monsters |
| Insane Cancer - Lauryn's Thralls - Numb Body - Pyramid Head - Samael |
| Locations |
| Midwich Elementary School - Silent Hill - Toluca Lake - Lighthouse - Brookhaven Hospital |
| Terms |
| Fog World - Monster - Otherworld - Real World - Manifestation - The Order - Book of Power - Graffiti |
| Creators |
| Scott Ciencin - Ben Templesmith - Masahiro Ito - IDW Publishing |
| v · e · d |
|---|
| Characters |
| Ike Isaacs - Cheryl - Chrissy and Missy - Joe |
| Monsters |
| Pyramid Head - Air Screamer - Insane Cancer - Nurse - Pendulum |
| Locations |
| Silent Hill |
| Terms |
| Fog World - Monster - Otherworld - Real World - Siren |
| Creators |
| Scott Ciencin - Shaun Thomas - IDW Publishing |
| v · e · d |
|---|
| Characters |
| Whately - Rosy - Aickmann - Douglas Brenneman - Mario - Bryce Canavan - Perkins - Mary Shepherd-Sunderland - James Sunderland |
| Monsters |
| Insane Cancer - Nurse - Samael - Scraper |
| Locations |
| Brookhaven Hospital - Silent Hill - Silent Hill Gazette - Toluca Lake |
| Terms |
| Brand of Samael - Fog World - Monster - Otherworld - Real World - Manifestation - The Book of Samael |
| Creators |
| Scott Ciencin - IDW Publishing - Konami |