Editorials
Looking Ahead to the Horror Games of 2015
The last handful of years haven’t treated some of gaming’s greatest horror franchises very well. Resident Evil lost its way a few times, Left 4 Dead 3 has been MIA, Dead Space and Alan Wake were put on hiatus — soon to be joined by F.E.A.R. — and until recently, Silent Hill was largely assumed dead. Looking at all that, you would think horror was fading into obscurity again.
Thankfully, that’s not the case.
Indie horror is healthier than ever, bolstered by several high profile releases like The Forest, Slender: The Arrival and Outlast as well as a number of upcoming games that are all worth getting excited about. We’ve begin to see this renewed interest affect AAA horror, starting with the imminent arrivals of Alien: Isolation and The Evil Within next month. That’s just the beginning. We have a veritable horde coming next year.
If my guide to the remaining horror games of 2014 left you wanting, this (working) list of releases the genre has in store for us in 2015 should remedy that.
Bloodborne
If you don’t mind being broken down over and over again by a game with a thoroughly unforgiving nature that goes a long way in making the occasional victory all the sweeter. Bloodborne promises to be as challenging as the Dark Souls series that inspired it, only now that winning formula has been injected with a dose of horror.
Release Date: February 6, 2015
Call of Cthulhu
This past January, Magrunner: Dark Pulse developer Frogwares revealed their plan to make a new Call of Cthulhu. Since then, the game has kept unusually quiet. After the cancellation of the two sequels that were planned to follow Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and the state of limbo that Guillermo Del Toro’s InSane has found itself in, I’m wondering if there isn’t some sort of curse that’s been put on any developer that tries to create a game based on or inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
Release Date: TBA 2015
DayZ
PC gamers have been able to experience the wonders of getting robbed by strangers at gunpoint over cans of beans for what feels like ages. Soon, PS4 owners will have the opportunity to experience that same joy.
Release Date: TBA 2015
H1Z1
Trying to take a bite out of that juicy DayZ pie is H1Z1. It’s more or less the same game, so if you like trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where your fellow man is infinitely scarier than the walking dead, there’s a solid chance this game won’t disappoint.
Release Date: January 15, 2015 (Steam Early Access)
Dead Island 2
With Spec Ops: The Line developer Yager taking the reigns, I have faith they’ll be able to elevate this troubled series. Between its renewed focus on humor, over-the-top action and vibrant environments, Dead Island 2 is already doing a lot right.
Release Date: Spring 2015
Doom
After several delays, Doom is coming. We might not have seen it yet, but there’s plenty of folks who have. If id Software’s refusal to place it under the scrutinizing eye of the Internet is any indication of its quality, this may end up being a 2016 release.
Release Date: TBA 2015
Draugen
The day before Halloween, indie developer Red Thread Games decided to give us something scary to look forward to with Draugen, a survival horror game that feels like Gone Home meets Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It’s set on the Norwegian west coast, so you can be sure it’s going to look ridiculously good.
Release Date: TBA 2015
Dying Light
With Dead Island 2 in the hands of a new developer, Techland was left with some free time and a love for the undead. Rather than try something entirely new, the team is working on improving the foundation they created with the first Dead Island. The result is an incredibly ambitious game with a multiplayer that’s been seamlessly woven into the experience.
And parkour. Lots of parkour.
Release Date: January 27, 2015
The Evil Within: The Assignment
The Assignment, the first of three planned expansions for The Evil Within, will follow Sebastian’s partner, Juli “The Kid” Kidman. We don’t know much else about it yet, but I imagine there will be lots of blood, barbed wire and nightmarish creatures — including The Keeper, which has been confirmed for this DLC and the expansion that’s slated to follow it — for us to flee from.
Release Date: Early 2015
Fatal Frame V: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden
This game bums me out. Part of me takes solace in knowing this beloved survival horror franchise isn’t being entirely neglected, but most of me is too busy being frustrated to notice. If ever there was a time to release a quality horror game like this to the world — not just Japan — it’s now. The only reason this game is on this list is because I hope Nintendo just hasn’t gotten around to mentioning an international release yet.
Release Date: September 27, 2014 (Japan) / Possible 2015 release elsewhere
Hellraid
Originally announced as a last-gen console release, Techland gave us a substantial reason to be pumped for Hellraid when they confirmed it had been delayed to give them time to rebuild the game in a new engine for current-gen consoles. The new-and-improved Hellraid brings together the combat of Skyrim with the brutality of Dead Island, complete with a dark fantasy setting and tons of hellish monsters to battle.
Release Date: TBA 2015
Killing Floor 2
Tripwire Interactive hasn’t mentioned an ETA for the sequel to their hit cooperative horror game Killing Floor. When I saw it in action last month, it looked like the game was pretty far along. The mechanics are in and the gore is top notch, but multiplayer games require a lot of tweaking to get the balance right, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Killing Floor 2 arrives early next year.
Release Date: TBA 2015
Kodoku
Kodoku looks like a series of nightmares that were induced by a particularly bad acid trip. I have no idea what’s going on, but I like it.
Release Date: TBA 2015
Let it Die
Despite being a fan of Suda 51’s wacky work and the worlds he’s created, I haven’t seen enough to get me enthusiastic about Let it Die. It could be a twisted ride that showers us with the blood spilled from our mostly naked enemies, or it could be shallow and use its copious amount of violence as a gimmick. We’ll have to wait and see!
Release Date: TBA 2015
Resident Evil
I have two theories to explain why Capcom is re-releasing the Resident Evil remake. I’ve already gone into great detail on the first theory, but I haven’t even mentioned the other. My second theory revolves around the idea that Capcom is fully aware of our desire for a Resident Evil 2 remake, which they’ll get around to doing, but not before they every other Resident Evil first.
Release Date: January 20, 2015
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Not long after Capcom announced they’d be remastering the GameCube remake, they also revealed a sequel to Revelations. Their decision to build on a spin-off that’s widely considered to be one of the best Resident Evil games of the last decade. We know it will be delivered episodically, feature offline co-op, is set on a prison island and stars Claire Redfield and Moira Burton — Barry Burton’s daughter.
Release Date: Starting February 17 (full schedule here)
SOMA
Last October, Amnesia developer Frictional Games started teasing their next project, the freaky looking horror game SOMA. Here we are a year later and the game is significantly less mysterious than it was back then. Even still, I can’t help but wonder if we’ve only scratched the surface. SOMA looks like a mystery wrapped in an enigma that’s been slathered in gore, modified corpses and face-eating robots.
Release Date: Early 2015
State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition
State of Decay is one of the better zombie-themed video games we’ve been gifted with lately, and it’s undead hordes are slated to shamble onto the Xbox One in the near future. Other than the still glaring lack of co-op, what’s not to love about that?
Release Date: Early 2015
The Order: 1886
The Order: 1886 is set in Victorian era London and follows an ancient order of soldiers with steampunk weapons and gadgets, and their ongoing war with human “half-breeds”, or werewolves. If that doesn’t have you sufficiently excited, I don’t know what will.
Release Date: February 20, 2015
Human Element
Earlier this month we were treated to our very first look at the post-apocalyptic zombie survival game, Human Element. Much like The Walking Dead, the zombies aren’t the real threat — it’s your fellow man you should be worried about.
Release Date: November 2015
Until Dawn
After going silent for a while, Sony re-revealed developer Supermassive Games’ teen slasher Until Dawn. It’s been improved in every way possible, including a complete reworking of the original script to make it exponentially more terrifying. This game has a lot of promise, and if it’s successful, it could pave the way for more games like it.
Release Date: TBA 2015
Outlast 2
Back in October, developer Red Barrels confirmed a sequel to Outlast, their popular first person horror game set in the Mount Massive asylum. If it’s anywhere near as scary as its predecessors, we’ll all need to stock up on Depends.
Release Date: TBA 2015
Remember, this is a working list. 2015 is still a ways off and the unpredictable and always-changing nature of video games means a lot of the above will change, probably more than once, in the coming months. If I missed something, feel free to let me know in the comments.
Editorials
Silly, Self-Aware ‘Amityville Christmas Vacation’ Is a Welcome Change of Pace [The Amityville IP]
Twice a month Joe Lipsett will dissect a new Amityville Horror film to explore how the “franchise” has evolved in increasingly ludicrous directions. This is “The Amityville IP.”
After a number of bloated runtimes and technically inept entries, it’s something of a relief to watch Amityville Christmas Vacation (2022). The 55-minute film doesn’t even try to hit feature length, which is a wise decision for a film with a slight, but enjoyable premise.
The amusingly self-aware comedy is written and directed by Steve Rudzinski, who also stars as protagonist Wally Griswold. The premise is simple: a newspaper article celebrating the hero cop catches the attention of B’n’B owner Samantha (Marci Leigh), who lures Wally to Amityville under the false claim that he’s won a free Christmas stay.
Naturally it turns out that the house is haunted by a vengeful ghost named Jessica D’Angelo (Aleen Isley), but instead of murdering him like the other guests, Jessica winds up falling in love with him.
Several other recent Amityville films, including Amityville Cop and Amityville in Space, have leaned into comedy, albeit to varying degrees of success. Amityville Christmas Vacation is arguably the most successful because, despite its hit/miss joke ratio, at least the film acknowledges its inherent silliness and never takes itself seriously.
In this capacity, the film is more comedy than horror (the closest comparison is probably Amityville Vibrator, which blended hard-core erotica with references to other titles in the “series”). The jokes here are enjoyably varied: Wally glibly acknowledges his racism and excessive use of force in a way that reflects the real world culture shift around criticisms of police work; the last names of the lovers, as well the title of the film, are obvious homages to the National Lampoon’s holiday film; and the narrative embodies the usual festive tropes of Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies.
This self-awareness buys the film a certain amount of goodwill, which is vital considering Rudzinski’s clear budgetary limitations. Jessica’s ghost make-up is pretty basic, the action is practically non-existent, and the whole film essentially takes place in a single location. These elements are forgivable, though audiences whose funny bone isn’t tickled will find the basic narrative, low stakes, and amateur acting too glaring to overlook. It must be acknowledged that in spite of its brief runtime, there’s still an undeniable feeling of padding in certain dialogue exchanges and sequences.
Despite this, there’s plenty to like about Amityville Christmas Vacation.
Rudzinski is the clear stand-out here. Wally is a goof: he’s incredibly slow on the uptake and obsessed with his cat Whiskers. The early portions of the film lean on Wally’s inherent likeability and Rudzinski shares an easy charm with co-star Isley, although her performance is a bit more one-note (Jessica is mostly confused by the idiot who has wandered into her midst).
Falling somewhere in the middle are Ben Dietels as Rick (Ben Dietels), Wally’s pathetic co-worker who has invented a family to spend the holidays with, and Zelda (Autumn Ivy), the supernatural case worker that Jessica Zooms with for advice on how to negotiate her newfound situation.
The other actors are less successful, particularly Garrett Hunter as ghost hunter Creighton Spool (Scott Lewis), as well as Samantha, the home owner. Leigh, in particular, barely makes an impression and there’s absolutely no bite in her jealous threats in the last act.
Like most comedies, audience mileage will vary depending on their tolerance for low-brow jokes. If the idea of Wally chastising and giving himself a pep talk out loud in front of Jessica isn’t funny, Amityville Christmas Vacation likely isn’t for you. As it stands, the film’s success rate is approximately 50/50: for every amusing joke, there’s another one that misses the mark.
Despite this – or perhaps because of the film’s proximity to the recent glut of terrible entries – Amityville Christmas Vacation is a welcome breath of fresh air. It’s not a great film, but it is often amusing and silly. There’s something to be said for keeping things simple and executing them reasonably well.
That’s a lesson that other indie Amityville filmmakers could stand to learn.
The Amityville IP Awards go to…
- Recurring Gag: The film mines plenty of jokes from characters saying the quiet part (out) loud, including Samantha’s delivery of “They’re always the people I hate” when Wally asks how he won a contest he didn’t enter.
- Holiday Horror: There’s a brief reference that Jessica died in an “icicle accident,” which plays like a perfect blend between a horror film and a Hallmark film.
- Best Line: After Jessica jokes about Wally’s love of all things cats to Zelda, calling him the “cat’s meow,” the case worker’s deadpan delivery of “Yeah, that sounds like an inside joke” is delightful.
- Christmas Wish: In case you were wondering, yes, Santa Claus (Joshua Antoon) does show up for the film’s final joke, though it’s arguably not great.
- Chainsaw Award: This film won Fangoria’s ‘Best Amityville’ Chainsaw award in 2023, which makes sense given how unique it is compared to many other titles released in 2022. This also means that the film is probably the best entry we’ll discuss for some time, so…yay?
- ICYMI: This editorial series was recently included in a profile in the The New York Times, another sign that the Amityville “franchise” will never truly die.
Next time: we’re hitting the holidays in the wrong order with a look at November 2022’s Amityville Thanksgiving, which hails from the same creative team as Amityville Karen <gulp>
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