The Monsters-what do they represent? Spoilers

[katran]

If this has been discussed already, please send me that way. I just haven't seen anything in the thread titles that resembles this.

The monsters in previous games usually represent something, either from Alessa's psyche or the psyches of the various characters. So what do the monsters in Homecoming represent? So far, except for maybe the nurses, I'm not making any connections myself.

Granted, I haven't finished the game yet so maybe I'm asking too early. But it's bugging me.

[Profoundly Mad]

Finish the game first. I've got a few ideas of my own but it would just spoil a lot of the game for you.

[St. Aatos]

The whole thing may be open to interpretation, but this is my stance:

The monsters of this game are not solely of Alex's subconscious mind, but also the subconscious mind of the other characters. Remember, all of the characters are pulled into the misty version of the Otherworld at some point or another; and some are pulled into the nightmare world.

Nurses - Alex's monster; anyone who's read the blog that DH posted before the release of the game will know that Alex talks about liking the nurses, and how hot they are. It may be important to note that the nurses only appear when Alex is alone. (They never appear around Elle, Lillian, Adam, Curtis, or Wheeler.)

Lurkers - Lillian's monster; before Alex arrived home she was in the basement. (Before Alex heads there after talking to her, he notices a trail of water leading from the basement to the chair.) This monster could represent Lillian's guilt over not being more careful with Joshua.

Ferals - Not entirely sure on this one; but they may be a throw back to the dogs in SH1. Perhaps they represent Alex's subconscious fear of dogs.

Needlers - Joshua's monster? This monster first appears in the hotel where we see Josh; and it does have a spider-esque appearance to it. (Joshua loved spiders.)

Schisms - Adam's monster? Or it could be Wheeler's monster. After all he is the first one to see this particular creature. Generally the Schism represents a split of/from something. It may be worth noting that the head of the Schism is sliced in half, and it uses this head to make attempts to cut Alex in half.

Siams - Elle's monster. Remember, "something's after me!" that something is the Siam as you will soon find out. She is the first to see it. I have a long(er) theory about it, but tl;dr. The Siam represents Elle's subconscious feelings for Alex.

Order Members - Are members of the Order. They don't represent anything.

Smog - This one could be Adam's monster, although I am unsure of what it represents in regards to Adam.

[Lolli]

I found Homecoming really hard to associate the monsters with the characters but here's my two cents anyway (Oh and I agree with Profoundly Mad, finish the game first otherwise we may ruin it for you):

Nurses: Alex was in the asylum, I'd say it's enough to heighten his fear of nurses. They probably injected him with all kinds of drugs.

Lurkers: Probably relate in some way to the children used for sacrifice. They have no legs so they can't walk (such as babies). May also be related to Josh/Alex as it's like a mermaid and first appears in the flooded basement. Alex was supposed to be drowned, Josh did drown.

Ferals: The Shepard's had a dog, I don't know if Alex had a fear of dogs but Aatos seems to know more than me about this. Anyway it might have something to do with the picture of the dog's corpse found and the fact that Adam butchered one.

Needlers: They have childlike faces so also relate to the children, don't have anything else to add as I find I agree with Aatos.

Schisms: I can't think of anything the Schisms are symbolic of. They resemble both a male and female as it looks like they have breasts but they also have a codpiece type thing over their genitals. May represent Judge Holloway and Mayor Bartlett as they have authority over the town but failed to uphold to that being members of the cult. The head kind of resembles a hammer maybe in relation to a Judges hammer hence the misuse of authority.

Siams: Represent Alex's parents maybe? Man and woman bound together might be metaphor for how Adam/Lillian (or any of the parents) are bound to the cult.

Smog: Probably just in it for the allusion to the films mining town setting. The smoke it spews out could mean the town is poisoned/curse because Alex wasn't the sacrifice as intended.

[Father Vincent]

As I've stated before, many of the monsters seem to carry the theme of knives, blades, and generally sharp pointy things. This could be associated with the knife used to perform the ritual sacrafices of the children.
It also makes it fairly ironic that you're likely to finish off the final boss with a blunt force weapon.

[angelsthanatos]

I got the impression that only the boss monsters were particularly symbolic, or at least they held the most personal significance for any of the characters. I haven't really thought about it a lot but St Aatos' explanation does make a lot of sense.

[katran]

Well, from what I've played so far (the first two bosses), I can definitely see the symbolism you're referring to there. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that they're not symbolic so much as actual manifestations of certain individuals (I'm trying not to give spoilers). But, I could be wrong about the "actual" part and they could be totally symbolic.

I'm still not sure about all of the others. The dogs seem to correspond to one of the photographs. I think I could take a guess about the Schisms (which, again, might be too much of a spoiler here). Not sure about the Needlers, but the whole "pointy object" thing that Father Vincent mentioned makes sense there. The smogs might have something to do with the smokey conditions of a war zone (as Alex was a soldier), but then again they might just be there for nostalgia's sake, due to their resemblance to the patient demons. I'm still lost on what the Siams are supposed to represent.

I don't know. What do you guys think of my theories so far?

[Lolli]

^There as good as any ^_^ Actually I was impressed with your theory on the smog monsters that never occured to me before now.

[katran]

Thanks! It was really just the only thing I could think of with them.

[Father Vincent]

Final Boss theory

SPOILER: Click to show

it reminds me very much of the photo you find in the playground (I think it's in the sandbox) of the spider that seems gigantic as it takes up much of the picture and towers menacingly over a toy construction vehicle.

[katran]

I admit that I snuck a peak at a walkthrough and read a bit about the final boss, and I agree with you.