Editorials
Exploring the Cosmic Horror of Remedy’s ‘Control’
Despite what a lot of movies and games would have you believe, there’s more to Cosmic Horror than slimy tentacles and otherworldly entities. Popularized by the weird fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, this sub-genre is really at its best when exploring the sinister truth that lurks behind what we consider to be reality, suggesting that the universe is in fact much larger and more terrifying than we previously thought. From the disturbing implications of impossible architecture in Lovecraft’s The Dreams in the Witch House to the infinite hallways of Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, nothing’s more terrifying than watching mundane life fall apart before our eyes.
That’s exactly why I think Remedy’s Control excels in its presentation of Cosmic Horror, despite not necessarily being a horror game.
Control may be something of a spiritual successor to Remedy’s previous horror masterpiece, Alan Wake (existing in the same universe and even incorporating bits of Wake‘s plot into its lore), but it’s also an action-packed third-person shooter with none of the elements traditionally associated with survival horror. In the game, players take on the role of Jesse Faden, a young woman with untapped potential searching for her long-lost brother. With the help of a benign eldritch presence inside her head, Jesse’s search leads her to the ever-shifting headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, a secretive organization that investigates paranormal occurrences.
Exploring the infinitely expanding corridors of the FBC, Jesse unwittingly becomes the new Director of the organization and is tasked with purging the building of a newfound interdimensional threat. Armed with a shapeshifting Service Weapon (basically Excalibur, Mjolnir and an automatic pistol all rolled into one) and a slew of telekinetic powers, players embark on a massive odyssey through “The Oldest House”, facing hordes of brainwashed security personnel and all sorts of unexplainable phenomena as they regain control of the Bureau.
While the game technically takes place in an open-world, you never actually leave the Oldest House, with exploration unfolding like a classic Metroidvania title. Players slowly gain access to more of the environment as they find keycards and unlock new abilities, eventually revealing an interconnected labyrinth that would put the Overlook Hotel to shame. Combat also evolves as you explore, with late-game encounters looking a lot more like a thrilling super-hero simulator than a traditional third-person-shooter.
However, even with your god-like abilities, Control still manages to unnerve players with the way the characters and environments get progressively more bizarre. Creepy possessed enemies aside, there’s something undeniably eerie about these supernaturally neat corridors and office spaces, and it only gets weirder once you dive deeper into the infinite bowels of the Oldest House. As you encounter god-like entities and physics-defying objects (which range from killer refrigerators to an ominous rubber duck), you’ll eventually come to realize that despite all these powers, Jesse is just a tiny speck of dust in an unfathomably large universe.
A never-ending haunted house.
The main story doesn’t explore as many of these themes as I would have liked (with many elements appearing to have been intentionally held back for a sequel), but the world-building more than makes up for that. Even the numerous collectibles help to paint a picture of a hellish work environment that can either be played for laughs or used to provide moments of genuine terror. While I usually dread text-based collectibles in gaming, I found myself scouring these areas for letters and documents that would further expand the lore.
Of course, much of the Cosmic Horror present in the game is borrowed from its influences. The Federal Bureau of Control and its Altered Items are obviously inspired by the internet’s infamous SCP Foundation (another secretive organization that catalogs and contains paranatural phenomena), and there are quite a few nods to both The X-Files and Twin Peaks, as well as Remedy’s own previous work.
These references are more than just set dressing, and that’s why I think it’s impossible to discuss Control without diving deeper into its relationship with House of Leaves. For those who haven’t read Danielewski’s magnum opus, the book is a multilayered story that converges around a documentary about a suburban house that’s bigger on the inside. While this 2000 novel has been hugely influential on the Found-Footage genre, it was also an inspiration for the meta elements of Alan Wake, and a lot of that seems to have bled over into Control.
Not only is the Oldest House inspired by the ever-expanding roots of the House on Ash Tree Lane, but the layers of videos and vague documentation slowly unveiling the FBC’s true nature are also surprisingly true to the spirit of the book. While I’ve always thought that a direct adaptation of the novel would be pointless, the added dimension of interactivity makes gaming the perfect medium to explore these architectural nightmares, something that Remedy seems to be aware of.
Control is by no means an adaptation, boasting unique characters and a distinct setting, but the game’s most iconic moment feels a lot like an action-packed recreation of an expedition from the later chapters of House of Leaves. Blasting through the aptly-named Ashtray Maze is a wonderfully psychedelic experience, but there’s an ominous feeling of dread in the background as you realize that you’ll never fully understand the true nature of these events. This could have been a thrilling sequence in a movie, but nothing can top actually exploring these impossible environments in three-dimensional space.
Trippy.
Speaking of movies, Remedy once again flexes their cinematic muscles with this title, incorporating quite a bit of live-action footage and motion-captured performances into the game. The most notable of the live-action elements are the recurring institutional videos featuring Matthew Porretta as Doctor Casper Darling as he introduces employees to the Bureau’s weird science. Even on their own, these sequences would make for one hell of a Found-Footage flick (I especially enjoy a certain musical number towards the end of the campaign), but spliced into the game they serve as compelling windows into the inner workings of this strange world.
The rest of the cast is also consistently great, especially with Remedy’s absurdly detailed visuals, but Courtney Hope really knocks it out of the park as our awkward yet likable protagonist. Hope perfectly captures Jesse’s insecurity as she’s thrown down a rabbit hole where nothing makes sense and danger lurks around every corner. Over time, however, she learns to accept her place as a leader while also developing a great sense of humor, making for a highly-entertaining character arc.
Jesse’s one-sided exchanges with “Polaris” may seem strange the first time around, but things become much more interesting once you realize that the game is actually implying that the eldritch force inside her head may in fact be the player aiding her on her mission. Not only is this fourth-wall break kind of creepy, but it’s also rather fitting when you factor in Porreta and Ilkka Villi’s triumphant return as Alan Wake in Control’s AWE DLC, with an ending that teases a future crossover between the Bureau and the dark forces that have imprisoned Wake.
Despite its penchant for blockbuster action sequences, Control‘s dedication to proving that the world is, in Jesse’s words, “much bigger and much stranger,” makes it a perfect companion piece to Alan Wake‘s particular brand of existential terror. It’s also a stunning example of Cosmic Horror done right, feeling like a more faithful translation of the sub-genre than many straight-up adaptations.
At the end of the day, Control isn’t a traditionally scary game, but it contains so many horror elements that I believe genre fans are sure to be delighted with this mind-blowing experience. It may not always make sense, but the game is consistently interesting and Remedy’s novel approach to interactive storytelling will likely leave you wanting more. Luckily for us, the Oldest House has yet to reveal all of its secrets, though it’s up to you if you really want to know the terrifying truth that lies beyond the veil.
After fifty years of continuous writing, Stephen King has become a genre unto himself.
The unrivaled Master of Horror made a splash in 1974 with his debut novel Carrie and has been terrifying readers ever since. Two years later, Brian De Palma brought this shocking story to the screen with an equally electrifying horror film that remains a genre classic and a prototypical example of “Good For Her” horror. This dual debut seemed to open the floodgates, unleashing endless waves of Stephen King films.
From the highs of Misery, Cujo, and The Shawshank Redemption to the schlocky fun of Cat’s Eye, Creepshow, and Children of the Corn, the last five decades have seen just about every notable horror creator take a stab at the author’s massive collection.
In recent years, this singular subgenre has begun to burst at the seams, expanding to include Stephen King-esque fare. In 2016, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer debuted Stranger Things, a sci-fi series heavily inspired by two of King’s most famous books. The Netflix series remixes Firestarter and It by following a little girl with psychic powers and an intrepid group of kids on bikes who must battle an otherworldly foe and a sinister government agency. With its clever blend of modern effects and comforting nostalgia, this gateway horror series paved the way for Andy Muschietti’s It adaptation which remains the highest grossing horror film of all time.
Four years later, Mike Flanagan would create Midnight Mass, a spiritual adaptation of King’s second novel Salem’s Lot. Published in 1975, the book sees a tiny New England town torn apart by a centuries-old vampire. Though Flanagan’s story is perhaps more tender, both iterations of the classic horror tale follow close-knit communities shaken to their core by the presence of an ancient evil.
In addition to these recent hits, 2025 was a banner year for the Master of Horror. Audiences delighted in six mainstream adaptations, including the massively popular It: Welcome to Derry which chronicles earlier cycles of the titular clown’s reign. With this boost to King’s cultural cache, it’s no surprise that we’ve begun to see more unofficial adaptations of the author’s work and horror creators who build their own unique castles in King’s creative sandbox.
So what defines a Stephen King-esque story?
For the past fifty years, the prolific author has dipped his toes in nearly every subgenre from supernatural stories and grisly gore to western fantasy and science fiction. Including his vast catalogue of short fiction, King has tackled ghosts, demons, werewolves, zombies, aliens, mutants, and self-driving cars, not to mention bizarre monsters of his own creation. But what truly unites this vast array of horror is King’s focus on relatable characters. In his 2000 memoir/instructional text On Writing, the prolific author describes the amusement he finds in writing disparate characters, placing them in horrific scenarios, then exploring the ways they try to survive.
An unofficial Stephen King adaptation may take place in the author’s native New England — bonus points if it’s set in Maine — and reference his well-known heroes and villains. But what makes the King connection unbreakable is a character-driven story about average people who band together in the face of abject terror.
Weapons Captures Small Town Stephen King
Following his 2022 shocker Barbarian, Zach Cregger returned with Weapons, a sprawling story that begins in a doomed elementary school. On an otherwise ordinary day, Justine (Julia Garner) arrives at her desk to find that all but one of her students have disappeared. As the mystery grows increasingly violent, Justine and Archer (Josh Brolin), the father of a missing boy, find their way to the home of Alex (Cary Christopher), the class’ only surviving student. In some ways reminiscent of Salem’s Lot, Weapons swings wildly through the unfortunate town, introducing us to its flawed inhabitants as we watch their lives fall apart.
Cregger’s setup nods to a pair of King short stories. Both “Suffer the Little Children” and “Here There Be Tygers” tackle monstrous presences in elementary schools, but as Weapons reaches its final act, Constant Readers may remember another Stephen King tale. Featured in his 1985 collection Skeleton Crew, “Gramma” introduces us to George, a little boy tormented by an aging witch. On an afternoon alone with his sickly grandmother, the frightened child gradually realizes that the imposing old woman has been waiting for an opportunity to cast a spell that will extend her own life by possessing his body.
Alex finds himself similarly tortured by his aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), a garish witch who orchestrates a desperate plot to sustain her own strength. Transforming humans into mindless weapons, Gladys has taken over Alex’s family home and lured his classmates to the basement. Holding them in a comatose state, she syphons off their energy to extend her own supernatural life.
Vastly different in many ways, both “Gramma” and Weapons hinge on a sinister witch who uses horrific magical spells to sacrifice the bodies of her vulnerable prey.
Hokum Echoes The Shining and 1408
It’s nearly impossible to watch a film about a haunted hotel without thinking of King’s third novel, The Shining. This icy story follows Jack Torrance, an angry writer struggling with his sobriety and a shameful incident haunting his past. Accompanied by his wife and young son, Jack has taken a job as the winter caretaker for the Overlook, a haunted hotel situated high in the Rocky Mountains. Snowed in, Jack finds himself tormented by dangerous ghosts who amplify his greatest fears.
Damian McCarthy’s Hokum follows a similarly troubled figure. Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a surly writer who travels to the Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland to spread his parents’ ashes. Haunted by his own tragic past, Ohm finds himself trapped in the honeymoon suite, a decaying room that’s been permanently closed to protect visitors from a dangerous witch trapped within its walls. Visual nods to King’s text abound with woodcut figurines and an animated clock, mirroring ominous descriptions found in King’s text.
Another terrifying sequence sees Ohm staring with horror at a closed door, the only thing separating him from the approaching witch. As the door knob slowly turns, Constant Readers remember Jack’s narrow escape from the ghostly woman in room 217. And Ohm’s popular Conquistador books directly reference King’s long-running fantasy series The Dark Tower which follows a gunslinger named Roland Deschain tasked with protecting the nexus of the universe.
In addition to these thematic comparisons, Hokum bears striking resemblance to King’s terrifying short story “1408.” Collected in 2002’s Everything’s Eventual, the terrifying story follows Mike Enslin, a dejected writer who’s risen to fame penning essays about his adventures in haunted locations. Mike arrives at the Hotel Dolphin and bullies his way into the titular room, despite the manager’s dire warnings. McCarthy nods to this story with an ominously misplaced hotel room door, reminiscent of King’s entry to 1408, an unsuspecting portal that appears to move each time Mike looks away.
However, McCarthy’s most direct reference lies in a minicorder Ohm uses to capture notes. Trapped inside the dreaded honeymoon suite, this device offers well-timed messages while sitting next to a decomposing corpse. Mike records his time in 1408 with his own trusty minicorder. Described for the reader, his tape has captured the man’s slow descent into madness as the room prepares to swallow him whole. With conclusions that differ wildly in tone, both Ohm and Mike find their lives irrevocably changed by encounters with the supernatural realm.
Widow’s Bay Builds Its Own Version of Castle Rock
Katie Dippold’s Widow’s Bay has taken the idea of an unofficial King adaptation and turned it into an art form. The Apple TV series sees the residents of the titular island plagued by a curse that dates back centuries. Not only does the picturesque hamlet not accommodate wifi connections, those born on the island face certain death should they ever try to leave. Desperate to modernize the tiny town, Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) draws in waves of tourists just as a new cycle of terror begins.
Blending horror with deft comedy, Dippold makes cheeky references to King’s body of work. Tom warns that, “there’s something in the fog,” reminding readers of King’s 1980 novella The Mist. And Loftis’ own stay in the town’s haunted hotel sees him tormented by the ghost of a murderous clown. We even spy a vintage King hardback peeking out of a local book trade box.
In many ways Widow’s Bay feels like a new iteration of the author’s Little Tall Island, a tiny village off the coast of Maine. In addition to the 1992 novel Dolores Claiborne and a handful of harrowing short stories, this quaint fishing village is also the setting for King’s 1999 teleplay Storm of the Century. Premiering on ABC primetime, this tragic tale follows a terrified group of islanders who batten down the hatches for a dangerous Nor’easter only to find a more sinister threat lurking within.
Constant Readers may also be reminded of Castle Rock, the author’s favorite fictional town.
First introduced in the 1981 novel Cujo, the charming village becomes the star of Needful Things, King’s satire about consumerism. After several Castle Rock stories, we’re reintroduced to its residents as they gossip about the arrival of Leland Gaunt and the grand opening of his curio shop. Anything their hearts desire can be found in his varied inventory, so long as they’re willing to pay the price. Pitting cantankerous neighbors against each other, Gaunt ignites a wave of grisly violence by exploiting long-held resentments and feuds.
The town’s only defense against this supernatural threat is beleaguered sheriff Alan Pangborn. Still grieving the deaths of his wife and younger son, Alan struggles to connect with his older child and pick up the pieces of his shattered life. Also a widower, Loftis struggles to raise his own restless son and explain the strange details of his wife’s tragic death. Attempting to unravel the island’s dark secrets, Tom is aided by quirky residents including a surly fisherman named Wyck (Stephen Root) and Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), an earnest Town Hall employee. King’s own novels feature many of these proactive alliances with disparate characters combining their strengths to overcome insurmountable odds.
With Widow’s Bay renewed for a second season and Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series on the horizon, the future seems bright for new King adaptations, both spiritual and directly pulled from his catalogue. The prolific author also shows no signs of slowing down with two publications nearing release. His upcoming novel, Other Worlds Than These, is the long-awaited third Talisman book which teases direct ties to his Dark Tower world. Holly Forever will be a new installment of his crime series, offering a different kind of genre fare.
This embarrassment of riches spawning multiple worlds seems ripe for spiritual adaptation and will likely inspire horror creators for decades to come.
Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root and Matthew Rhys in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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