Editorials
[Editorial] Why Rhythm-Action Game ‘Thumper’ is a Hypnotic Nightmare
In Thumper, there’s just you. A chrome-plated beetle that moves at high speed, always on the edge, attempting to escape. Tight corners that would be impossible to traverse by a human being lock you onto the game’s hellish highway, forcing you to stay on the beat and react fast. There are spikes and snakes to avoid. There’s also a certain enemy that demands perfect precision several times in a row, or see you scrubbed from existence via an inescapable laser. Intimidating bosses roam each stage as well. Everything tries its best to stop you mechanically, but it’s right inside your head where Thumper struck its needle.
The influence of the rhythm games genre is used for tormenting the player with all kind of negative emotions, with a promise of nailing a high score and, eventually, becoming better. Fear, uncertainty, nerves, and never-ending pressure due to exigency are constant. And there’s a reason why the developers decided to label their project as “rhythm violence”. It’s not so much about seeing the beetle using its own body to rail on obstacles or performing jumps with as much strength as it can get from its tiny wings. But rather, what the experience altogether does to the player.
The tutorial, a mere facade used by the game to turn itself into an unknown visitor of your mind, takes the theory into practice in mere seconds. It lets you in on the basics, repeating a few patterns you’ll be seeing often in the upcoming levels, and immediately stops holding your hand. Everything becomes more and more complicated, and by the time you get through the finish line, you’re left speechless.
Anything that can give you a quick exit has been thought by the developers to prevent you from doing so. Although you will fail often, respawning is immediate, and there isn’t enough room for respite except for merciful, yet scarce, breaks in between sections. You can always pause and exit the game, of course, but there’s a seductive element to its movement that grasps you.
There’s still predominantly a rhythm game underneath the nightmare. The scoring system will remind you of that in every single section you manage to survive, granting you different grades based on your performance. If you get hurt or happen to miss a platform, you can say goodbye to an S grade. But if you manage to perform above average, doing perfect turns, that are seemingly impossible due to high speed and the quick reflexes they require, they’ll get you a nice, satisfying bonus each time.
Thumper wants you to perform at the best of your capacities and isn’t afraid to push you back often, demanding even more from you on the next stage. It always appears keeps you on a leash, distracting you by score leaderboards and a search for perfection that comes tied with the genre, only to cause punishment if you don’t only meet, but exceed on its standard.
I played it for the first time when it launched on PC back in 2016 , and I’ve recently picked it up again for my Switch. For a moment, I thought I had gotten over the fear and anxiety I felt during that one initial playthrough. But I got sucked in again as it were the first time.
Playing games in bed have come almost a routine thanks to the console’s nature, but Thumper is the first to cause a disturbance in a moment that is supposed to be relaxing after a long day of work. It forces me to sit down in bed, dedicating my full attention. Regardless of the weather outside, I can’t help but start sweating in less than half an hour. It drags you into the screen in much the same way a massive open-world is able to, but instead of wonder and discoveries, you feel trapped.
Music and sound design play a big part of this, meshing together in a way that’s terrifying to witness. Every time a new platform or turn is approaching, you hear a distinct sound attributed to it. If you wear headphones and pay enough attention, you might be able to prepare your fingers ahead of time. But it’s also how the audio revolves around you, blasting primitive, eerie sounds and marching drums that become more intense as you progress.
It manages to create a strange connection that certainly drifts away from your regular rhythm game. The feeling of wanting to overcome the challenges upon you is there, but you don’t have a selection of difficulties to rely on for practice. There aren’t any rock or pop songs in there, either. Rather, there’s the company of a dedicated soundtrack that is so in touch with the game you can almost feel it.
Thumper remains true to the definition of a nightmare. It feels like something that only the darkest corners of your mind could make, defying speed and a human space for colors and shapes that are both intimidating and gorgeous to lose yourself into. There’s a constant sense of danger, laughing at the face of your well-being and evoking emotions deep inside you, regardless of how you felt prior to entering the game.
It’s only you in Thumper, trying to escape from a bad dream that is preventing you from waking up. The beetle is hit several times, suffering from damage and the inevitable fate it has fallen into. Each level is a purgatory of dedicated precision, chaining you to a loop of patterns and rules to follow.
And you can get through it eventually. But even after years of waking up from the nightmare, the memory is still roaming inside my head. Going at full speed, looking for a way out.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
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The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
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