Editorials
[Editorial] Finding ‘MediEvil’ In the Soulsborne Series
Of all the original PlayStation games to get a remaster I was surprised that MediEvil was chosen. It was one of those games from my childhood that felt like I was the only person who played it but simultaneously also had a very strong cult following. Upon hearing about Sony’s decision to resurrect Sir Daniel Fortesque I promptly downloaded the game on my PlayStation 3 purely for nostalgia’s sake but I was surprised to find it actually held up well. More importantly, while playing MediEvil, I released it definitely shaped some of my favorite games that came after it such as FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series. Having just viewed the trailer for MediEvil’s remake I am confident that MediEvil (2019) will fill that dark fantasy void; a feeling that many fans of the Dark Souls series can relate to. Dark Souls almost feels like if MediEvil had grown up alongside us and into the twenty-first century.
The world of MediEvil has a similar mood to the Dark Souls games; everything is dead and decrepit and the world seems to be just waiting around for its inevitable end. The denizens of the world are reduced to hollow-like states as the dead relentlessly roam the countryside. From the onset, the game begins much like Dark Souls with a continuous follow shot traveling through the graveyard before landing on Sir Daniel Fortesque in his crypt. The protagonists in these games are both brought back from the dead followed by cutscenes depicting the series of events that shaped their respective worlds. In MediEvil the battle against Zarok and in Dark Souls Gwyn’s war against the ancient dragons.
Before the Ghost Ship level in MediEvil there is even a cutscene where a massive bird sweeps Sir Daniel Fortesque up off the ground and carries him to another area (much like the sequence following the Undead Asylum connecting the player-character to Lordran). In both games there is a sense that you and only handful of creatures are merely existing to wander the realm until its demise; all the movers and shakers have long since died and you are left traversing the desiccated remains trying to piece together everything that hasn’t been completely lost in the annals of history.
Not only is the setting highly reminiscent of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s games but the themes conveyed as well as the level design fits right in with the iconic worlds found in Demons’ Souls (Boletaria) and Dark Souls (Lordran). Each level in MediEvil was incredibly distinct and dripping with atmosphere. The game had a world warping system that allowed it to display a rich variety of environments ranging from dilapidated ruins and mystical, invested forests to haunted scarecrow fields. The economy of both MediEvil and the Soulsborne games revolve around souls and can be traded for weapon and item upgrades. Similarly to Demons’ Souls, there is a hub world that you will frequent as you progress through the game. In the Hall of Heroes, you receive new items and weapons as well as upgrades much like in The Nexus.
An assortment of weapons allows the player to cater to whatever play-style they wish (very reminiscent of the Soulsborne games). There are a number of stunning boss fights full of imagination and variety; ingenious boss fights that didn’t only rely on brute force but also some thinking too. My personal favorites being the Ant Queen and Guardians of the Graveyard, both incorporating creative gameplay elements to defeat. But even just listen to the game’s soundtrack, pieces like The Ant Caves would fit right in with fighting a massive, celestial insect in Bloodborne.
Both games excellently incorporate imagery from both the horror and medieval fantasy genres providing them with a definite mood. The Tim Burton-esque art style of MediEvil offers a goofier alternative to the grittiness of Dark Souls but the game’s remake offers radically updated visuals as seen in the trailer that recently dropped. We can definitely see MediEvil’s remake as a continuation of Bloodborne’s beautiful, decaying gothic aesthetic. The game wasn’t exactly easy either but it was more so unforgiving than brutally difficult. Like in Dark Souls good luck trying to jump in MediEvil; you’ll just end up frustrated and losing a lot of health potions and souls. It is kind of funny and sad to see how jump mechanics in action RPGs are still quite shit. Let’s hope Medievil’s remake will attempt to fix this as well as the glaring camera issues that are prevalent in both the original and which is still a problematic factor in most third-person action games.
The twisted world of MediEvil – Gallowmere, is simultaneously wondrous and hostile, and there are many pitfalls and traps that hinder the player’s progression throughout the in-game world. MediEvil provides plenty of examples of backtracking as special objects need to be found such as ruins and level-specific items that lock away certain parts of the map.
The level – Cemetery Hill features a slope with continuous boulders that impede Sir Daniel Fortesque’s ascension to the top ala Sen’s Fortress. Also, MediEvil is quite gory, especially if you possess the great hammer; you can mangle bodies and there’s nothing more satisfying than charging a heavy attack and crushing a zombie into a puddle of viscera with the Great Hammer. As you explore the world of MediEvil you learn about the lore and the various events that shaped its similarity to Dark Souls; by interacting with characters and the environment.
After seeing the new trailer for MediEvil’s remake I couldn’t be happier with how they built it “from the grave up”. Keeping the original game’s iconic art as well as updating the music will give the game the performance and polish it truly deserves. Hearing the game’s original music accompanying HD renderings of bosses such as the Stained Glass Demon and Lord Kardok will offer highly cinematic boss fights further filling that Souls shaped hole in our hearts. I know that many fans of MediEvil cite it almost as a precursor to their current obsession with the Soulsborne series. After getting a small preview of what is to come I cannot wait to return to Gallowmere. Let’s just hope MediEvil keeps its unique charm and humor while also maybe throwing in something new here and there for existing fans.
Editorials
Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘Alien Autopsy’ Showed How Real Found Footage Could Feel
The line separating artist from con man is a lot thinner than you might initially believe. While I think we can all agree that lying for the sake of profit is actively malicious behavior, isn’t it also true that the faux documentary aspect of The Blair Witch Project is half the reason why that film became such a cultural phenomenon? After all, if there’s one thing filmmakers have in common with stage magicians, it’s that misleading and misdirecting audiences is simply part of the job.
That’s why I’ve developed a habit of mostly ignoring the moral quandaries behind many of film and television’s biggest “hoaxes” in favor of appreciating the narrative elements that drive productions like Mermaids: The Body Found and even Animal Planet’s highly underrated The Cannibal in the Jungle. However, if there’s a definitive case of a highly publicized broadcast fooling the world into taking it seriously, it has to be Fox’s infamous 1995 TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.
It’s been over three decades since that eerie footage first haunted television screens right at the peak of the ’90s ufology craze, and in that time, the video has taken on a life of its own. From countless parodies and references in everything from The X-Files to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (as well as John Dower’s recently released tell-all documentary The Alien Autopsy Scandal, which I’d highly recommend to genre fans everywhere), there’s no denying the legacy of the Alien Autopsy video. However, I rarely see the tape discussed as what it truly is: a highly convincing found footage film directed by a passionate stage magician and brought to life by masterful practical effects work.
That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me on a deep dive into one of the most infamous broadcasts of all time in an attempt to reevaluate the footage as a fascinating narrative experience rather than a complete hoax.
The TV Special That Convinced Millions It Was Real
Ray Santilli next to Extraterrestrial replica in ‘The Alien Autopsy Scandal’
For starters, regardless of whether or not you believe that there was in fact an extraterrestrial crash in Roswell during the summer of 1947 and that some form of autopsy was performed on the victims, the producers behind the black & white recordings, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, insist that their video was a “restoration.” Though I’d argue that the proper word is “remake”of genuine footage that was too damaged to air on television. That’s why the duo went on to recruit filmmaker and eccentric magician Spyros Melaris and sculptor/monster designer John Humphreys to bring their version of the autopsy to life and sell it to the highest bidder.
This is where the story of the Alien Autopsy as a narrative experience really begins. Melaris claims that his approach to the faux recording consisted of striving for extreme period accuracy in both shooting equipment and setting while also planting subtle details that would initially seem like mistakes but could later be revealed to actually fit the time period. That being said, the filmmaker was under the impression that the short would be released for free as a PR stunt, with the team later producing and selling an informative documentary chronicling exactly how the footage was faked and commenting on how easy it is to manipulate public perception with a good old-fashioned magic trick.
This obviously isn’t how things went down, and that’s likely the reason why Melaris has since distanced himself from everyone else involved with the project. Yet, no amount of behind-the-scenes drama can undermine the genuine effort that went into making the short as impressive as it is. From the sourcing of real animal organs from a local butcher to make the organic part of the creature more lifelike to the highly detailed sculpt that made use of a hollowed-out underlayer that could be filled with fake blood and assorted viscera, there’s a reason why so many Hollywood specialists are still impressed with the artistry on display here.
Of course, the believability is only half the story, as I think that the best part of the autopsy is how Melaris builds on the existing tension by obscuring certain details and often embracing the chaos of what a real examination of extraterrestrial life could feel like. The camera often goes out of focus at just the right time to make certain effects hit even harder, and we can only speculate as to what the hazmat-suited doctors are gesticulating about during the operation. There’s a real air of mystery to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a cosmically terrifying, cursed film containing forbidden knowledge that civilians were never meant to see.
So when Fox’s Fact or Fiction brings in the specialists to comment on the film and its otherworldly subject, it’s no surprise that we end up with one of the most memorable mockumentaries of all time – albeit one where the participants are unaware that the footage they’re commenting on is basically a large-scale practical joke. A joke that the network was obviously in on, as many participants claim that the TV special cut out significant portions where guests point out that they believe the footage to be an elaborate hoax.
The Lasting Impact of the Hoax Turned Cultural Event
Regardless, I remember going to bed terrified after watching reruns of the special and thinking about the respected pathologist who claimed that the body was almost certainly inhuman, with even effects maestro Stan Winston commenting on how difficult it would be to recreate some of these visuals through practical puppetry. That’s not even mentioning Jonathan Frakes’ dramatic hyping up of the disturbing imagery as if he was talking about the tape from The Ring, with his spooky demeanor here likely being responsible for his later role as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction a few years later.
Personally, I’d argue that the Alien Autopsy phenomenon had just as much of an impact on me as a horror fan as The Blair Witch Project, a film that was almost certainly influenced by the success of this immensely popular hoax (to the point where they even produced their own TV special commenting on Heather’s found footage). Even if Fox didn’t intend to produce a narrative feature about the aftermath of the Roswell crash, the end product still holds up remarkably well as a highly entertaining mockumentary exploring the idea that we may not be alone in the universe.
While neither Santilli nor the rest of the production team has ever commented on this, I also think it’s very likely that the idea of a faux Alien Autopsy could have been influenced by Dean Alioto’s The McPherson Tape/UFO Abduction. I’ve already written about how this granddaddy of found footage was co-opted by rogue ufologists who began selling bootlegs of the tape at conventions as if it were real evidence of a close encounter, so it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Santilli and company could have heard about this phenomenon and been inspired to come up with their own highly profitable hoax.
At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that the Alien Autopsy film is recreating any real footage from Roswell, but I can still appreciate the short and the accompanying television event as a standalone horror story that still influences the way we see found footage to this very day.
After all, the possibility that something could be real is often much scarier than finding out for sure – and that’s why I think Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is still worth revisiting three decades down the line.
You must be logged in to post a comment.