Editorials
[13 Days Of Horror] Day 4: Why 2012 Has Been The Best (And Worst) Year For Horror
If you were to ask a fellow horror fan what they thought of 2012, there’s a good chance the reply you’d receive would be polarized. For many gamers, 2012 has been a year of extremes. I stand on the bright and sunny side, where the colors are vibrant and deer frolic in meadows of daisies, because to me, this year rocked.
Then, there are those who sit on the opposite side, huddled in the darkest corner of their rooms, muttering to themselves and drinking urine out of mason jars. These people do not like 2012, happiness burns their skin, and they cannot wait for next year to come and save them. Whichever side you’re on, join me after the break so we can take a look back at what’s arguably been the most divisive year ever for horror fans.
I really can understand where many of the negative opinions are coming from. While I loved some of the major horror releases, like Silent Hill: Downpour and Resident Evil 6 for their ambitious takes on familiar franchises, there are plenty who don’t feel the same way.
At the very least, while there might’ve been a few games that weren’t all that great, with the sheer number of horror releases this year — more than any other year in recent memory — there’s more than enough to choose from to make everyone happy.
Are you an obsessive compulsive gamer who likes to invest an inordinate amount of time in your games? Might I suggest Diablo III, Minecraft, The Secret World, or Skyrim: Dawnguard? Looking for a more old school survival horror experience? Then how about Silent Hill: Downpour, Grey, or Amy? Or perhaps you prefer the action half of action horror? Then there’s always three Resident Evils, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Deadlight, and the Doom 3: BFG Edition.
What I’m saying is, if you’re a horror fan, there’s no reason not to be happy with 2012, because it covered pretty much everything.
Lately, I’ve been on a bit of an indie horror kick. I’ve always loved playing games like Slender and Cry of Fear, and now thanks to Steam Greenlight, many indie developers have a fantastic new avenue with which to get their games out to the public. This means more horror games, and for those of you who are aching for that old school style, that tends to be an area where indie horror excels. This year has brought us many incredible horror games, but Steam Greenlight may very end up being the best thing to happen to the horror genre in some time.
What really amazes me about 2012 is the fact that its brought us three wildly different installments in the Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises. That’s amazing, and it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see something like that happen again. Operation Raccoon City might not have been the spiritual successor to the Outbreak series that many of us wanted it to be, but Resident Evil 6 and Revelations were both solid games.
On the Silent Hill side, the HD Collection finally brought back new and (sort of) improved versions of Silent Hill 2 and 3. It might’ve been plagued by various technical issues — none of which have been fixed on the Xbox 360 — but it was still fun returning to those deliciously creepy games. Downpour was a breath of fresh air for the series, though unfortunately, it looks like it didn’t do well enough to save Vatra Games from possible closure. Oh, and there was Book of Memories, so… yeah.
I know I’ve mentioned it already, but Telltale Games’ episodic take on The Walking Dead has been consistently amazing. If it were the only horror game to come out this year, it would’ve been more than enough to keep me satisfied. It has set the bar for storytelling not just for the horror genre, but for games in general.
2012 really has been a year of extremes. There have been several extremely good games, and a few that weren’t so hot. I enjoyed a majority of them and thanks to the slew of horror games that have been approved on Steam Greenlight, 2013 is looking even more exciting. If you haven’t been a fan of this year’s horror releases, take solace in the fact that next year will bring us another The Walking Dead game (from Activision), Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Dead Space 3, and many more that haven’t yet been unveiled. Then, of course, we have the next generation of consoles, which will undoubtedly bring with them even more exciting new games like Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z and Shinji Mikami’s mysterious Zwei project.
Yeah, this is a damn fine time to be a horror fan.
Missed a day? Check out the rest of the 13 Days of Horror:
Day 1: The 12 Best Weapons In Horror Games, Part 1
Day 2: The 12 Best Weapons In Horror Games, Part 2
Day 3: Our Premature Evaluation Of Black Ops II Zombies
Day 5: 12 Horror Games To Look Forward To Next Year, Part 1
Day 6: 12 Horror Games To Look Forward To Next Year, Part 2
Day 7: Eight Games You Should Play This Halloween
Day 8: Dear Capcom, This Is What I Want In Resident Evil 7
Day 9: 12 Upcoming Zombie Games To Be Excited About, Part 1
Day 10: 12 Upcoming Zombie Games To Be Excited About, Part 2
Day 11: Why We Love Zombie Games
Day 11: Why We Love Zombie Games
Day 12: Comment To Win A Copy Of Resident Evil 6 And Other Awesome Swag
Day 13: Don’t Be Scared, It’s Just A Dead Pixels Halloween Podcast
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Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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