Armless Man

Template:Infobox SH monster The Armless Man appears in both the first Silent Hill film and the sequel Silent Hill: Revelation. It is an incarnation inspired from the Lying Figure of Silent Hill 2, rather than the Straightjacket from Silent Hill: Origins which was released after.

Appearance

The creature is a distorted, but discernibly human-looking creature, albeit heavily disfigured. Whereas the arms on the Lying Figure were somewhat apparent beneath its warped skin, however, the Armless Man lacks the appendages completely, hence its name. Like the Lying Figure, it staggers on crooked feet, though the Armless Man appears to be much more stiff. The Lying Figure, on the other hand, was extremely flexible, capable of bending over double. The Armless Man was able to spray an acidic toxin from its chest, which was strong enough to melt through Cybil Bennett's motorcycle helmet and leather jacket.

Silent Hill

The Armless Man is first seen not long after Rose Da Silva and police officer Cybil Bennett first arrive in Silent Hill. Cybil, having lost control of her police bike and crashed into the roadside, is escorting a handcuffed Rose back to Brahms when they encounter a huge drop-off in the road. Forced to turn around, they arrive near an old car-yard, where Cybil's radio and Rose's phone start emitting static noise.

The Armless Man approaches Rose and Cybil.

They then notice a shadowy figure shuffling in their direction. Calling out to it, the figure emerges onto the road and reveals itself to be a monster. Shrieking, it hurls a toxic projectile at them, melting Cybil's helmet and jacket. Cybil is forced to shoot the creature, which takes several bullets in the chest before falling back, apparently dead. As Cybil looks up towards the car-yard, she manages to make out several more of the same creature heading in their direction, forcing them to flee.

Silent Hill: Revelation

The Armless Man in All Hallows High School.

An Armless Man appears briefly when Heather sees the Otherworld version of the school. It approaches her; Heather retreats backwards in fear. The scene goes back to the real world when Heather bumps into Vincent.

Symbolism

The monster may serve to represent Alessa Gillespie's hospitalization. He is disoriented and its should-be arms are entirely adhered into its torso. This represents being "trapped in oneself"," as Alessa was during her many years of hospitalization: an unabled body and figurative shell for only a tortured mind. The Armless Man also spews vile, corrosive fluids, which could be symbolic of Alessa's developing rage and abhor for those who put her in such a tortured state, manifested by Dark Alessa. In Revelation, they likely symbolize Heather's surfacing memories of Alessa.

Trivia

• The Armless Man is played by dancer Michael Cota. Actors auditioning for the role were asked to put their hands behind their back and walk in a distorted, exaggerated way. The costume had a hose in the chest area to spray the acid and a mask and tube running from its mouth and out of the back of the costume so that Michael Cota could breathe.
• Staff working on the set gave the Armless Man the humorous nickname "Trojan Man" after the titular mascot of Trojan Condoms because the monster's appearance resembled a man whose upper body was trapped in a giant condom.
• As seen in the DVD extra about the monster, before the scenes with Rose's husband had to be put into the film, Rose and Cybil were going to try to get to Toluca Lake together before Rose went off by herself, and were going to encounter many more monsters on the road, much more like the games.
• Another scene of the Armless Man was still supposed to appear in the final movie, in which Rose and Cybil save Anna from one of the monsters. Due to budget issues, dance coordinator Roberto Campanella was sent home, and no one on the set knew how to direct dancer Michael Cota, who played the Armless Man. The scene became so bad that they were forced to stop and shoot a different scene depicting Rose and Cybil meeting Anna inside the Grand Hotel, where she is throwing rocks at Dahlia Gillespie. A clip of it is still available.[1]
• Its design and mannerisms are heavily influenced by the Lying Figure from Silent Hill 2.
• This design served as inspiration for the Smog in Silent Hill: Homecoming, particularly the mannerisms.

Gallery

The Armless Man.

The Armless Man.

The Armless Man.

The Armless Man spews acid from his chest.

Cybil shoots the Armless Man.

Cybil shoots the Armless Man.

The Armless Man squirms.

Rose kisses the Armless Man.

Roberto helps the Armless Man with choreography.

The Armless Man model.

Concept art of the Armless Man.

The Armless Man in the school.