Author of adventure/thriller and horror fiction

PHASMAPHOBIA

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When EPISODE THIRTEEN, my found-footage novel about a paranormal reality TV show, came out, I was asked in interviews about sources of inspiration for it. A big one for me was PHASMAPHOBIA, a computer game. This is the scariest, most enjoyable horror game I’ve ever played.

When I first heard about it, I was skeptical. The game’s graphics and game play looked pretty janky to me. You don’t have any weapons, which feels weird when you’re used to playing first-person games that have a combat element. You move slowly. Most of the houses you explore aren’t creepy mansions but instead regular suburban homes. What’s scary about this?

A lot, it turned out. It scared the crap out of me.

Okay, here’s how it works. You’re a member of a team of up to four professional ghost hunters. You travel to haunted houses and explore them to 1) locate where the ghost is, 2) identify the type of ghost based on the evidence you collect, and 3) do optional actions like get the ghost to blow out a candle or get a picture of it. The only problem is the ghost generally remains unseen, so you have to use a variety of detecting equipment to discover physical evidence the ghost leaves. Another problem is the longer you’re in the house and depending on what you say over the mic to the ghost or your teammates–the game uses voice recognition–the ghost starts to get agitated. This is good, as its activity leaves evidence, but bad, in that the ghost may decide it’s time to hunt and kill you. The lights flicker, the door slams, you’re trapped, and you have to hide and pray the thing doesn’t get you.

The detective work is fun, but what makes this game work is the atmosphere of dread–something I tried to bottle in EPISODE THIRTEEN–in this case achieved with darkness and subtly with sound along with your own willing suspension of disbelief. The moment you go into the house, you know you’re on the clock for the ghost getting angry. There are jump scares, but they’re sparse and earned, such as when you’re just about to leave the house and the door slams in your face, signaling the ghost is coming for you. Out of all the games I’ve played, this one comes closest to the experience of reading, where the player’s imagination does a lot of the work. Like watching a horror movie, if you tell yourself it’s only a game and doesn’t matter, it likely won’t affect you much; but if you run with it and let yourself be immersed, it will very likely freak you out.

PHASMAPHOBIA is a classic game that is virtually unique among horror games, though it has had many (poor in my view) imitators. I recommend it if you’re looking for a horror experience you can enjoy solo or with some buddies online.

DAISY JONES AND THE SIX

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Based pretty faithfully on the excellent epistolary novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, DAISY JONES AND THE SIX (Amazon Prime) is about a fictional 1970s rock super band that rocketed to stardom and then suddenly called it quits at their last concert, with the band years later finally telling the inside story. The adaptation was done with obvious love and it grew on me, though it veered into TV tropes when it shouldn’t have.

The story focuses on Billy Dunne, the front man of a hardworking rock band that is starting to go somewhere when Billy takes some time off to go to rehab to clean up his act, coming out of it an artist afraid to take risks. Seeing big potential, an enterprising producer convinces him to join forces with Daisy Jones, a young woman with arresting charisma and brimming with raw, unbridled creativity. Their personalities clash until the two discover they perfectly complement each other to make great music, resulting in tension both within the band and in Billy’s marriage.

The show leans on the unrealized romance angle of the book to the point of trying to convince viewers to get behind it, but I found their relationship utterly toxic. Daisy’s kind of a spoiled and nasty person in pretty big ways, while Billy’s flaws are out there while appearing more tempered. Honestly, the subplot of the romance between the guitarist and the keyboardist struck me as far more compelling and fun to watch. Otherwise, the show writers veered off the book–at least how I remember it now–to make a few of the characters do some really over the top stuff, like a wife suspecting her husband might be cheating going out and cheating on him, and this is presented as empowering for her. Uh, good job?

The acting and direction are terrific, with energetic performances by Riley Keogh (channeling Steve Nix as Daisy), Sam Claflin (Billy), and the rest. The concert scenes are packed with energy but not overdone. The only drawback on this side of things is the original music produced for the show is fine if not good, though hardly super band material. (You just have to run with it.)

Overall, I was impressed with the adaptation, which was pretty faithful, had a terrific energy, portrayed the 1970s as a real time real people lived in, and overall showed a lot of heart.

SONS OF THE FOREST

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I’m a gamer, though I’m pretty particular about it. One game I’ve had a lot of fun with lately is SONS OF THE FOREST, the sequel to the popular survival horror game THE FOREST. It’s savage, offers game play fairly balanced between action and grunt work, and features a lot of weird elements to find, explore, and use.

Picture MINECRAFT set on the island of LOST populated by savage cannibals, and you’ve basically got the concept. The story: You’re a corporate mercenary hired as part of a team to travel to an island owned by an enormously rich family, where elites go to golf, attend luxury spas, and hang out. Your mission: find out why the island went dark and what happened to the family, and while you’re at it, try to survive as everything tries to kill you. Behind all this is a ton of lore about otherworldly artifacts that form a backstory. Otherwise, the story continues elements of the original FOREST, though knowing these is not necessary to enjoy the ride.

The island is pretty big and offers multiple environments and interesting locations to explore. As you start with very little, basic survival is the top priority, as you need to build shelters and other structures that will help you, craft weapons and armor until you find better ones, source food and water, and so on. There is a variety of monsters here trying to kill you, from packs of mud-covered lunatics stalking the woods to tribes of cannibals to horrific mutants lurking in caves. The combat is tense, exciting, and brutal.

My base

One thing I really love about the game is the cannibals, which even more than the mutants puts the horror in this survival horror game. Formerly guests on the island, they’ve been reduced to utter savagery. Their behavior is incredibly realistic. Each tribe has different customs, treats you differently, and you can find them patrolling, hunting, worshipping their grisly idols, and fetching water. From the tents to their totems, their camps are basically made from human body parts, so be prepared for plenty of horror over the idea of being caught by them.

Overall, I’ve run through it a few times, and I’ve loved every experience. If you’re into gaming and want to try Minecraft on horror crack, check it out.

THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING (2022)

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In THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING (2022), a lonely academic who studies story encounters a djinn, who wants to be freed by granting three wishes. The academic, however, knows all the stories of wishes going wrong, setting up a contest of wits and wills. This is a charming movie, though its last act appears grafted on to bring the film into a meh finish.

Alithea (Tilda Swinton) is an academic who lives a life of reason and studies story for a living. While attending a conference in Istanbul, she is struck by visions, which suggest some destiny, though this is never explained. She encounters a bottle and releases a djinn (Idris Elba, born for this role), who offers to grant three wishes in return for his freedom. The only problem is as a woman who has studied story her entire life, she knows all the cautionary tales about making wishes. She also feels complete, and so has no heart’s desire from which to make a wish.

The first two acts of the film take place largely in Alithea’s hotel room, where she negotiates with the djinn while he tells her stories about his doomed interactions with humans in the past. The backstories are heavily CGI’d along with the initial appearance of the djinn. That and the playful narrative make the whole thing feel like a Disney movie for adults, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you just run with it. Like I said, the whole thing is charming, and the stories themselves are fanciful and interesting, building an overall narrative.

Swinton plays her part with crisp efficiency; Elba fully inhabits his role and as usual chews the scenery. The only problem is this is supposed to be a love story of sorts, and they don’t really have any chemistry. Which brings me to the third act, where we get to the love story, which would be fine only besides a lack of chemistry feels utterly grafted on, along with a subplot involving bigotry. A lot of happens in the third act, but it feels rushed and out of character for Alithea. This is a story we need to be shown instead of told for emotional impact, but it feels like telling.

All that being said, though, overall I liked THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING enough for its positive qualities. Despite the strange pacing and meh conclusion, it had its charms, I was entertained, I enjoyed Elba’s performance a lot, and for these things, I was happy enough.

BARBARIAN (2022)

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In BARBARIAN (2022), a woman shows up at an Airbnb only to discover it has been double booked by a man, only she doesn’t know the house contains a horrifying secret. Overall, I found this well written and engaging, even if its impression wasn’t very lasting.

The first act is excellent, tense with paranoia and vague threat, and very well written. The situation and dialogue all feel real even as the house and neighborhood appear threatening. The story changes gears several times and introduces new elements, which makes this movie one to plunge into while knowing as little as possible about it.

As a horror movie, it’s definitely different, while playing on the familiar. The solid cast including Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long makes a big difference in pulling off its ambitions. There’s plenty here that’s interesting and engaging, only with its innovative structure, BARBARIAN seemed to promise to come together in a surprising way but instead served up a fairly conventional finish.

So overall, I liked BARBARIAN a lot and enjoyed the ride even if I didn’t find the destination as having the impact I’d hoped for.

THE LAST OF US

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Based on the popular computer game and shot in my hometown and surrounding areas, THE LAST OF US is a post-apocalyptic HBO show about a man tasked with transporting a girl, who may be humanity’s last hope, across what’s left of the United States. In my view, this is an almost perfect apocalyptic series.

Twenty years after the world ended due to a rampant pandemic of fungal infection that turned its victims into monsters, Joel (Pedro Pascal) has lost what was most important to him and lives as a hardened survivor in a quarantine zone. When he’s contacted by the leader of a local rebel organization called the Fireflies to transport a girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the country to a research facility, he resists at first but takes on the burden. For humanity, the stakes couldn’t be higher, as the girl is immune. The story rolls out as a series of encounters on the road, with substantial flashbacks and back stories that slow the pacing but ultimately enrich the overall story and world building.

From every angle, this is my favorite kind of apocalyptic story. Realistic, gritty, savage, inhabited by an evolving and monstrous predatory enemy, full of horrifying moral choices, and showing that humanity doesn’t just come to an end but is holding out in small tribes and in old government quarantine zones now run by a brutal descendant of the military under endless martial law. What used to be that rare breathtaking money shot is everywhere now thanks to cheaper effects, presenting communities and survivors living in the crumbling ruins of American civilization. This is an apocalypse that is hazardous, beautiful, has its own rules and logic, feels real, and looks lived in.

The casting is solid. I had to get past Bella Ramsey looking so different than the Ellie in the game, but she grew on me as the show progressed, and she’s a great actor with a lot of range, portraying a girl who is tough and brassy but also vulnerable and longing. As for Joel, I couldn’t have asked for better than Pascal, who fully inhabits a man who is a true survivor and killer but haunted by trauma and the physical effects of decades of rough living, from minor hearing loss to aching knees. He’s no superhero like in the game, but instead a worn-out, traumatized, bitter survivor who does what it takes and knows how to kill.

The moral choices are absolutely terrific. The organization the government morphed into has eradicated individual rights and freedoms, but they’re also the only thing holding the infected at bay. Soldiers must make a choice to kill refugees, because if they don’t, they may end up fighting them later. A group resorts to cannibalism, but it was either that or die by starvation. It all culminates in the last episode with an ultimate moral choice that may appear to most viewers to be the wrong one even if it is for some good reasons. In this series, there are few heroes and villains, just people trying to survive in different ways, with survival itself meaning different things to different people.

Overall, I loved THE LAST OF US and highly recommend it.