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5 Cancelled Horror Games We Wish Were Made

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'Demonik'

Much like the movie industry, the video game world is fraught with risks, perils, and possible heartbreak. As much as we wish that what we get excited about will eventually fall into our hands, circumstances arise that preclude such a joyous occasion. Instead, we are left feeling cheated and empty, forever wondering what might have been.

Honestly, there aren’t many feelings that I hate worse than being shown something incredible and then it being taken away by people who are just as heartbroken as I am by the depressing development. Everyone involved wanted everyone else to see a finished product, something that people could love, hate, critique, whatever… Eventually, some would reminisce and feel nostalgia while others would trade it in and forget it ever existed. That’s the great thing about releasing a title! People form their own opinions, their own memories, and it will live on through those who refuse to let it die. Why do you think games like The 7th Guest or Phantasmagoria are spoken of with such passion? It’s because we love what we had and what we can recall.

Unfortunately, the below titles never gave us those opportunities. For one reason or another, they were never finished. So today I’m going to take a look at a few of those games that got our hopes up and then dashed them away ever so cruelly.


Demonik

Featured in the 2006 comedy Grandma’s Boy, Demonik wasn’t a fake game made for the film. Rather, it was a real title developed by Terminal Reality that was supposed to come out for the Xbox 360. Wanna hear the most interesting (and relevant) part about the game? It was written by none other than Clive Barker!

The story followed people who felt like they had been wronged by some circumstance. Instead of being normal human beings and getting over it, they summon a demon to do their dark bidding. Therefore, you, the player, would control the “bad guy” of the game. An interesting premise that is almost certainly inspired by Pumpkinhead, it seemed like it would be a great horror/action game.

After the majesty of Undying and before the disappointing Jericho, Demonik was supposed to be Barker’s second entry in the video game world. Alas, the game was dismissed by publisher Majesco and Alex’s grandmother probably never got to beat the story while JP is almost certainly still fired and speaking like a glitchy robot.

Another sad bit of news that comes from CliveBarker.info states, “Clive has confirmed that the movie and other options are unlikely now to be fulfilled…” It seems that Barker, as he likes to set up, arranged for Demonik to live outside of the video game world and enter into movies and other mediums.


Sadness

What made this game stand out was not only that it was going to be on the Nintendo Wii – which is a notoriously “family friendly” console – but that it was far more focused on psychological horror over violence. Sure, it looked like there was going to be some slashing and murder but the black-and-white presentation and the promise of a seemingly fully interactive world appealed to a great many. Additionally, there were rumored to be up to 10 different endings, which would’ve made it a highly replayable game.

In the game, “Players followed Maria Lengyel, a Victorian era aristocrat of Polish-Hungarian descent who has to protect her son Alexander after their train to Lviv derails in the countryside. Alexander, who is struck blind by the accident, begins to exhibit strange behavior that progressively worsens. The game’s scenarios and enemies, such as those based on the werewolf and the likho, are inspired by Slavic mythology. [Source]

Sadness was announced before the Wii even had its proper name, back when it was still referred to as the Nintendo Revolution. The below trailer essentially was a proof of concept for not only the game but for the console as well, the woman showing off the controller/nunchuck combination’s uses. While the Wii went on to become a major success, news of Sadness faded away and it became almost a mockery. Sites and industry folk felt cheated – rightfully so, I might add – by not being able to see or play the game in any form, even a proof of concept demo.

It came out that developers Niblis and Frontline Studios split ways due to “artistic differences” and soon afterwards Niblis essentially ceased production on the game entirely. In mid-2014, indie developers Randy Freer and Jeremy Kleve, of HullBreach Studios and Cthulhi Games respectively, claimed to have obtained the rights to the game and that they would be releasing it for the Wii U. Alas, the very day next that information was proven wrong when Freer and Kleve stated that they had failed to obtain the rights to the game.

I guess the title is a perfect representation of how many people feel about the history of this game.


InSANE

The first game on our list to include the participation of Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy), InSANE was going to be a Lovecraft-ian action/adventure that supposedly had environments, “…that players have never been through before,” per former THQ frontman Danny Bilson.

Bilson also told VG24/7, “As much as I can tell you about it is that it was an action adventure game with really great environments, story and characters, and it was period and very Lovecraftian. I don’t wanna spoil it, in the hope that Guillermo wants to go further with it.

The reason this game hasn’t emerged from The Nameless City (HA! Lovecraft jokes galore!) is because THQ collapsed back in 2012 and InSANE has been on the shelf ever since. Supposedly del Toro owns the rights to the game, so it might see a resurrection in the future. However, I wouldn’t hold out much hope.


Resident Evil 3.5 “Hook Man”

While Resident Evil 4 is considered to be a masterpiece in the Capcom franchise, it wasn’t always designed the way it was released.

While the game always had the intention of going through 3D environments instead of pre-rendered backgrounds, there were plenty of elements that were originally conceived that ultimately didn’t work out. In the below video, which is a demo of the game in its second potential incarnation, Leon would travel though a European castle that was owned by Spencer (of Resident Evil 1 fame), fight Wesker and his team, and ultimately get infected with the “Progenitor” virus. This disease was going to be found on an ancient corpse, which would’ve given the mythology some history and depth.

Where it went different from what we ultimately got was that the game would’ve introduced hallucination elements, such as dolls coming to life and attacking Leon. There would also be ghosts and specters, including the above named “Hook Man“. Shinji Mikami himself supposedly felt that this version was so scary that he warned people not to pee their pants when watching the demo video.

The game was cancelled for a very simple reason: money. It was deemed that the goals of the developers would cost too much to put into place and therefore the entire idea was scrapped and everything began anew. Still, you can see many elements in the video that made it to the final version, including the perspective, the red laser dot sighting, Leon being infected, and the suits of knight armor suddenly attacking Leon, as well as more.


Silent Hills

You all knew this was going to be here, right? While time has rendered the pain of this cancellation into a dull ache, it’s a disappointment that will never leave my heart. The second game on this list that would’ve bore the name of Guillermo del Toro, Silent Hills revitalized interest in a series that was slowly fading away. In fact, the response upon the reveal that P.T. was really Silent Hills was nothing short of explosive. Never before had the franchise received that much attention and interest.

Alas, a falling out between Hideo Kojima and Konami rendered this project dead in the water and all we’re left with are YouTube videos of P.T. being played and memories of sweeter, more hopeful times.


Honorable Mention: The City of Metronome

Okay, so this game isn’t exactly horror but it’s so weird and so cool that I can’t leave it off the list, especially because I’ve been wanting to play it since I first heard of it over a decade ago.

The City of Metronome, which was announced at E3 2005, thrusts players into a bizarre and incredibly surreal world where sound is the weapon of choice. By recording and playing back certain tones and sounds, the player would be able to continue their journeys. It was a fascinating concept and one that appealed to me greatly, especially since the game’s world looked like a cross between The City of Lost Children, ReCycle, and American McGee’s Alice.

Since its announcement nothing has progressed with the game, even though Tarsier Studios made a deal with Sony several years ago that many thought included The City of Metronome. Unfortunately, it seems that this wasn’t the case. The company themselves write, “…alas, Lady Publisher is a fickle mistress, and The City of Metronome continues to be our ‘little game that could’.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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