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[Based on the Hit Film] The 2005 ‘King Kong’ Movie Tie-In Game Nailed Teen-Rated Horror

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Based on the Hit Film is a series of articles looking at the video game spin-offs and adaptations of popular horror and movies.

It was a rainy mid-December day in 2005 when my mom chose to take me—her 10 year-old monster-loving son—to see Peter Jackson’s epic-scale (in runtime and craftsmanship) remake of the 1933 Cooper and Schoedsack King Kong which, as it turns out, was aptly named King Kong. Besides sharing a similar through-line plot and title, Peter Jackson’s film is very, very much its own being. Like Kong, it is big and, amongst other things, it feels dangerous. My mom, bless her heart, didn’t know what we were in for. Hell, it was all fun and games and buttery popcorn fingers up until the bug-pit set-piece. That was where Jackson’s film careened into full-on horror.

Despite my love of monsters, my 10-year-old self could not handle what was being projected onto the big screen—sailors being ripped apart by giant scorpion-like bugs with sharp pincers, Tommy Guns shredding the carapaces of various other too-big-for-my-liking bugs, bodies being feasted upon by giant centipedes and, finally, that slug(s) scene. That poor, poor cook. Once his head was writhing under the toothed maw of a slimy giant slug, I lost it.

We left the theater. My mom, seeing my current state of mind, felt bad. So, we walked over to the Media Play that was next to the theater (remember Media Play?) and she said I could get a video game of my choosing as an early Christmas present, and, dear reader, this was the rarest of occurrences. 

Like any good 10 year old boy, the horror of bug-pit scene was two Coca Colas and a box of Sno-Caps behind me. In a sugar-induced haze, I had forgotten the unease it made me feel. Game after game, I looked and looked. The Xbox 360 was new and there was not much to choose from. I already had Call of Duty 2, I wasn’t allowed to play GUN, so what was I to choose? Well, as fate may have it, my eyes and sticky fingers landed on the video game tie-in for King Kong which was (horribly) named: Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Official Game of the Movie. A horror of copywriting, that name is. 

Even more importantly, the King Kong tie-in video game is a horror game. Well, to me it is and I shall endeavour to tell you why. Yes, the game scared me as a 10 year old, but as an adult I have gone back and played it from beginning to end (it is now a part of Microsoft’s backwards compatibility lineup). It is a AAA survival horror experience in the guise of a T-rated forgettable movie tie-in game. But it is so much more than just a piece of forgettable pop-culture ephemera. 

For the majority of the game’s 6 hour run-time, the player controls screenwriter-turned-survivalist Jack Driscoll as he fights his way across Skull Island in search of Ann Darrow. The damsel-in-distress narrative is a tired and often gross trope, and it is no different here. But what makes this title so special and so specifically scary is how Driscoll fights his way across the island. Eschewing popular trends of the time, King Kong (I refuse to type in the game’s whole name again) does not contain a HUD.

Everything the player needs to know about their character is contextual in the world of the game. This was a truly fascinating, but not wholly original, design motif for such a mass-market experience. If the player wants to know how much ammo Jack’s pump-action shotgun has, they simply press a button (“B” on an Xbox controller) and he checks his ammo and calls out how much ammo he has left. If he is out of ammo or needs a gun, the player can make Jack interact with a fellow companion to either borrow ammo or take someone else’s firearm. There are no context clues, just common sense (and clever tutorials).

Health is read through screen darkening a la Call of Duty 2. The player must chart their own path which happens to be quite easy due to the game’s linearity. This obfuscation of common design elements and necessary information builds tension, and combat encounters become all the more harrowing. 

Furthermore, how the player fires their weapon is, oddly enough, quite similar to Resident Evil 4 even though King Kong is a first-person experience. The player’s weapon is not always aimed as it is in most other first-person shooters. The left trigger must be pulled in order to shoulder the weapon and only then can it be fired, but unlike Resident Evil 4 the player can move—albeit at a slower pace—while firing. Making firing a weapon a two-button action not only slows down how quickly a player can react to a threat, it makes the player become more methodical, and as player’s are overrun by enemies, it makes the playing of the game genuinely scary.

But it is rated T, how can it be scary? Gore, viscera and jet-black themes are not needed for horror. There is enough tension and uneasy imagery in King Kong to make it seem like a true horror experience. 

The gameplay is purposefully clunky, ammo is scarce, and when ammo is dried up, the player must use Skull Island, itself, as a weapon. Spears can be set on fire and tossed into shrubbery to spread a blaze that keeps monsters at bay and/or kills them outright. The fire is dynamic—one cannot help but think that the fire physics in this game were a testing ground for what was to come in a later Ubisoft title, Far Cry 2, but the beasts of the island also act like animals. There is a simple ecosystem at play. Big animals eat smaller animals and the player can weaponize this system in order to survive. Injure a small animal and maybe a larger beast will finish the job for you. But these beasts are not your friends. In fact, the animals that inhabit Skull Island is where King Kong most obviously becomes a horror experience. 

Giant crabs erupt from shallow water with murderous intent, prehistoric centipedes move in an otherworldly manner just before they stiffen and cock back right before they pounce at you (more on this later), and there are even dinosaurs that will want you dead. But these are not the clean Spielbergian dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, no, these beasts are made to be scary rather than to elicit awe.

The first time the player encounters a T-Rex is one of the scariest and most memorable experiences I have ever had in a game. All is still and then everything is chaos. The T-Rex breaks through the tree line, men scream in fear, men scream in agony, men die, and the beast roars with prehistoric bloodlust. Fighting the dangers of Skull Island becomes a game of forethought, of preparation like many other survival horror games. Things go well, then they don’t, and then the player must improvise. But how does one try to remain strategic when one of the scariest monsters in all of video games is vying to kill you? 

The answer to that question, for me, is that I threw all strategy out of the window the first time I saw one of the in-game colossal centipedes. The base idea of a giant centipede is scary enough, but how it moves is something else entirely. The habitus of these centipedes if familiar yet otherworldly. They have lots of legs, their feelers move of their own accord, their mouth-pincers click and clatter, but how they move and interact with their surroundings feels not of this world, not of the game’s world. They are unique in their terror. The centipedes flail and move with a sense of rapidity that is spine-chilling, and they may be easy to fell with a shotgun, but I was most afraid of them when I’d throw a spear at them.

The spear would pin them to a wall or the ground and their bodies with writhe with a desperate desire for freedom of motion and from their immediate pain. That is when the player is supposed to kill them, but sometimes they’d get away. Sometimes they’d get to close. And when they are close to the player, their bodies stiffen and rear back like a rubber band stretched between one’s pointer finger and thumb. Their potential energy becomes deadly, and it is then released in a kinetic force of pincers and teeth and limbs that creates a rapid-moving image that I will never forget. They are the scariest and most unnervingly animated beings I’ve ever encountered in a video game. They made me forget all of my survival horror skills and left me with just a desire to not have to cast my eyes upon them anymore. 

Ubisoft’s King Kong is an odd little survival horror experience, that much is for sure, but what happens when player-control is shifted to Kong? What happens to the survival horror elements that have been laid out and expanded upon over the past few hours? They are immolated in a mass of gargantuan muscles, fur, and teeth. Kong is the biggest and most dangerous thing on Skull Island. There is nothing to fear when playing as him; it is a power-trip that serves to make the return to controlling Jack Driscoll all the more terrifying and humbling. Kong rips jaws from T-Rexs, he drums his chest knowing he will forever remain unchallenged on Skull Island, but he is eventually brought to New York City against his will. The concrete and steel megalopolis is unknowable to him, controlling him in New York City is a balancing act between power and fear-of-the-unknown.

Eventually, the city gets the better of him. He slumps bullet-ridden and leaking from the Empire State Building and falls to his death. Even giant beasts—one of a kind monsters—have something to be afraid of, and Ubisoft’s King Kong makes fear malleable, it scales fear up and down to a dramatic and, usually successful, effect.


Also in the Based on the Hit Film Series:

Cole Henry is a Media Theory student who can usually be found drinking too much coffee, writing, running, or trying to get his friends to sit through all of The Wailing.

Editorials

The 10 Scariest Moments in the ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie Franchise

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scariest Ghostbusters

WARNING: The following contains mild spoilers for the Ghostbusters franchise. 

Yes, Ghostbusters is a horror movie – gateway horror to be exact. Setting aside the fact that the title literally contains the word “ghost,” a foundational element of the scariest genre, the franchise follows a group of paranormal researchers who battle entities attacking from beyond the grave. After countless rewatches, the classic films and newer sequels may not scare us much anymore, but how many times have we as genre fans asserted that a film does not have to be “scary” to be considered horror?

Genre classification is nebulous and any film that centers on ghosts has a place in the sprawling house of horror. Yes, it’s true that most viewers over the age of thirteen will find more to laugh about than scream while watching a Ghostbusters film, but each entry contains a handful of terrifying moments. With Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire uniting three generations of the parascientific warriors, perhaps it’s time to highlight the most frightening moments from each phase of this legendary franchise. 


Ghostbusters (1984)

A Haunted Library

scariest Ghostbusters movie

Ivan Reitman’s original film begins with a campfire tale come to life. We follow an unsuspecting librarian as she ventures deep into the stacks to reshelve a book. With her hair blowing from a spectral breeze, we watch a hardcover float across the aisle to the opposite shelf. A second book follows, but the librarian remains unaware. She finally notices the disturbance when card catalog drawers open on their own spewing cards into the air like literary geysers. She flees through the maze of narrow stacks only to come face to face with a mysterious force who blows her back with a powerful roar. We won’t see the Library Ghost (Ruth Oliver) until a later scene, but this introduction firmly positions the film that follows in the world of horror. On first watch, we can only speculate as to the ghost’s malevolence and whether or not the librarian has survived the encounter. It’s the perfect introduction to a world in which ghosts are not only real, they will pounce on unsuspecting humans at the drop of a … book. 

Shaky Ground

The original finale may not be the film’s most terrifying moment, but it has become the franchise’s most iconic image. When faced with choosing a form for Gozer (Slavitza Jovan), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) inadvertently conjures up an image from his childhood. Moments later, a set of once-cheery eyes peer through the skyscrapers. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man towers over the city, stomping and destroying everything in its path. While there’s definitely something terrifying about a jovial mascot turned deadly killer, what happens moments before is arguably scarier. 

The Ghostbusters arrive at the luxury apartment building to throngs of adoring fans. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) plays into this hero-worship and promises an easy solution to a supernatural problem. But before they can enter the building, lightning strikes the upper floors sending massive chunks of brick and cement raining down on the barricaded street. The ground begins to shake and a giant fissure swallows the entire team. It’s a destabilizing moment made all the more terrifying by its shocking reality. Speculation about the existence of ghosts may vary from person to person, but there’s no doubt that sinkholes are very real. It’s entirely possible that the ground we’re standing on right now could spontaneously begin to crumble, sucking us down into a seemingly bottomless void beneath the earth. 


Ghostbusters II (1989)

Runaway Baby

Ivan Reitman’s sequel begins with a sly update on the life of a beloved character as Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) pushes a baby carriage containing her infant son Oscar (Henry and William Deutschendorf). When last we saw the attractive cellist, she was kissing Venkman in the wreckage of Gozer’s demise and the thought of this loveable lady’s man becoming a father may be more nerve-wracking than anything contained in the first film. We never learn much about Oscar’s real father, but we do discover that fate has a sinister plan for the adorable child. While Dana chats with her landlord, Oscar’s carriage rolls a few feet away. Dana reaches for the handle, but the buggy begins speeding down the sidewalk careening through the busy crowds. As if guided by unseen hands, the carriage twists and turns, then abruptly swerves into oncoming traffic. Cars honk and veer out of the way, but the racing carriage marks a collision course with an approaching bus. The wheels screech to a halt moments before what would surely be a deadly crash and Dana rushes to embrace her vulnerable child. This harrowing scene is likely to terrorize any parent who’s experienced the fear of trying to protect a baby in an unpredictable world.  

Sewer Screams

scariest Ghostbusters scene

While investigating the second film’s primary villain, Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homburg), three of the Ghostbusters venture into the sewers hoping to find a growing river of slime. Ray, Winston (Ernie Hudson), and Egon (Harold Ramis) trek down an abandoned subway line while speculating about the hordes of cockroaches and rats they hear scurrying behind the walls. These vermin may be scary, but there are more malevolent monsters lurking in the dark. Ray and Egon both amuse themselves with the tunnel’s echo but Winston’s “hello” goes unanswered. Moments later, a demonic voice bellows his name from the dark end of the corridor. Waiting behind him is a severed head floating in the empty tunnel. As he tries to retreat, the team finds themselves surrounded by dozens of ghoulish heads that disappear faster than they materialized. Moments later, a ghostly train hurtles towards them, swallowing Winston in its spectral glow. Egon theorizes that something is trying to keep them from reaching their destination with effective scares designed to frighten the Ghostbusters and audience alike.  


Ghostbusters (2016)

Haunted Basement

Like its predecessor, Paul Feig’s remake opens with a spooky vignette. Garrett (Zach Woods) gives a tour of the Aldridge Mansion, a 19th century manor preserved in the middle of the busy city, and walks visitors through a troubling history of excess and cruelty. Hoping to inject a bit of excitement, he pauses near the basement door and tells the horrifying story of Gertrude Aldridge (Bess Rous), a wealthy heiress who murdered the house’s many servants. Hoping to avoid a public scandal, her family locked her in the basement and her restless spirit can still be heard trying to escape. Garrett triggers a trick candlestick to fly off the shelf, hinting at the spirit’s presence, but a late night incident shows that the deceased murderess may actually be lurking in her ancestral home. While closing up for the night, Garrett hears ominous noises from behind the barricaded door and watches the knob rattle against the heavy locks. An unseen attacker hurls him through the house and eventually drives him down the basement stairs to a sea of green slime pooling on the floor. The stairs crumble leaving the tour guide hanging on to the door frame for dear life as a spectral figure glides toward him with menacing hands outstretched. Once again, we won’t see the fully revealed ghost of Gertrude Aldridge until later in the film, but this terrifying opening sets the stage for a dangerous showdown with an army of the dead.

Mannequin On the Move

The scariest moment of the 2016 remake is arguably the vicious online hatred sparked well before the film’s release. In response to brutal comments posted to the first official trailer, the cast returned to film an additional scene in which they react to dehumanizing negativity. But another sequence may cut closer to the heart of this upsetting experience. The Ghostbusters respond to a call at a concert venue and split up to cover more ground. Patty (Leslie Jones) enters what she calls a “room full of nightmares” and immediately reverses course to avoid a multitude of mannequins stacked haphazardly in the dark. As she walks out the door, one of the faceless creatures turns its head her way. Walking on its own, this sentient prop follows her down the hall, pausing the moment she turns around. Eventually breaking cover, the mannequin chases Patty down the hall to the rest of the team. They unleash their proton packs and make quick work of the gargoyle-like ghost. Though this connection is surely unintentional, it’s a terrifying parallel to a faceless monster sneaking up to attack a woman simply trying to do her job. 


Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Smoke and Monsters

While Ghostbusters: Afterlife is nowhere near as scary as the horror films playing in the local summer school science class, Jason Reitman’s legacyquel does contain its share of frights. The film opens with a harrowing scene as we join Egon (Oliver Cooper) in the last moments of his life. Racing away from a sinister mountain, Egon’s truck collides with an unseen force and flips upside down in a field of corn. The elderly scientist races back to his crumbling farmhouse with a trap in hand, intent on ensnaring this invisible being. Unfortunately, the power fails and Egon has no choice but to hide the trap under the floorboards and wait. He sits in a comfortable old chair as a horrifying cloud of smoke drifts in behind him, momentarily forming the shape of a fanged beast. Demonic hands grab him from within the chair, likely causing the heart attack that will be listed on his death certificate. But his abandoned PKE meter below the chair activates, reminding us that Egon may be deceased, but he is far from gone.  

The Terror Returns

scariest Ghostbusters moments

Ghostbusters: Afterlife turns out to be a touching tribute to Harold Ramis as his friends and family unite to complete the beloved scientist’s heroic mission. In addition to a tearjerker ending, Reitman also includes a bevy of callbacks to the original film. Not only do the Spenglers square off against the team’s first enemy, Gozer (Emma Portner), the nonbinary entity brings back the Terror Dogs that once possessed Dana Barret and Louis Tully (Rick Moranis). These demonic beasts first rear their ugly heads while Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) stops by Walmart to buy a midnight snack. While the horde of mini marshmallow men are eerie in their gleeful self-destruction, the ghostly canine that chases him through the store is the stuff of nightmares. Early iterations of this fearsome creature are hindered by ’80s-era special effects, but Reitman’s version feels frighteningly real. While Gary frantically tries to find his keys, this Terror Dog snarls at him from atop his car dashboard, leaving the endearing science teacher with no way to escape. 


Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Frozen Dinner 

After a film set in a small mountain town, the opening of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire takes us back to New York circa 1904. We see the fire station in its early years as a horse-drawn carriage responds to a call. Arriving at the scene, a fireman tests the door for heat and watches in horror as his hand instantly freezes. Inside, they find jagged shards of ice surrounding and piercing a frozen dinner party. Guests are posed in various states of ice-covered surprise while an eerie record skips in the corner. A figure covered in brass armor we will come to know as a Fire Master is crouched in the corner clutching a mysterious orb. When the fireman touches this rippling sphere, the frozen diners’ heads begin to explode, an ominous precursor to the chilling threat awaiting the newest Ghostbusting team. 

Lights Out

If Ghostbusters: Afterlife featured the lo-fi gear of the 80s, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hurls us into the future. Wealthy financier Winston Zeddemore has been surreptitiously building a new containment unit to relieve pressure on the original model along with a secret lab designed to study ghosts and haunted objects. In addition to fancy new gadgets and gear, this facility contains several captured spirits like a fanged Wraith and a speedy Possessor. Lab techs assure the astonished Spengler team that they are perfectly safe, but it seems they’ve overestimated the facility’s security. Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) and Lars (James Acaster) are studying the aforementioned orb when the power goes out, leaving them stranded in the dark with a cache of haunted objects. Not only does the ancient sphere hold a deadly spirit, the proton fields containing the captured ghosts have just been disabled. These terrifying creatures begin to drift through the walls toward the defenseless lab techs, perhaps at the bidding of an evil commander. Thankfully the generator kicks on in the nick of time, drawing the ghosts back into their cells. It’s a tense moment reminding us that no matter how charming the Ghostbusters may be, they still spend their days with evil spirits just waiting for an opportunity to wreak havoc.  


The Ghostbusters franchise excels at mixing humor and fear, practically setting the blueprint for the modern horror comedy. Moments from the original two films terrified a generation of gen-xers and elder millennials and newer iterations are currently scaring their kids. The fifth franchise installment effectively passes the proton pack torch to a new generation of Ghostbusters and we can only hope additional films will continue to induct future generations of Ghostbusters fans into the horror family as well. 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now playing in theaters. Read our review.

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