Board 8 > Snake Ranks Anything Horror Related - LIVE! (sort of)

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DoctorBIind posted...

M83 - Car Chase Terror

https://youtu.be/ALBJsKpt7Kg

(2/7.5/9 = 18.5)

Damn this is cool. It definitely captures the feeling of a scrap of a film scene, an in media res gag, and its very effective. It's a track filled with mystery, suspense and dread, and it paints the perfect picture of what the title implies - a terrifying car chase, a mother and daughter in vehicle driving away from an unknown threat, replete with appropriate sound effects, pulse-pounding dual dialogue performed solely by Kate Moran, and the rising action portrayed by increasing the layers and layers of synths, guitars, and percussion, melding post-rock and electronic with class 70s horror-thrillers. You can literally feel the power of the engine, wind rushing by, and tension level rising as the car tries outrunning the pursuing vehicle and potentially barrels off the road.

However, depending on how you interpret the track and its place within the wider concept of the full album, the intended effect is very different. If, on first hearing, you assumed that it was the sound of a simple car chase; you'd be correct. However, with repeated listens, it quickly transforms into different meanings - you notice the voices are suspiciously similar, echoing against each other; as if it's only one woman, talking to her self. You get a distinct impression that the woman is fueled more so by paranoia than self-survival, phasing in and out of fearsome lucidity and comfortable illusion. Perhaps it's a post-death hallucination, perhaps it's all too real.

The ambiguity of the song is what gives it its power. Its a startling sonic experience of horror and intensity that I think will leave a lasting impression on the listener. Whatever your interpretation, the track is another example of how conceptual and multi-layered M83's works are; far from being an alienating thematic void, this song is entertaining, thrilling, and terrifying, much like the many horror movies it takes inspiration from.

Pirateking2000 posted...

Plague of Madness (Primal episode)

(4/8/10 = 22)

https://www.adultswim.com/videos/primal/plague-of-madness

Genndy Tarkavosky's adult animated series, spanning across multiple genres, arguably reached its apex with "Plague of Madness", a segment that focuses on series leads Spear and Fang running for their lives from an infected zombie-like Argentinosaurus, hunting them down through the cliffsides of prehistory. The segment can be understood clearly as an allegory; released April 1, 2020, right in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost as a cruel April Fool's joke, to depict the struggle of illness within individuals, personal responsibility in social distancing, and the end of large swaths of life in the blink of an eye. This sort of horror in not so typically found in an animated piece like this, however "Plague of Madness" thrives in the tradition of horror as social allegory, and is certainly one of the greatest pieces of animated television ever produced.

The episode starts off innocently enough, a tranquil scene of Argentinosauruses thriving in nature, enjoying each other's company, eating well of fruit & brush, before an eerily decayed Parasaurolophus emerges from the deeper forest, writhing and spitting out slime and flesh bubbling like a boiling pot. I love the score throughout this scene; it's peaceful but at the same time you can sense something anxious about it, like the line between sanity and insanity is about to be crossed, a paranoid shudder filling the cracks of the music. Still, one Argentinosaurus remains uncaring of this sight, perhaps unaware of the creature's insane sickness, or more likely, apathetic towards an animal much smaller than himself. Then, just Argentinosaurus goes back to his meal, the infected creature bites the huge dinosaur on the leg, who kicks the smaller dino away. The animation on the Parasaurolophus becomes more and more gruesome to look at with every passing frame; it coughs up blood and dies in a fit of thrashing pain and thankful oblivion.

However, this bite was no harmless bite. The Argentinosaurus transforms into the same sickly color of the Parasaurolophus, with startling speed; the smart transition is so jarring and reflects the uncertainty of time - whether the transformation was mere seconds or days, to the victim, it mattes not. With bones now protruding from the back of the neck and a futile attempt at relief by gulping down large gallons of water, the poor, flesh-rendered dinosaur vomits its contents of blood straight into the glistening pool. Its herd looks on in sheer, movement-freezing horror; the infected Argentinosaurus rampages, slaughtering its former friends and family one by one. It's a bloodbath typically reserved for John Wick films or the senseless body counts of B-shlock like Demons or Dead Alive. Here - it's different. There's a sense of desperation, of sheer hopelessness, each death more disgustingly brutal than the next, as the infected animal completes its transformation into something more akin to an eldritch ghoul, tearing its prey to shreds in a downward spiral of unstoppable violence, brutally and mercilessly attacking until only IT remained with even eggs of the next generation not being spared. Spear and Fang emerge on the scene - their gaze, wide-eyed. Two characters, haunted by the violence and tragedy of their past, now face down an enraged creature of unimaginable power. The two bear witness to the eternal struggle of survival and nature against a force none can understand; bearing down on them, a hellish predator, a beast no longer with soul, the only thing the Argentinosaurus can do is wipe out everything around it.

I'd rather not spoil how the rest of the episode ends. The episode is in essence a commentary on the destruction of civilization, how one's own apathy and uncaringness can be just as dangerous as an infected animal. The animation is fantastic, with plenty of gore and blood, and the mid-part is a thrill ride, a visceral sequence that gets increasingly more hectic with each passing moment. The episode offers no explanation, no answer, and it doesn't need one. It really poses the question to the audience - do you wish to live in a world where people act like this towards each other? Do you want to be like the Argentinosaurus, when something so seemingly benign can be driven to murderous insanity, driven to kill to escape the misery inside its own body? Thats the kind of mood and setting that makes this an engrossing horror experience I think everyone should watch.

The Bikini Bottom Horror (Comic/Educational)
http://stillinthesimulation.com/untitled-comic/the-bikini-bottom-horror-chapter-1-rise-of-the-star/

Great_Paul posted...

The Zodiac Killer

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/2/3/AAR-tQAADwmz.jpg
(10/10/1 = 21)

The Zodiac Killer is a mystery that has haunted the Bay Area and beyond now for more than 50 years now, beginning in 1968, when David Faraday & Betty Lou Jensen were shot and killed in the city of Benicia. No one was ever officially caught for the murders, but a series of cryptic clues were left behind and over the years these have been investigated every which way, to no real avail, besides one cipher finally being solved in 2020.

Do I know all the ins and outs of the whole case? No, I do not. What I do know though is that this mysterious series of murders remains of great fascination to the world at large, as what always seems to be the case with these cases. Eventually, the Zodiac Killer has become so far-removed from their original origins that they might as well not even exist at all. They become these strange integral figures of pop culture, whether through TV shows like American Horror Story, films that straight adapt the events like David Fincher's excellent Zodiac or are just inspired by it like Exorcist III, or other varied sources of media from songs to video games. The legend and mythology only grows, while we remain no closer to uncovering their true identity. And maybe deep down we don't want to know... content in a wallowing of semi-indifference so people can continue to be drawn in by it all.

I admit I approach these kind of mysterious and twisted people with a certain degree of morbid curiosity myself. They are cast as real-life supervillains, with their own inscrutable mystique, their own motivations that only seem to make sense in the most circumstantial way. They might have mysterious codes, cryptic clues or bizarre quotes left behind for us to obsess over, like the ones we have with the Zodiac Killer. I can see why someone would want to look deeper, to understand their character, to try and root out their reason for the crimes. But then again, it's always difficult to find the line between character and their actual real-life psyche, with them ultimately being nothing but the scariest people of us all. Someone who can kill and disappear with nothing but silence to show for it, and I find that endlessly terrifying.

I too find Ted Cruz horrifying.

The Wolf Man (1941)

GavsEvans123 posted...

Netflix Resident Evil

(3/4/1 = 8)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdjcDTc9Vk

So I've only seen the first episode of this and it was enough to turn me off for good. I was never expecting much from yet ANOTHER adaptation that fails to get at what makes the games so special - slow-paced exploration in mundane areas turned twisted, conspiratorial mystery, and the thrill of survival. Netflix's adaptation is just another full on dumb action monster series, with the addition of corny drama that isn't interesting in the slightest. I genuinely felt like I was watching the episode for 3 hours. It was that boring. Lance Reddick turned in a good performance as Wesker, but that's where my compliments end.

I don't believe Resident Evil is incapable of being adapted. The source material has a good story; sure, it's also a fairly simple story, so I get the need to fill in the gaps with action. You can't just make a show where characters walk around hallways and run past every monster they see. That would be just as bad as the adaptation we have here. Yet, I don't get the obsession of not just taking the framework of the games, with the same characters, and confidently building a well-crafted narrative around that. The creators just constantly make these vast, sweeping changes to the point where it becomes unrecognizable as a Resident Evil property. It's too bad. There's a lot of potential in Resident Evil as a series, and this isn't it.

If I can indulge a moment, I've always envisioned a Resident Evil series taking place in between Resident Evils 1 and 2, right on the cusp on the Raccoon City Incident, with the Mansion Incident becoming a burning summer memory. The STARS members have all gone into hiding, knowing full well the dangers of Umbrella's experiments but being ridiculed and mocked by the general public and their own police station (through the machinations of the corrupt Chief Irons). Claire Redfield, a college student, gets a mysterious phone call from her brother Chris, prompting her to come to Raccoon City to get to the bottom of what's really going on there. There, she teams up with rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy, and the two uncover a web of madness and terror unlike anything they have ever seen. I'd have bits and pieces of the Mansion Incident portrayed through flashbacks, while the city slowly rots from the inside out, as zombies and BOWs become more prevalent and harder to ignore. I think the series could even take a monster-of-the-week format, inspired by the Outbreak games, focusing on normal survivors in the city going through their own personal ordeals & hells.

I would hope for a simpler, horror-focused experience, like the classic PS1 games; with Twin Peaksian vibes and occasional X-Files-esque monster sequences. I'd build steadily to huge climaxes, much like the games - emphasizing avoidance at first, but by the finale, you're pretty much mowing enemies down left and right.

I don't claim to have all the answers. I know I have my own personal biases and preconceptions that have colored my judgment of this series. However, at least I'm trying to respect the source material and not making a stupid, generic action show. The goal of Netflix's RE is clearly not to adapt a classic video game franchise, but to slap name recognition on a completely unrelated story. It's bad, it's dumb, and it's a disappointment. I'm still waiting for a great Resident Evil adaptation to finally surprise me, but if they're just going to be like this show again, no thank you.

ZaziGuado posted...

marble hornets

(8/6/7 = 21)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCACDEE1E71FC8E5E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn59FJ4HrmU

Marble Hornets... whether you look back on it fondly as a well-crafted fan project on the most famous Creepypasta monster of all time, or a cringe time capsule on the internet's worst aspects of fandom and web culture, well there's just no denying the massive impact this series had on 2010s horror. The whole of the Marble Hornets series, from its incredible set-up to its adventures into the darkest corners of the mind, made an incredible impact and now seen as a horror classic, the series continues to be a pillar and key reference point to any & all Creepypasta, analog, & lore-focused web horror series. The story began in 2009 as a series of short YouTube uploads; Slender Man was brand new at the time, and looking back, series creators Joseph DeLage
& Troy Wagner were extremely prescient and smart to capitalize on the now absurd and wide-spread popularity of the character before anyone else. The series portrayed itself much like a typical found-footage movie - emphasizing a sense of realism and built-in audience interaction, fostering community and becoming a must watch web series much in the same way a huge TV show would become must-watch television.

So what does make the series stand-out so much anyway? From the start, the creators clearly had a keen taste for the psychological, the almost taboo, and the weird, creating a series that was nothing short of pure, unadulterated, high-quality Creepypasta - taking the subtlety and instinctive creepiness of the original photos and legend and turning it into emotional & personal shock. From creepy little narrative descriptions to sparse but effective appearances of the Slender Man (known as the "Operator" in the series), the series pushes a narrative of mental exhaustion, paranoia, and a harrowing journey into the depths of unknown horror as what starts as innocent film shoot devolves into a doomed set of videos filmed in a desperate attempt to capture the truth before a seemingly unstoppable tragedy. The result is a genuinely unique, absolutely unforgettable cult classic. The short, bingeable nature of the videos ensures you're always clicking on to the next entry right away, ensuring a constant ebb & flow of tension while at the same time the format making you feel like you're entering this rabbit hole of horror you've just happened to stumble upon. It's mesmerizing to see the whole finished product, and a truly remarkable feat of horror filmmaking that manages to immerse you in a dark journey that grips you, twisting & turning you until you feel like you might fall right down into the black hole of what's really going on.

OR... you could see the series as a meandering bore in which the creators are basically dropping self-indulgent clues and teases along the way that becomes repetitive, and not worth watching in its entirety. I could see just as many viewers being turned off by the series' diminishing returns and exhausting antics as the viewers who were intrigued & challenged by the elements of creepy, immersive suspense that creeps & crawls throughout your skin.

Well... the fact that the series was so popular and successful I think shows the latter is more true. How many analog horror series nowadays follow the same format, slowly drip-feeding huge story turns and satisfying plot reveals and the big twists in between long scenes of stuffy, dated video footage? Hell, how many modern day, mainstream found-footage horror movies do the vlogger type filming scenes or present themselves as anthological pieces of a larger story? In this sense, Marble Hornets successfully reinvented the found-footage horror film and brought horror firmly into the 21st century, in the process becoming one of the most enduring, successful, and most imitated series on the web today.

Right call dropping Netflix Resi after the first episode, it doesn't get any better. It's also guilty of taking for granted that it would be renewed, thus leaving crucial plot details unexplained and ending on a downer cliffhanger that will now be permanently unresolved after the show was cancelled. For a few examples: What happened to make Jade and Billie fall out so badly? How did Billie take over Umbrella? Why does the Tyrant in the final episode literally do absolutely nothing?

The Wikipedia page says at the end of the reception paragraph "Audience reception was overwhelmingly negative." The abruptness of that sentence gave me a chuckle when I read it.

Yeah I looked up a lot of the spoilers for the rest of the series and I know I didn't miss out on anything. I pride myself on being an RE completionist but I just had the draw the line on this show. These adaptations are just tiring now. It was also pretty laughable how they tried to play this show off as "canon".

Snake5555555555 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/0/AAR-tQAADvIE.jpg
(2/5/5 = 12)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qiQ0QIvkBH5Gis6xbWMHBo3kPPB3MHJto_H_ksLWzY8/edit?usp=sharing

Horror is no stranger to the concept of mirrors. Bloody Mary, Candyman, Evil Dead II, Oculus, Black Mirror, American Werewolf, the countless mirror scares across the board I mean pick a horror property and it probably has some type of scare to do with a mirror. In a way, all horror functions as a mirror to society, and mirrors function as an easy way to get some thematic points across easily to your audience.

Mirrors, a VERY loose remake of the South Korean film Into the Mirror, had so much promise. Of course, American horror remakes proved to be all the rage in the 2000s, spurned on by notable successes such as The Grudge or The Ring. Though like many of its ilk, Mirrors fails to truly capture the macabre, reflective qualities of the original.

Its a film about a suspended detective that gets a new job as the night watchman in a burnt out luxury department store, who then discovers weird happenings with the mirrors that dot all over the building. That's cool. That's interesting, and at first, it's easy to get sucked into the film's alluring atmosphere. I really like the look of the store and some creative shots let us bask in the structure's strange architecture and off-putting mannequins.

Kiefer Sutherland plays the lead, and he mostly does a good job, but I feel like he overacts his "paranoia" scenes in a way that is too exaggerated. The rest of the cast isn't even close to being engaging, especially Paula Patton as Kiefer's wife, who feels especially checked out and rather uninterested in anything that's happening. Unfortunately, this leaves nothing to really be entertained by between the film's sparse but unnerving deaths (the death of Kiefer's sister is the best part of the movie easily), as the plot chugs along at a glacial pace, and the technical details get repetitive and too dull for its own good. At a certain point, we get the intent - mirrors bad. It's boring to just keep demonstrating that if you're not going to have any substance to it. The police procedural elements here are especially clich and Kiefer's stereotypical "disgraced cop" routine with the estranged family just adds to the general sameness of the film.

Mirrors picks up a bit again in a decently exciting climax with an eye-popping demonic possession set-piece, but we're never really treated to any answers to how the supernatural works and not in the "leave you wanting more" way, just the "please give me something to latch on to here" way. The film also never truly commits to the thematic promise of having mirrors as a central conceit to the film. What should have been a smart exploration of our main character's inner insecurities is diluted by sticking too close to an established formula on how this type of film is supposed to turn out.

In short, it's a mundane piece of horror in a director's filmography with highs (High Tension, Crawl) & lows (Mirrors, Piranha 3D).

Great job on this. I saw Mirrors in theaters as a teenager and was blown away by it to the point that I was afraid to look in my rearview mirror while driving home.

Then I watched it on DVD a few years later and saw it for what it is: a disjointed horror/mystery/thriller with only one character worth a damn. Like you said though, the final set piece is great, and the initial atmosphere is superb. Shame everything things out in the middle.

Excellent breakdown of the Perfect Blue soundtrack. Never have I come away from a movie so unsure of my own sense of self (and with a renewed sense of wanting to find it). Uchida's Theme will forever haunt my best nightmares.

Aliantos edits
http://www.aliantos.com/edits.html
https://www.youtube.com/c/Aliantos/videos

This creator is better recognized for his King of the Hill edits which are fantastic, but the Cosmos ones are not to be missed. The website link includes Consequences (one of my favorites), which was removed from YT on account of copyright violation.

Koudelka (would like your take on the story/characters moreso than the gameplay)

wallmasterz posted...

Disneys the legend of sleepy hollow (1949)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGDWSy9Woug

(8/4/9 = 21)

This classic Disney animated film, based on the short story by Washington Irving (and packaged together with The Wind in the Willows), tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a dandy school teacher who moves to the town of Sleepy Hollow and promptly gets himself into the middle of a love triangle between Brom Bones, the town's local ruffian, and Katrina van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy family.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the most charming, autumnal, and Halloween feeling pieces of media you can experience around October. I think what I love about Sleepy Hollow is how many different genres it encompasses (romance, comedy, horror) while still being, at its core, a heart-pounding story about superstition, fear, and greed. While I personally think the short story does a greater job of descriptively gnawing at those things, there's something to be gleaned from the simplicity of the animated adaptation too.

Ichabod Crane is the protagonist, but not a good person. He's a greedy, gold-digging womanizer with an intense fear of the supernatural. Unlike most Disney protagonists at the time, Crane isn't necessarily likable. His failings make for an interesting contrast to Brom's idealized strength and bravery - but placing us in the shoes of Crane makes Brom out to be this roguish villain. However, it's Crane, who goes after Katrina not exactly for love but for her money, that ultimately suffers a true villain's end.

The film really comes into its own during the Halloween party. There's a jovial air to the event with Brom and Ichabod boyishly competing for Katrina, with Brom eventually discovering Ichabod's superstitions. And like any good Halloween party, Brom sings the tale of the Headless Horseman, who travels the woods of Sleepy Hollow looking to replace his missing head. Ichabod is terrified; even his own vanity and love for fortune isn't enough to belay his fears, as he flees home from the party jumping at every noise that echoes through the forest.

It's actually pretty chilling how purely Ichabod's fears are illustrated in breathtaking intensity in the final minutes of the short, showing how one's mind and the stories it comes up with are almost more frightening than what actually happens. What I love most though is Ichabod's mad dash from the Headless Horseman manages to inject both fear and comedy into the proceedings, which conveys the comical absurdity of his foolish actions and beliefs while also giving Crane a Gothically cruel end, if you believe he died that night. The film doesn't really have a decision either way - just rumor, and appropriately, superstition. The fate of Ichabod ironically fueling the flames of what he was scared of in the first place - and perhaps providing righteous justification for your own superstitious beliefs yourself.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a classic tale no matter how it's told. The film's rich colors & cozy atmosphere giving way to dark terror in the final moments is just what Halloween is made of. It's a story that provides valuable lessons for all ages, introducing us to the true perils of superstition and greed while simultaneously enlivening the very thing it's speaking out against.

Shameless bump

Sorry I've been a bit pre-occupied lately!

It's all good, just not sure what purge rates are these days and didn't want it to disappear. I pretty sure I'm up in the next few entries. Hence the shameless bump lol

Yeah you are, just gotta find time to rewatch Dog Soldiers so I can provide the best write-up possible.

Snake5555555555 posted...

Yeah you are, just gotta find time to rewatch Dog Soldiers so I can provide the best write-up possible.

Yeah, no stress though mate

Cavedweller2000 posted...

Dog Soldiers (2002 film)

@Cavedweller2000

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/4/5/AAR-tQAADz-x.jpg

(5/6/9 = 20)

Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British werewolf film, written and directed by Neil Marshall (who would go on to direct the all-timer The Descent right after this). Set in the Scottish Highlands, Dog Soldiers follows a group of Army trainees, led by the charismatic Sergeant Wells (played by Sean Pertwee), though the real main character is actually Private Cooper, played by Kevin McKidd, a skilled soldier with high morals who was failed out of a special forces program for refusing to put down an innocent dog at the behest of his commander (not Wells, another man by the name of Captain Ryan, more on him later).

This is a mostly excellent movie, offering some imaginative ideas on the werewolf genre while still wearing many influences on its sleeve. A clear reference point is Predator - especially at the outset of the film - soldiers in the woods, snarking it up with mucho machoism, being stalked by an unknown force complete with infrared tint. Some may call it plagiarism, I call it paying homage, and besides, I think Dog Soldiers quickly abandons its Predator pretensions for something more Assault on Precinct 13 by way of Goldilocks mixed with 1977's cult dog horror The Pack (even a little dash of Night of the Living Dead for good measure).

The army trainees end up holed up in a farmhouse deep in the woods, besieged by the monstrous yet familiarly human manwolves. The film builds up tension steadily, only showing the beasts for brief glimpses at first, wisely reserving their full, scarily sinewy designs for more climactic efforts. However, the glimpses at the creatures are mesmerizing & unsettling. All the while, human drama plays out within the house, mostly between Cooper, the aforementioned constantly leering and puss-faced commander Captain Ryan, and a zoologist named Megan, who definitely blossoms her character out over the course of the film, revealing many hidden layers. She's played by Emma Cleasby, an actress I really wish was in more films because I love her performance here - she mixes quiet desperation, hidden strength, and steely reserve to an absolute tee.

Liam Cunningham's Captain Ryan really knows how to chew up the scenery and he's a great character as well. He was out in the woods with his team for one purpose - to capture one of the werewolves, and Wells' & Coopers' trainees were actually the bait for this plan, though obviously it all went to shit. Ryan's lack of remorse is apparent, and at times even comical - though this helps aid the film's obvious double entendre title - with soldiers being the dogs, themselves, pointed into the jaws of death by their superiors. However, Ryan was injured by the pack, which means werewolf infection is in full effect, and his transformation scene is great. It doesn't reach the grimy & intense levels of something like American Werewolf, but his writhing and growling in subdued pain & terror is certainly appropriate for the tone.

Dog Soldiers consistently ramps up the action while holding the audience in a perpetual fairy tale fantasy. The film makes constant reference to the classic Three Bears tale - eating their food, sleeping in their beds, downright wrecking the place. As it turns out, the very farmhouse they're holed up in belongs to the wolves. When Megan turns out to be a werewolf herself, the poor woman cursed to this life of hell, caught between her human side and her commitment to the pack, the film pulls its final classic folk tale twist and turns it into something quite different than what it appeared to be. One criticism I do have with this though is Megan's "time of the month" line, like, the film feels like it's piling on too many metaphors with the werewolves at that point and also she's hilariously felled with one bullet before she can complete her transformation, completely deflating any tension.

You know, writing all this out now, it's hard to believe how a filmmaker's schlocky homage to his favorite horror films can have so much to discuss. Dog Soldiers I feel is currently the last amazing werewolf film we have in the canon. Yes, there have been attempts - Trick 'r Treat (which only loses out because it isn't a pure werewolf film), Underworld (doesn't really attempt to do anything interesting with werewolves besides action), Late Phases (too little-known) - but Dog Soldiers feels like the end of a last bastion of werewolves in horror, and if you watch this you can feel the flood of intensity from a man who clearly loves him some men-turned-dogs (not in THAT way). It has fantastic action, effective horror, and an underrated moody atmosphere that sets it apart from the pack. Plus, it's even funny. Sometimes, unintentionally probably, but I don't know, it just adds to the film quite nicely. If you're a werewolf fan and somehow haven't checked this film out yet, you are truly missing out on something incredible.

Amazing summary to an amazing film.

I think it is somewhat of a hidden gem when it comes to talking about comedy/horror films.

The Descent is fantastic also. It was only when I compiled my list for last year's horror ranking that I found out they were by the same director lol

Thanks for the write-up mate. Can read your synopses all day!

Yeah the comedic elements are rather understated but definitely a vital part of the film. The whole scene with Pertwee getting patched up in the bed ("I said knock me out, you fuckin' pussy!") is pretty damn hilarious.

Terrifier 2

by special request of @plasmabeam

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/2/4/AAR-tQAAD1Mk.jpg

(5 / 8 / 9.5 = 22.5)

Gore, sadism, and pain are among the most delicate of art forms. They have a certain viscosity, and sometimes its necessary to temper their wickedness with moments of genuine pathos. Here, in Terrifier 2, we have a film that manages to achieve this, a B-movie horror special that channels its early 80s slasher movie roots, New French Extremity influence, surprisingly psychological stylings, and the modern day superhero into a surprisingly delicate, dynamic watch focused on family and surviving post-trauma.

Terrifier 2's barbaric slayings feel simultaneously old hat yet shockingly fresh. It's familiar territory to those familiar with exploitation films, or those have who have waded the trenches of films like Martyrs, Frontier(s), or The Human Centipede, but it's an execution that feels fresher than any of those films. Terrifier 2 builds character through the conflict between Sienna and Art, and doesn't just use violence to cover up cheap characters and a weaker plot. Instead, it grapples with the emotional impact of violence and how it inflicts scars and trauma that linger, even when you've technically survived. What's most impressive to me, is Damien Leone focuses on the little things here - the way the characters feel, their hobbies, their personal relationships, and the nuances that make us feel each individual character has their own voice, even the ones that get offed rather quickly. Terrifier 2 might have some of the best character work I've ever seen in a slasher film actually.

Certainly the mainstay horror staples like Halloween and A Nightmare On Elm Street tackled similar rivalries in similar capacities, but coupled with Terrifier 2's approach to constantly overbearing blood and guts, its approach to character leads it to have the same timelessness it otherwise wouldn't. The film makes the original seem banal and mundane in its character work by comparison (which is because it kind of was.) Thus, I see Terrifier 2 as that rare sequel to take what people loved and were repulsed by, amping that up, but also making sure the other areas of the film are more fine tuned as well. Sienna is one of my new favorite horror film protagonists. She has just that right mixture of girl-next-door charm, trauma survivor resilience, and deep-seated passion that make her try her best to be a great sister, great daughter, and a good human being. It's genuinely sad to see her go such pain over the course of the film, and Lauren LaVera gives the character a sense of believability that makes her instincts understandable. Sienna is so endearing as a character, and she is put through the emotional ringer and definitely does not leave the same person she was the beginning unscathed.

This film definitely had my heart racing - there's a scene in a girl's bedroom that just keeps going on and on and just when you've think she's seen the last of the torture it just carries on. It's visceral, but also quite breathtaking in its lack of restraint. I gladly welcome films that make me feel sick to my stomach, because they expand my world and my mind, make me stand at attention, make me realize how blessed I am to be at a comfortable, safe distance. Art the Clown is omnipresent here, and lights up every scene with just the best black comedy, and Damien Leone knows exactly how to weave humor with horror perfectly synergizing with Thornton's absolutely immaculate performance as Art. The scene with Art trying on the different sunglasses or giving trick 'r treaters candy out of a severed head is the kind of comedic relief that will both make you howl with laughter and crank up the disgust-o-meter.

What I have a bit more fixed feelings on is the more fantasy, superhero elements. I'm just a bit taken aback by just how weird this movie gets, and I feel very little of it is explained or justified in any meaningful way. I'm all for gelling these disparate genres together especially because I'm a sucker for horror history and seeing superheroes blend with horror in recent times is a fun trend that makes total sense, but turning Sienna into Wonder Woman randomly by suddenly giving her powers doesn't seem all that necessary for the film as a whole - sure it's a bit telegraphed but it doesn't need to be here I feel. It's completely superfluous and I feel like it might tank the rewatch value a little bit. I didn't hate it per se, but it felt disconnected, disjointed and honestly pretty corny in an otherwise wholly entertaining film.

Still, Terrifier 2 is an absolute masterpiece of extreme filmmaking. It is one of the most impressive horror sequels in history and a new favorite. Its characters, its setting, its god damn score (wait I didn't mention the score yet, fuck the score is a definite stand-out to me), its gore, its perfectly built tension, its dark comedic elements, its inventive meditation on family trauma, its all truly the best I've seen in a slasher film in quite some time. My only qualms are with the fantasy stuff but to be honest, the film is such a trip it's hardly even worth criticizing. Terrifier 1 had already made me an Art the Clown fan, but Terrifier 2 pushes him into the upper echelon of horror antagonists, and as whole the film is a feature-length blood bath that justifies its runtime as one of the most memorable slasher nightmares you'll ever sit through.

Hell yes.

To say I loved Terrifier 2 would be an egregious understatement. Normally I don't enjoy slasher films (unless you consider Alien or The Thing to be slashers), and slasher sequels have a nasty reputation for being cheap, lazy cash-ins.

Terrifier 2, however, was the real deal. When I watched it on opening night, I was gripped for the entirety of its 2-hour-16-minute runtime, which shouldn't be possible considering that the genre usually can't sustain my interest for 90 minutes. But as you mentioned, the mixing of genres worked incredibly well here. From the opening scene with Art's hallucination, I knew this thing was about to get weird, and it did so in the best possible way.

The movie does an amazing job of letting the viewer engage with their Id (Art is such a charismatic and funny monster) while also giving us a sister-brother pair that are legit worth rooting for. Sienna's dedication to her costume and her sadness over losing her father won me over. When she fought Art, it was the turning point where I finally didn't want him to have his twisted fun.

Surprisingly, I didn't have a problem with the fantasy/superhero elements. This movie (and Terrifer 1) established that Art was essentially a supervillain immune to death, and because of that, I was able to buy into the idea that someone like Sienna could survive death with the help of an enchanted sword. There's a clear supernatural element throughout the story, and it connects back to Sienna's father in a way that I imagine will be explored in Terrifier 3. While some might see Sienna as a "chosen one," I see her as someone who earns the opportunity to be chosen through persistence, mental/physical toughness, and family love.

Overall, an amazing movie. Easily the best slasher sequel I've ever seen, and probably my favorite slasher, period. David Howard Thornton is simply too good.

I was thinking that about slasher sequels too. I just think back to sequels like Elm Street 2 or Halloween 2 (which I actually enjoy but just talking about public perception here) which were largely more of the same but worse and less exciting.

I mean horror in general, not just slashers, just don't do sequels well. Honestly, it's difficult to be scared by the same thing twice. With Art though, I just feel like he has a ton of sadistic tricks left up his sleeve.

I wanted to touch on the psychological elements more. It's a bit easy to overlook Art and the little girl's relationship with everything else going on (and the fact it's played as a kind of whimsical rom-com thing) but it's actually one of the most fucked up parts of the film. And it's interesting to glimpse further into Art's mind and see just how he perceives his victims if his gory slayings weren't already enough. Did you feel there were more focus on facial disfigurement in this film compared to the more genital focused attacks of Terrifier 1? Or just me?

And I definitely think the supernatural elements will get more explanation and will probably make this film's elements of that better in retrospect! Perhaps I'm just not mentally prepared for this trilogy's lofty aspirations yet!

Snake5555555555 posted...

I mean horror in general, not just slashers, just don't do sequels well. Honestly, it's difficult to be scared by the same thing twice. With Art though, I just feel like he has a ton of sadistic tricks left up his sleeve.

Yeah, horror sequels are almost damned to fail. I believe that's why Stephen King had so much success--he stuck to writing standalone horror novels instead of trilogies/series. I read a lot of horror, but I can only think of a few horror trilogies off the top of my head (and Book 1 is usually the best by a mile).

The only way to make a sequel work seems to be by doing a genre swap (Aliens) or by somehow finding a way to make everything fresh again like in Terrifier 2. I also think Terrifier 2 benefited by shifting away from the nihilism at the heart of the first movie toward a stronger sense of meaning in the sequel. Like, it was refreshing that Art didn't kill/mutilate everyone.

I wanted to touch on the psychological elements more. It's a bit easy to overlook Art and the little girl's relationship with everything else going on (and the fact it's played as a kind of whimsical rom-com thing) but it's actually one of the most fucked up parts of the film. And it's interesting to glimpse further into Art's mind and see just how he perceives his victims if his gory slayings weren't already enough. Did you feel there were more focus on facial disfigurement in this film compared to the more genital focused attacks of Terrifier 1? Or just me?

Didn't notice this it till now. When I rewatch it, I'll pay closer attention, but I recall the guy in the prologue got his eye removed, then the black guy at the Halloween store got his face mutilated, and...the mom got shot in the face, right? Hmm. There's still genital mutilation in this one ("Just the Tip" was perfect!), so I don't know. There could be thematic purpose or it could just be the writer coming up with the freshest, most gruesome possible ideas.

One thing I want to point out: every time someone got cut, I felt it. I don't know if it was the way the movie was shot or the sound design, but I had a visceral reaction every time.

plasmabeam posted...

I also think Terrifier 2 benefited by shifting away from the nihilism at the heart of the first movie toward a stronger sense of meaning in the sequel. Like, it was refreshing that Art didn't kill/mutilate everyone.

Good point and I wholeheartedly agree! I feel past the pizza shop Art didn't really have any real, "normal" interactions with the cast. There was a ton of that here by comparison!

plasmabeam posted...

Didn't notice this it till now. When I rewatch it, I'll pay closer attention, but I recall the guy in the prologue got his eye removed, then the black guy at the Halloween store got his face mutilated, and...the mom got shot in the face, right? Hmm. There's still genital mutilation in this one ("Just the Tip" was perfect!), so I don't know. There could be thematic purpose or it could just be the writer coming up with the freshest, most gruesome possible ideas.

And Allie gets her eyeball cut in half and her face got completely torn off. GOD DAMN THAT SCENE XD Eye stuff always makes me squirm the most. But yeah could just be a coincidence.

As somebody who hated the first one, I liked Terrifier 2 infinitely more.

The lighthearted tone and addition of a narrative is nice. Despite the 2.5 hour runtime it keeps a great pace. LaVera is a great lead and total badass. Possibly the coolest horror lead since Ash.

I like the mythology of it a lot too. It presents us with this problem of the Supernatural. How do you kill what's already dead? It's a question with limitless answers, meaning sequels will have a lot of actual potential. It's great universe building.

BetrayedTangy posted...

As somebody who hated the first one, I liked Terrifier 2 infinitely more.

I was wondering how the rest of the Gauntlet crew would receive Terrifier 2!

Terrifier 2 is so trash lol

went to see Terrifier 2 tonight

everyone in this topic AND the horror topic lied to me except Corrik

I don't feel like trying to go into full explanation so here is just verbatim the message I sent to my friend after seeing it

so
there's a cult horror movie from like 6 years ago called Terrifier, typical guy dressed as a mime killing people movie, with very mixed reactions because it is EXTREMELY brutally violent and gory
I don't think you'd be a big fan
there's one scene from it that is particularly infamous that I really don't care for because it feels in bad taste and kind of different in tone than the rest of the movie
it features a woman hung naked upside down, being cut in half vertically from crotch to face. It was hard to watch
well ANYWAY so Terrifier 2 just came out like a week or two ago, has a higher RT score by like 30%, and people in the B8 horror topic were talking about how it's way better than the first, and I saw it was playing in Regal tonight so I thought wth why not I can spend 80 minutes watching a dumb horror movie
THE FUCKING MOVIE WAS TWO AND A HALF HOURS
and I should make it clear, the movie did not need to be two and a half hours
the movie didn't need to be 2 hours
holy shit was it something to sit through

Oh no give me a rundown

oh man like
ok so by itself it's a pretty simple, guy dressed as a clown terrorizes some people, goes particularly after a 20-something girl and her family
only like it started trying to add in like supernatural elements that were really half-baked and didn't make sense? like the clown (his name is Art the Clown, and he's mute like a mime) starts seeing visions of a creepy little clown girl that follows him around but other people dont see her
except the final girl and her little brother
they can see her
and final girl's dad apparently had a tumor in his brain and went crazy and killed himself a year earlier, but in his notebook there are drawings of Art the Clown and then also this elaborate like angel valkyrie halloween costume that the girl was making for herself
also her room magically catches fire at one point after she has a nightmare about the clown and a burning building
but like the clown has become a local legend after the events of the first movie so whenever he goes around in full costume people just think he's some guy dressed up as the real killer for Halloween (the movie makes a jab at real-life assholes dressing up as Dahmer for Halloween which was pretty good admittedly)
so of course Art starts killing off all the girl's friends and family in disturbing, loooong torture sequences
and he's like god-like invincible for some reason in the way Michael Myers is sometime, but like even more goofy invincible
but then she gets like mortally injured, but then this magical sword suddenly heals her and she comes back to life to kill Art and chops his head off and then the creepy clown girl comes and takes his head and her eyes glow all demony
and that's basically the movie
which is spoilers but I don't think you'll ever watch it and I can't say I'd recommend it

No I wont ever watch that hahaha oh my god

also apparently there's a midcredit scene but I didn't see it because I left the second the credits started to roll
and since I got out of the theater a solid hour later than expected I went and got taco bell for dinner and it slapped again
seriously get some taco bell asap while it's this good [editing note: the taco bell near the theater is usually garbage but the last two times I've been there it's been really shockingly good]
also it should be mentioned that the writer has literally no idea how human beings talk to the point that M Night Shyamalan dialogue sounds natural by comparison
oh also at one point the little clown girl mimics the voice of the brother over the phone to mislead the main girl and that power is never used or referenced again

They were just like, can we string together imagery to make a scary movie but not have it matter

honestly yeah
so originally the Terrifiers were short films and anthology stuff before he made a full movie of it, and the movie was just stuff from the short films stretched into a whole movie
and this like every scene just felt "ok what's something really violent or maybe silly that could happen now" and then a thin thread of plot stringing them together

Johnbobb posted...

went to see Terrifier 2 tonight

everyone in this topic AND the horror topic lied to me except Corrik

I got you, bud.

I laughed so hard when she said to her brother, where did you find that book we have been looking for that for years. Then later on he says something to his mother about the book and she is like you and that God damn book again. Lol. I was like uhhhh I thought the book had been missing.

The supernatural stuff may in retrospect work after 3/3.5 is done, but right now nothing makes sense.

At all.

bump

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Code Orange - Underneath (album)

Feel free to skip over if it's too much investment

Bet everyone thought this was done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctn14oYz0qA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCbdVL9qZUc
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWBAinm2sYBgW4di2rkCCKgMcHGl4Dhz4

Fear: 9
Importance: 5
Snake: 10

Total: 24 points

@Bane_Of_Despair

Horror and heavy metal are inextricably linked. Heavy metal of course originates in the doomy blues of Black Sabbath, creeping slowly into your ears like Count Orloks sweeping shadow, then transitioning into its '80s phase into the new wave of heavy metal music characterized by nihilistic reflections of the socio-political context of the times, just like '70s slashers which commented on post-war disillusionment. Together, horror films and metal have showcased the darkest of human instincts - running out of step but parallel with their respective evocative realm - encapsulating the pain and suffering of everyday life, but also the expressive release from it. On Underneath, Code Orange plumbs the depths of despair and insanity, in a strong musical and lyrical narrative that bursts from the speakers in a rage of glitchy breakneck riffs, industrial punk-fuzz and frenetic screamed vocals shouted from the bowels of Hell.

A meticulous work of psychological horror, Underneath is an album of sinister music which hammers you down into the darkest corners of its imaginative universe with sharp metallic teeth. At the same time, it's appetizing and sickly sweet, with a sort of satisfying comfort found in its heart-shattering rumbles and classic growls, and psychedelic melodies from the warped imaginations of a band firing on all cylinders.

"deeperthanbefore" is both a warning sign and something of a false start - cutting the chaff of the audience - testing to see if you do not belong, for there is something strange and alienating ahead, not lurking below the surface so much but rather testing your mettle and your ability to handle the horror ahead. "Swallowing the Rabbit Hole" truly kicks off the album however - catchy and energetic as industrial metal gets, with pounding rhythm and sinister programmed glitches, the start and stop of which are as breathtaking as any crunchy riff or thrill you could seek out in the world. (Ignoring the horror for a second, this is honestly just an overall amazing song). A vicious rabbit hole (as implied by the title) into a terrifying alternative world, where madness and apathy reign supreme, revealing the fragility of the self as reality succumbs to a nightmarish portrayal of the world beyond, a mirror image of our own disillusionment.

This is the exact song that best characterizes Code Orange's journey, and it only grows more deranged from here. "In Fear" doubles down on the glitchy elements, with tumbling instrumentation thrashing your senses all the way down, and a full on wall of noise, but complemented by some really interesting lyrical themes of fear and being chained to the internet age. Digital screams of lunacy pulled straight from the pitch black horror of your most harrowing nightmares signals a gargantuan haunting claustrophobia that's as scary as any film scene.

There's actually a lot of focus on technologic consciousness throughout the album, of being trapped in a virtual reality where we lose ourselves in a world that can never truly connect us, and in the desperation of loneliness it becomes a kind of a gateway to madness. On "Who I Am, we can feel the pangs of human agony through the horrific real life story of Ricardo Lopez, the sick Bjork stalker, painted through the backdrop of a battle with mental illness in which the narrator desperately scrambles to understand this monster in their midst, and just how much living our life through screens really does to us. Do we have the power to free ourselves however? A great song with a juxtaposition of horror and pure fascination. The outro is reminiscent of Linkin Park, which I really enjoy!

The question is raised again a little later in "Back Inside the Glass", a screeching clash of genres and styles that somehow sounds natural and comfortable. An intense hypnotic sense of chaos permeates the track, as the narrator tries to get himself better but is controlled by outside forces - a feeling of helplessness that is almost overwhelming, and one that is mirrored by the track's various elements. You're inside the glass. There's nothing you can do, you can't leave. The track's short length emphasizes that quick slip back into old habits, and the simple but effective refrain, "Open up and let it back inside" is one that captures that monolithic feeling of being enslaved by your vices.

There's plenty more to be discovered on this album, full of intriguing and aesthetically bold tracks, a true treat for those who enjoy emotional turmoil, genre experimentation, and honestly just amazing metal bangers that truly awaken the carnal senses. It's an album full of musical depth and the lyrical strength to match, a powerhouse from start to finish, that leaves you bloodied and definitely not the same person you were when you started. It refuses to conform, boldly delivering an intoxicating dose of reality, harshly tearing down the walls of celebrity worship, digital age indoctrination, and the general fakeness of society, with a depth and honesty that is just as, if not more, haunting than any horror film.

If Code Orange has proven anything so far, it's that theyre uncompromising, and that this is easily their best work to date.

Oh hey! You did the album a great service with the write up, thank you! I also absolutely love the album and think it's their best (I Am King in 2nd.) It really just takes atmosphere to a whole 'nother level with its production work and song arrangements/compositions, it's relentless and wild while still knowing exactly when to take the foot off the pedal to then blast it back on for maximum effect. Some other songs you didn't specifically hit on that I'd like to mention are Cold.Metal.Place which really lives up to its title, especially the last leg of it. And the title track Underneath, which is so bold yet so perfect as the closing song of the record, if I had to take one song that best encapsulates Code Orange on this album it's Underneath, just a perfect ending.

P.T.

at special request of @plasmabeam (but expanded a lot)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/7/9/AAR-tQAAD7F_.jpg

Fear: 9.5
Importance: 10
Snake: 10

(29.5 points)

P.T. was a video game developed by 7780s Studios and published by Konami for the still new PlayStation 4 platform. This unassuming free download made its way onto the console in the late throes of summer, August 12, 2014. Just four days prior, another groundbreaking horror title Five Nights at Freddy's was released. A day prior, it was announced that famed actor and comedian Robin William had passed away. Hints of Russian invasion into Ukraine bubbled and ruminated under political chatter.

Along with the rest of those events, the release of P.T. sent out shockwaves still being felt to this day. This short game had everyone talking a game by an unknown studio that presented such subtle terror which had folks wondering what sort of madmen could have made it. Its incredible presentation, looping hallways, and brain-teasing puzzles demonstrated all the components to make P.T. a real winner for its debut.

Of course, we know how this story ends. P.T. wasn't made by some random developer - it was the brainchild of Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, who, as it turned out, were working on their collaborative project Silent Hills, the next huge main series entry in the then flagging horror franchise, the plan to bring the series some dignity back after the maligned releases of the HD Collection and Book of Memories in particular. This... never happened. In a fate more surreal than P.T. itself, a fallout between Kojima and his long-time publisher Konami (which is also still being felt to this day) led to the removal of P.T. from the PlayStation store, ensuring no one could download the teaser anymore and postponing Silent Hills indefinitely.

In its removal however, P.T. became more interesting than ever. It was pulled by one of the hugest publishers in the industry and it left gamers scratching their heads as to why it was taken away. It was now akin to forbidden knowledge, a game that no longer existed, somehow reflecting the horror of Silent Hill's curse in a game that was no longer there. People would pay out the nose just to have this game on a PS4. A cottage industry of P.T.-likes sprang up, such as the vaporware Allison Road by developer Lilith Ltd or Layers of Fear by Bloober Team. P.T. took on a new life of its own with the internet age, finding its place as a pioneering horror game and slowly making it so its influence was still being felt to this day.

Few games have come anywhere near P.T.'s accomplishment in the horror genre. So, what is it that makes this game so special anyway? Why is it as revered as it is? What are the elements that made this game so special, and how are those features replicated in other titles? First, I have a confession. I have never played the original P.T. as it existed on PS4. I wouldn't have a PS4 until the tail end of 2016, long after it was taken down. Of course, as a self-proclaimed survival horror enthusiast and historian, I had watched the game be played a few dozen times online after its release and I was able to get a general impression of its effectiveness. I initially wrote it off as one of those "walking sim horror games", like Amnesia or Outlast. I love those games, but it wasn't what I wanted Silent Hill to be like. It definitely seemed like a rehashed gameplay experience, but as I continued to dig deeper, I began to realize just how unique it was.

You awake in a non-descript room, with a roach and door, slightly ajar, in front of you. A single light source illuminates the space around you, with shadows lurking around the edges of your vision. You step forward and open the door further, revealing not a monster or devil, but a familiar looking hallway like one would have in their house, its walls lined with generic paintings and its floor a hard wood, as if you'd find it in an average suburban home. Still, you're wary, as a corner presents itself further down. As you push a little further in, an alarm clock stuck at 23:59 and beer bottles catches your eye - perhaps evidence that something unpleasant has been going on here recently. Even further now, and a dresser loaded with pictures and pills draws your attention next - alcohol and pills, not a healthy combo to say the least. Next, the corner. You hold your breath tightly as you peek around however, there is nothing to be seen but more hallway. To your right, you see a door, but nothing can be done with it. A radio buzzes in to earshot, a news report about a man who killed his wife, son, daughter, and unborn child, and that it was just one in a series of incidents involving fathers/husbands murdering their families. Scary stuff though perhaps not too uncommon for the town of Silent Hill. Other minor things to note are what appears to be a front door, an upper section of the hallway, and an open door which is your only path forward.

At this point, you've basically experienced the primary location P.T. has to offer. Beyond the next door, the hallway loops again, trapping you here. When it comes to survival horror, I feel like location is at least 2/3s of what makes a game scary. Hell, that goes for any horror medium. The environment is the conduit for the terror. YOU'RE the one that has to traverse this. YOU'RE the one that has to directly interact with this. Horror is adept at making even the most simple of areas a hostile environment, twisting what you deem as "safe". Perhaps you have a similar looking hallway in your own place, lined with the same kind of paintings, the same kind of drawers packed with junk, the same door you walk in and out of day after day, the same oppressive feeling in the dark you feel sometimes at night, that something is watching you from somewhere - something you can't see, but there nonetheless. P.T. and the broader horror genre brings those thoughts to the forefront - it makes you more closely examine just what a hallway's purpose is, and pushes you to recognize just how prevalent in your life hallways of all types are. Hallways inherently represent transition, and I think P.T. was a perfect precursor to the liminal space trend we now see most everywhere in horror game design. When horror is working in this type of constricted space, the results are often terrifying.

It is in this hallway where P.T.'s obtuse puzzles present themselves. It is where the environment and gameplay perfectly meld into one cohesive whole. You're forced to scour the place with a fine tooth pointer, combing every possible nook and cranny for anything that can help in your progression. That closed door in the hallway suddenly becomes a nexus point for the entire game, as the door rattles and shakes violently as if being rammed by something. It is unnerving - the tight claustrophobia of the hallway feels more closed in than ever, and while your solving the game's dastardly puzzles, you have this presence in the back of your head like a roving ghost ready to jump out of the dark just when you think you've caught a break.

On that note, you know what else is terrific in this game? The sound design. The sounds in P.T. are so well crafted and organically integrated that it's almost like you're living inside the game. Every clunking footstep, the pitter-patter of the rainfall, the swinging chandelier, these numbing sounds become part of your routine, and you begin to almost ignore them - that is, until a new sound enters the mix, usually something unknown and jolting. Every sound that emanates from the bathroom is nauseating and thought provoking in equal measures. The sounds of the baby crying feel so raw and unsettling and is inherently ear-catching. I also particularly love the radio sounds and voice actor in this, and how the radio broadcasts lend themselves to an intimate experience the creators were trying to invoke.

Now, perhaps P.T's most famous element - Lisa. She is absolutely one of the scariest antagonistic characters I've ever seen in a horror game. Lisa's general silhouetted appearance rounding the corner is a masterful blend of design and gameplay. You get so used to rounding that corner and basically seeing nothing, but when you do, there she is, looming, unmoving, human-like but monstrous. It's the unsightly nightmare you never knew you had, and again, that sound design comes into play here, her erratic breathing that would sometimes appear to alter between laughter and despair is so chilling. And then, you have to WALK towards her. Yes, yes, yes, I absolutely love it! THIS right here is why P.T. ranks so high on the scariest games of all time list. You have so many horror elements working together, cranked all the way up, and the game doesn't back down at any turn, only forcing you further down and down until finally you're in its deepest dark. This is pure fear and it scolds cowardice, it lectures on family pain, and it doesn't want you to be comfortable, ever.

Lisa is the clear representation of the wife that was unfairly slain by her own husband, though also perhaps a mother who suffered in silence, a person dead years before it actually happened, immersed in a world of horror surrounded by booze and drugs. Lisa carries all that pain with her, and it can be seen up-close in her disfigured visage and unhinged and intense for retribution. Only a short while later, you discover the next piece of tragedy - a fetus, writhing and crying in the sink, blood splattered everywhere. It says so much with so little, and the way it traps you in the bathroom gives you nothing but time to soak in the grotesquery. You'll never forget the sight.

The game's sense of reality starts to crumble. The hallway, you realize, is a long way away from ever providing the same sense of repetitive comfort it once did. Roaches now infest the whole house, a sign of abandonment. Pictures are ripped and defaced. Lisa surrounds your entire presence. No matter how long you've been there, you will never get used to it. Eventually, the swinging chandelier is replaced instead with a blood-soaked refrigerator, The sound effects and flickers on the screen now become your constant companions, always out-of-sync with your brain's perception, and confusion becoming the constant state of mind. The game completely validates its created nightmare and you're just another hapless victim of its poisoned narrative. I applaud P.T. for taking the metaphor so far into the realm of hopelessness. You're trapped, trying to figure out just what exactly to do while trying to solve the final puzzles. It's an onslaught on the senses in every regard. The room grows increasingly more distracting, the puzzle problems increasingly more complex, even the fetus starts taunting you.

Okay, okay. For such a small game, P.T. is one of the most densely packed experiences you will ever see or play. It uses absolutely everything from its claustrophobic atmosphere to its mind-bending mechanics to its sound design to its story, straight-forward enough so you can follow it through its more surrealistic elements but symbolic enough to continue SH tradition and poke at the psyche. This game was an absolute bombshell when it dropped, and horror games everywhere mimicked its hallways, looping, and psychological puzzle solving to often mixed effect. I honestly feel like games such as Visage or Layers of Fear often miss one crucial aspect that made P.T. the masterpiece it is, whether it be gameplay that's painfully slow or missing true scares in its monster design or more accurately, the way that horror is executed. P.T. still remains in a league of its own, and its supremacy comes with the reminder that it was never meant even be similar to Silent Hills. It was smartly made as a stand-alone experience, a horror game now hidden away in a black cave, and it's surreal and familiar world the catalyst for the scene surrounding the entire horror gaming experience in the past decade. If there's a level or map creator in a game, you can be guaranteed someone created the P.T. hallway in it. This is a game that will forever be iconic, because it doesn't just stand as a fantastic horror experience, it also became the symbol of corporate greed, the fragileness of game preservation, and the connection of fans that shaped and inspired their own games. P.T. is more than a game - it is a pillar in gaming history and it will forever remain as such.

I had a rather unusual experience with P.T.

Played it at a friend's place when it was brand new and I hadn't fallen in love with horror yet. All I really knew going in was that I'd be hunted by Lisa as the game went on. Yet...I never saw her, even at the top of the stairs where she's one to be. Now, I was a woefully fearful thing at the time, and even in just rounding the corner I'd peer around the wall and make sure that the coast was clear before proceeding. My theory is that the game somehow knew I would be more terrified in anticipating Lisa than actually confronting her. Generally with horror, you see the monster once and the shock factor rears diminishing returns on repeat encounters--but I never even had the chance! I could be misremembering, especially since you are supposed to trap yourself in the bathroom iirc, but the game really let me take my time and see it through to the end (my friend had the final puzzle's solution on-hand--no way in hell was I going to work that out lmao). Got to see all the sights: the refrigerator chandelier, the fetus, the photo fragments, the radio broadcasts. But, no monster. Had the game paused for minutes on end too, and didn't even encounter THAT alleged scare. She did make a proper appearance on my second playthrough, and fairly early into the run.

Love this game and am deeply saddened that I may never get to experience it again. Like you said though, its elusivity makes it all the more special. Like that one creepypasta yarn about the game that you can only play through once before it deletes itself from your hard drive and is impossible to reinstall, but made real and way cooler.

Snake5555555555 posted...

When it comes to survival horror, I feel like location is at least 2/3s of what makes a game scary. Hell, that goes for any horror medium. The environment is the conduit for the terror. YOU'RE the one that has to traverse this. YOU'RE the one that has to directly interact with this. Horror is adept at making even the most simple of areas a hostile environment, twisting what you deem as "safe".

This is a such a great take. Can't think of a scary horror game/film/book that lacks a strong setting and/or atmosphere.

On that note, you know what else is terrific in this game? The sound design. The sounds in P.T. are so well crafted and organically integrated that it's almost like you're living inside the game. Every clunking footstep, the pitter-patter of the rainfall, the swinging chandelier, these numbing sounds become part of your routine, and you begin to almost ignore them - that is, until a new sound enters the mix, usually something unknown and jolting. Every sound that emanates from the bathroom is nauseating and thought provoking in equal measures. The sounds of the baby crying feel so raw and unsettling and is inherently ear-catching. I also particularly love the radio sounds and voice actor in this, and how the radio broadcasts lend themselves to an intimate experience the creators were trying to invoke.

Nailed it. When I played P.T., I wore headphones and was absolutely immersed thanks to the sound design. It's almost as if the sounds themselves are their own story, or at least their own character.

The game's sense of reality starts to crumble. The hallway, you realize, is a long way away from ever providing the same sense of repetitive comfort it once did. Roaches now infest the whole house, a sign of abandonment. Pictures are ripped and defaced. Lisa surrounds your entire presence. No matter how long you've been there, you will never get used to it. Eventually, the swinging chandelier is replaced instead with a blood-soaked refrigerator, The sound effects and flickers on the screen now become your constant companions, always out-of-sync with your brain's perception, and confusion becoming the constant state of mind. The game completely validates its created nightmare and you're just another hapless victim of its poisoned narrative. I applaud P.T. for taking the metaphor so far into the realm of hopelessness. You're trapped, trying to figure out just what exactly to do while trying to solve the final puzzles. It's an onslaught on the senses in every regard. The room grows increasingly more distracting, the puzzle problems increasingly more complex, even the fetus starts taunting you.

Love the analysis here. The nightmare quality and themes of hopelessness are what have always stuck with me about this game.

Like you, I didn't buy a PS4 until the Slim model came out in 2016, but I was fortunate enough to have a buddy who downloaded P.T. the day it released. He let me play the game in his living room in broad daylight, and even on a sunny day in the company of a friend, P.T. terrified me. Hell, the game was so scary that my buddy--who had already beaten P.T. twice at that point--jumped and spilled his seltzer everywhere when Lisa appeared during my playthrough.

The only knock I have against this game were the obtuse puzzles. You basically have to use a guide finish the game, and that unfortunately detracts from its powerful atmosphere.

Aside from that, you could argue its the best survivor horror ever made.

Place posted...

My theory is that the game somehow knew I would be more terrified in anticipating Lisa than actually confronting her. Generally with horror, you see the monster once and the shock factor rears diminishing returns on repeat encounters--but I never even had the chance!

Oh absolutely. "What could be" is always scarier than "what is" because our imaginations are limitless.

Place posted...

I had a rather unusual experience with P.T.

Played it at a friend's place when it was brand new and I hadn't fallen in love with horror yet. All I really knew going in was that I'd be hunted by Lisa as the game went on. Yet...I never saw her, even at the top of the stairs where she's one to be. Now, I was a woefully fearful thing at the time, and even in just rounding the corner I'd peer around the wall and make sure that the coast was clear before proceeding. My theory is that the game somehow knew I would be more terrified in anticipating Lisa than actually confronting her. Generally with horror, you see the monster once and the shock factor rears diminishing returns on repeat encounters--but I never even had the chance! I could be misremembering, especially since you are supposed to trap yourself in the bathroom iirc, but the game really let me take my time and see it through to the end (my friend had the final puzzle's solution on-hand--no way in hell was I going to work that out lmao). Got to see all the sights: the refrigerator chandelier, the fetus, the photo fragments, the radio broadcasts. But, no monster. Had the game paused for minutes on end too, and didn't even encounter THAT alleged scare. She did make a proper appearance on my second playthrough, and fairly early into the run.

Love this game and am deeply saddened that I may never get to experience it again. Like you said though, its elusivity makes it all the more special. Like that one creepypasta yarn about the game that you can only play through once before it deletes itself from your hard drive and is impossible to reinstall, but made real and way cooler.

Haha, I love this! And I also agree completely. I mean it's like Resident Evil - by the end of the games you were always mowing down the monsters left and right by that point.

And P.T. is definitely the type of game I could see pulling that kind of thing too.

Keeping this alive!

Inside No. 9 - The Devil of Christmas

(special holiday write-up)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/9/7/AAR-tQAAD-DV.jpg

Importance: 3
Fear: 9
Snake: 10

(22 points)

An episode of Inside No. 9 that originally aired in 2016. Steve Pemberton plays Julian, a wealthy husband who takes his mother, his pregnant wife, and his son on holiday to an Austrian Alpine chalet. After laying eyes on a painting of Krampus, the "Devil of Christmas", the family begins a slow-burning spiral of terror and psychological trauma. The Devil of Christmas is a series of escalating events that turns itself on its head.

It's hard to discuss the Devil of Christmas without ruining the experience for those who haven't watched it. It's not an entirely typical episode of Inside No. 9, and it's certainly not a comedy-focused episode but does still have elements. But this send up to 1970s anthology horror is a morbid yet spellbinding study in the clash between blood and Christmas.

You see - The Devil of Christmas isn't merely some lost 70s horror production or a cheap riff on the legend of Krampus - this is a genuinely disturbing episode of British television. And it's directed with a beautifully joyous attachment by Graeme Harper. It's an episode that works on multiple fronts at all times and only gains yet another layer the second time you watch it - it's perhaps my favorite in an already stellar collection of Inside No. 9 episodes.

Let's discuss each layer 1 by 1.

Layer one: At face value, the actual "The Devil of Christmas" showed in the universe of Inside No. 9 is a lost 1970s horror film that has recently resurfaced. The character Krampus serves as the main antagonist, and we're told of his legend and how he leaves twigs for bad kids in their boots and candy for good kids. And so, the movie plays out much like a film from the era with some of the same tropes. There's a psychological build up to Krampus' reveal, but a last minute bait-and-switch at the conclusion shocks the audience as it's revealed Kathy, Julian's pregnant wife, orchestrated the whole Krampus subplot and left Julian to die so she could be with her other lover instead.

Layer two: Here's where things get a bit more interesting. As, from the start, we know what was recovered is more akin to behind the scenes commentary. We see clips rewound as "The Devil of Christmas" director Dennis Fulcher explains continuity errors, griping about actors and scene choices. Lots of the black comedy comes across from this point of view. We see the director's dissatisfaction with some portions of the film, though also genuine praise for some of his "choices".

Layer three: Here's where the episode becomes truly disturbing and enters a whole other echelon of greatness. In the episode's closing moments, many reveals happen at once. The final moments show Dennis Fulcher as the subject of a police interrogation - "The Devil of Christmas" is no ordinary horror movie, but rather it's a snuff film, and the actress playing Kathy the poor victim. It's a terrible, sinister twist to the episode's narrative that takes things to a whole new level. You're left stunned and horrified, and you're left to ask yourself "how the hell did anyone allow this to happen?" The entire episode changes its entire feel, a rewatch now more akin to a funeral procession as we helplessly watch the carnage unfold.

It's legitimately one of my favorite episodes of any TV show ever. As someone who loves said 1970s horror anthology shows, it was a pleasure to see this episode take on such an authentic look whilst providing some of the most disturbing moments you'll ever bear witness to in a show of this nature. This episode is the best in the entire series, and in terms of Christmas episodes there's almost nothing else like it.

Fantastic work by Jessica Raine (Kathy), Graeme Harper (director) and Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith (writers & actors).

Let me know if you've seen this episode or have watched it for the first time. Do you know of any others like it? I'd love to hear any thoughts or comments you have on the episode or its unique context. Just wanted to do a special write-up on this episode since it's Christmas time and everything.

Keeping this topic alive!