Of course it's timing, and of course it's not bullshit. But we've already had that little argument about Burden of Proof, haven't we? Good comedy happens when the audience most needs it, and if you do it correctly you can develop your own rythm to continue it. Good horror happens when you least expect it, and/or when you least want it. The reason that the Redead was scarier than any other SH monster is because Silent Hill says it's a horror game. Everyone insists that it's a horror game. So you expect horrendous flesh terradactyls to burst through windows, you expect rabid dogs to follow you around, you expect mutilated corpses to hang on chain link fences, and you expect evil babies to attack your man-package in the haunted schoolyard. If you expect it, it's not fucking scary anymore, it's a blood-gorged passion-play that ceases to be scary in between jump-scares and the environment simply becomes a scource of creepy-cool art, and almost humor, if you talk to yourself or your friends when playing.
So if a redead were in an SH game, then yeah, it wouldn't be scary at all, it would be just another zombie. But it's a redead in a children's game, that makes realistic screaming noises and can be a slow, agonizing, inescapable death to any players who don't know that they're doing. Note, that this was before I was able to go on the internet and read about the plotline, so this was, unspoiled, one of THE MOST STARK TRANSITIONS IN MY LIFE. From a beautiful, happy castle village that played cheerful music to a scene reminiscent of Dante's Fucking Inferno, with fucking naked death rape zombies. And link isn't a cute little kid anymore, he's an adult. This is the point where you, as a kid, would think that they know and are prepared for anything, but he's not. He's just as shocked as you are that forces of pure fucking evil raped this beautiful, E-rated world and turned it into the fucking ruins of Stalingrad after Satan came on it a few times. That's horror, little Bara. That's something that can leave you rattled after the jumpscare is over. Not even Mangle, not even the Alien, not even Pyramid Head can top that when you're five, and not even all the messed up animatronic bits and tongues made of Vagina Dentata and gratuitous Rape Sequences in the world, without TIMING, can top it when you're older than that.
So if you would, please, put your Internet Tough Guy Hat away and stop holding your breath for Link and Zelda to get together. Nintendo's done everything to make sure that Mario and Peach stay the It couple of nintendo, and have even gone so far as to imply that Midna is in love with Link, or imply that the two are related. (They aren't related. I refuse to accept the comics as canon.)