Editorials
Why ‘Control’ is at its Best When it Puts the Guns Down
Ever since the release of Max Payne, it was clear that Remedy Games was capable of creating a satisfying combat loop. Control (Bloody Disgusting’s Game of 2019) is no exception, giving players a delightful combination of tight gunplay and entertaining powers that keep the combat encounters fresh even when the enemy variety isn’t the strongest. There’s a smart design decision that ties both the gun ammo and powers to separate meters that recharge individually, forcing you to swap between them while waiting for one to refill, creating a symphony of chaos. Throwing up a shield, blasting away with your Service Weapons, then hurling a desk at a crowd of people while levitating away to a higher ground will always be satisfying.
As much as I love that loop, it’s not my favorite element of Control. What stands out to me the most is the unique mood it creates through a combination of setting and world-building. Your journey through Control takes you to strange parts of the seemingly boring brutalist building known only as the Oldest House. In my opinion, Control is at its most interesting when these missions take your gun away and force you to contend solely with the weird and wonderful world it presents.
—–SPOILERS FOR CONTROL—-
Even though the game grabbed me right out of the gate, the first time I sat up and said “this game is something special” was the first time I pulled an out of place light switch cord and was transported to the simple, yet enigmatic Oceanview Motel. It’s one of the first times where the game takes away your powers and gun, instead, focusing on puzzle solving. It’s a jarring move at first, but eventually seeing that light switch cord elicited a Pavlovian response in me, getting me ready for another moment of brilliant surrealism.
In fiction, the Oceanview Motel is a “Place of Power” that acts as an interdimensional travel hub. Notes in the game describe how it was first accessed during an Altered World Event in 1992 when the aforementioned light switch cord was discovered to be at the center of a series of disappearances in Butte, Montana. Agents discovered that the cord transported them to the Oceanview after being pulled three times, and performing a ritual there allowed them to open a mysterious door with an inverted black pyramid, transporting them to the Oldest House.
The Oceanview operates entirely on dream logic, creating some of the most interesting puzzles outside of early Silent Hill games. Much like P.T., you revisit this same space over and over again, with things subtly changing, challenging you to figure out the obtuse ‘ritual’ needed to get the key for the black pyramid door. With no combat possible, it’s clear that you can only progress by observing and interacting with the environment. It never explicitly tells you how to get through, but it does a smart job of communicating solutions without being obvious.
The first time you go there, the only thing you can touch is a bell at the front desk. Since you got there by pulling the cord three times, you can make the leap that maybe everything here operates by threes. Ring the bell three times and a door opens giving you the key. A later iteration, one of my favorite Oceanview puzzles, involves you going between nearly identical rooms, adjusting things to make them the same, again without communicating directly that this is what you need to do. In a world where most “puzzles” involve just finding the right key for the right door, it’s refreshing to have a game not only give you something to rack your brain, but also trusts you to be able to make logical leaps. If you still had access to your powers here, you would likely be searching for a solution with those, so limiting your verbs lets you engage with the surreal setting in a direct way.
The final chapter in Control uses these limits to outstanding effect, playing with the conventions of the video game medium itself to make its point. After the rollercoaster ride of the Ashtray Maze and the seemingly climactic release of Polaris, the player is transported to an average, day-to-day version of the offices in the Oldest House, casting protagonist Jesse as an office assistant. Sticky notes on a corkboard tell you to do menial tasks like picking up coffee cups and scanning forms, which is oddly reflected in your mission log. As the player, you know this is wrong, but you perform these tasks anyway as Jesse slowly comes to the realization of what’s going on, changing your objectives as you go. It’s a beautiful illustration of how you can take the language of video games to communicate something about the mindset of the character.
Control is a rare game that can do different ends of the spectrum extremely well. While the Ashtray Maze is a memorable adrenaline rush likely to end up on several “Best Gaming Moments of 2019” lists, quiet moments like the Oceanview Motel are what end up staying with me the most. The lore notes of the game communicate a strange and wonderful tone, and the moments where they take away the action and force you to interact with the world directly allow you to fully live out that tone through gameplay, rather than getting the information secondhand.
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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