Editorials
Horror Game ‘FAITH’s Effective and Honest Letters Remind Us Why Reading Horror Matters
Horror stories have been told since the ancient Greeks’ time. Stories of witches, vampires, demons and death already existed back then. We have come from spoken tales to written ones, from Hippolytus’ myth to Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu and million others along the way. The human race has experienced an infinite amount of horror fiction, especially on paper. Luckily for us, horror writing doesn’t show any intention of going away anytime soon. Although the genre has evolved across the centuries and has found new mediums –like video games–, creepy tales still have their unique charm and ways of making us feel terrified through the written word. Luckily for us, we can find incredible reading experiences outside of books, such as in gaming.
An example of this can be found in the original BioShock. BioShock presented crucial plot elements in 122 obtainable audio logs. This is obviously different from written files, but the main idea –discovering the story from external sources– remains the same. There is such an intriguing story to be revealed, about remarkable characters and personalities (the city’s founder Andrew Ryan, Frank Fontaine criminal’s mind and the Little Sisters’ mother, Ms. Tenenbaum), while exploring the depths of Rapture. The foundation of this underwater city crowded with “maniac people” has so many secrets, lies, betrayals and disputes of ideologies that stick with you long after you finish the game. Atlas’ words will always stay in my head, no matter what: “I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. These people will liberate themselves.”
So what’s new about ‘FAITH’? Actually, nothing. Opposite to BioShock, it only offers letters, without any narrator reading them for us. Just some grey words over a black background, with no thorough handwriting or style. Even worse, the font used is like a ‘pixelated’ Comic Sans, perhaps the true horror in all of this. However, the charm in FAITH letters is right in its simplicity: it’s effective and honest. It doesn’t need to reinvent anything to tell a brief, but compellingly spooky story.
While supernatural it may be, FAITH’s story which isn’t a complex one. In fact, it’s pretty simple. ‘Something happened to Amy Martin, the daughter of a married couple who lived in a mansion inside a deep forest. It ‘apparently’ has to do with a demonic presence, and so, as expected, a priest goes there with the intention of stopping the evil forces behind Amy’s “incident”. It all went to hell (literally) and it’s our job to see what really happened. The priest left letters for Karen, his loved one, to let her know what was going on. We find these by using our crucifix against objects or elements which seem a bit awkward or has a contrasting color with the scenario. There isn’t many elaborated metaphors or poetic descriptions in the letters. Just the raw facts and actions that took place in this tragedy, with the exasperating feelings of the authors. You can feel the stress of the priest in every line he wrote:
“We spoke briefly, although it was frustrating to talk to her (or it). I experienced a bit of deception from the demon. During our conversation, she uttered my mother’s first name and in other instances spoke perfect Latin. I called for help from the others. But nobody came. So I raised my crucifix and began the rite again.”
Another good example of engaging writing is Amy’s mom, who feels devastated because she doesn’t know what on earth she can do to help her daughter, while at the same time she has to protect her twins in a house she doesn’t feel secure in anymore. You can read her emotions, feel that pain and suffering in only a few lines:
“I don’t feel safe in my own home anymore. I hear voices outside around the house at night. I don’t let the twins go out in the woods to play because I’m afraid of what’s out there. The house itself feels stressed, distorted… slanted somehow. It’s like I’m walking through a carnival fun house.”
Every letter feels like a small jigsaw piece to a dismal and disturbing puzzle. A puzzle that we never finish, one that we never get the whole picture of. This lack of clarity feels like a good call, because frightening tales tend to lose their impact and intensity when everything is explained. Give me some context to know what I’m doing and why, then explain or give me an approximation of a reason why this creepy shit is happening and that’s it. Leave the rest to interpretation or ambiguous. After all, you wouldn’t remove the mist of Silent Hill, now would you? A little of this feeling of not receiving all the information happens with some of the last letters, when one is incomplete, it has erased keywords or empty spaces. We can also see it in a special one with red font, avoiding the name of the “specter” that took Amy. I strongly believe this is a way of making your story stick in your spectator’s mind –unless you continuously fill the gaps with nonsense crap. Don’t do that, please.
Last but not least, I want you to know that there are five different endings in the game, and each of them has a unique “article” to read and finish the story. Without spoiling anything, some of them are pretty interesting stuff: the one I got first actually made me doubt everything that happened and made me ask about the real nature of my character. I felt I knew him and his true intentions, but maybe I just imagined what I wanted. Like we often do in real people, you know?
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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