Sepulcher
From Silent Hill Wiki
The Sepulcher is the first boss monster of Silent Hill: Homecoming and the monstrous form of Joey Bartlett. He appears as a gigantic cross between a corpse and a tree. He hangs from his bloated, mutilated underside which looks like the mutilated trunk of a tree, with bits of bodies hanging out of it. He supports himself with his long arms and fused fingers, which he also uses to attack. His face is dominated by a root-like, fleshy tumor as well. His "trunk" is connected by hooks to several bodies which are wrapped in a cocoon-like sack of flesh. When dismounted, he will crawl on his arms and drag the rest of his body behind him.
He is the manifestation of the Mayor's son, who was sacrificed and then buried in the garden in order to appease their God. It appears when Mayor Bartlett throws his son's watch into the garden behind him. Joey Bartlett's watch then sinks into the ground, and the tree uproots itself, revealing it to be Sepulcher. Mayor Bartlett pleads with Joey's manifestation to have mercy on him before he slams his hand down on him, crushing him with a single blow.
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Character
Sepulcher attacks using his massive arms and shaking debris from the ceiling to damage Alex Shepherd. Alex can take cover behind the numerous bookcases, however, the monster will break them after enough hits. After all the fleshy sacks surrounding him have been destroyed, he drops from the ceiling. He can be stunned with a melee or ranged attack, which is the perfect time to attack him. However, in both forms, his arms do a large amount of damage, and when on the ground he can grab Alex to crush him.
Symbolism
The Sepulcher monster is a physical manifestation of Mayor Bartlett's guilt over his son, Joey's murder. He was sacrificed via suffocation while being buried alive. The garden Sepulcher calls home was where he was buried, and then he rises from the hole as a larger-than-life monster with a dark, oozing gag in its mouth. Its body is at first encased in the bag he was buried in, and all of the bags around him represent himself as well. When buried, Sepulcher's legs look very plantlike, which reflects Joeys adoration for plants, and forms a metaphor for the transformation he underwent. He was tied up and 'planted' in the garden, thus when he transformed, he grew from this 'seed'. Also known as the Dead Tree, thus creating Sepulcher. Once defeated by Alex, he sinks into the hole he rose from, and Alex falls into it too, after blacking out.
Video
Sepulcher Battle
Trivia
- Sepulcher is one of the two bosses in the game (the other being Scarlet) that killed their parent. Ironically, the two bosses were brought up with a 'perfect childhood' by the parents who gave them everything they wanted. This is a possible symbolism of excessive love spoiling the children.
