Sanctuary

The Sanctuary.

“

Look around you. This was our Sanctuary. A last, safe place from the Darkness. But now even here has fallen to her evil. —Claudia to Heather, regarding the Sanctuary.

”

The Sanctuary is a lair of the Order, who see this location as a safe haven against the Otherworld. It is featured in Silent Hill: Revelation, and appears to have great purpose to the cult which occupies it. It is located beneath Lakeside Amusement Park.

Design

The Sanctuary is a small, circular area lit by torches and crudely walled, with many tunnels leading to possible escape routes or other areas of the Sanctuary. In the center is a Halo of the Sun, which under close observation glows in a slowing pulsing pattern. A statue of God's servant and highest angel, Valtiel, can be found near its front.

Purpose

Although only truly featured in the film's end, the purpose of the Sanctuary can be understood quite well. The Sanctuary plays a role similar to a church seen in the first film, clearly being a very cherished housing to the cult. In a flashback of Vincent Cooper being inflicted with a large laceration of the Halo of the Sun, it is noticeable that he, his mother, and the Brethren are all in the Sanctuary, hinting to the audience that ceremonies they considered sacred would take place here.

It is also plausible that the Brethren, the most devout soldiers of the Order, possibly live here permanently, something that can be assumed with Lakeside Amusement Park's proximity to the Sanctuary and, in both Heather Mason's nightmare and reality, they heavily populate the location. In the Sanctuary, Christopher Da Silva is imprisoned, tied to the statue of Valtiel. Although Christopher served as bait in the film and wasn't exactly begrudged against, the statue's location in the church and Valtiel being the highest angel of the cult could allude towards the Sanctuary also being an immediate execution location for blasphemers, or a temporary prison to serve as a source of oppression for a non-believer. This is plausible when considering Valtiel's royalty among the Order; confining one within this "grasp" could be symbolic of the Order praying for him to lead the mind of the prisoner to believing.

Silent Hill: Revelation

The Sanctuary is first seen in a flashback of Vincent receiving a scar of the Halo of the Sun. Following Christopher's capture, Vincent and Claudia are also seen speaking here, and Claudia demands her son to be taken to Brookhaven Asylum, as she believes he has been duped by Heather's "goodness". The Sanctuary becomes most important at the end of the movie, where Heather discovers her father and is told by Claudia she will birth God. It is also here that Claudia morphs into the Missionary and fights her final battle with Pyramid Head. Fire is set to the Sanctuary, so it can be assumed it was severely damaged or even destroyed.

Trivia

• The Sanctuary is based off of the chapel seen in Silent Hill 3.
• It is never explained how the Sanctuary protects against the Otherworld.

Gallery

For a complete list of images of the Sanctuary, please visit the Sanctuary images category.

Entrance to the Sanctuary.

Claudia in the Sanctuary.

Red Pyramid in the Sanctuary.