News
‘Alan Wake’ Review: A Fear Of The Dark
It’s been a long time coming but Alan Wake is finally here and now all it has to do is live up to the tons of hype that has steadily built up around it since the game was announced nearly five years ago. Great horror games are few and far between, so only a few titles end up standing above the rest to define a console generation. The last big hit to grace our consoles was arguably the Necromorph infested Dead Space, but we’ve also had Resident Evil 5, Dead Rising, Condemned, Left 4 Dead, and a slew of other titles.
So does Alan Wake redefine the horror genre? Take storytelling in video games to new heights? Is it actually fun? How good do the trees look? All these questions and more are answered right after the jump. The horror genre used to be infamous for its clunky controls, but it seems as if we’re outgrowing that this generation as more and more games gift us with capable protagonists to control. Silent Hill: Homecoming replaced the horribly tank-like controls it had relied on for over a decade with a guy that could hold his own, even against hellish creatures from the Otherworld. Dead Space gave us Strategic Dismemberment (need I say more?)
Thankfully, Alan is limber enough to dodge the oncoming axes, pickaxes, chainsaws, and other melee weapons coming his way, as well as take out a few shadowy enemies without too much trouble. The dodge move isn’t easy enough to work every time (unless you have insanely fast reflexes) and you can strafe so you never have to stop moving.
Alan Wake is a linear game, maybe too linear at times, but the level design cleverly hides this fact by giving you plenty of room to explore while on your linear path. This is why having a capable hero is crucial, because enemies can flank you from all sides (since you’re usually surrounded by forest), so it’s important that we’re able to stay and fight or take off screaming for our mommies. In case you were wondering, I tend to take the latter approach.
Prior to the game’s release there was a lot of talk about it being the best looking title of the generation (so far), but that really isn’t true. Alan Wake looks stunning and does some thing particularly well, namely light and shadows. But it’s far from being the visual sensation many were making it out to be.
There are a myriad of really spectacular effects like sparks flying off enemies when you shine your light on them, or the slow motion that’s enabled when you light a flare. But my favorite effect occurs when the Darkness comes, because that’s when you can see fast moving shadows on the ground, strange sounds in the distance, and a strong wind that makes the gorgeous trees shake.
Did I mention the trees? It might sound strange to spend time discussing a game’s foliage but you do spend a majority of your time surrounded by them so it’s rather important that they look realistic. And they do. In fact, there’s a section (worry not dear reader, no spoilers lie here) where people wielding flashlights are chasing you in a forest. This area was particularly memorable because it combined many of my favorite features: white hot beams of far away flashlights cutting through the densely packed trees that occasionally shake and stir when the Darkness arrives. It was really amazing and I would’ve stopped to take it all in if I wasn’t, you know, being chased.
You might not have noticed but Alan Wake is a game that prides itself on its strong storytelling. One might say it’s the type of game that considers itself “story-driven.” This would imply that the story is engaging and pulls you in like a good book. People still read, right? At the end of each Episode lies a cliffhanger ending that, for the most part, is usually fairly surprising. I’m not saying your jaw will drop at some sudden plot twist, but the game certainly has its fair share of immersion and the pacing is fantastic enough to keep the game from ever getting dull.
When it comes to the story, the game’s strong point ends up being the characters and how they develop as the story progresses. Alan is the type of guy you can empathize with, his wife and her unfounded(?) fear of the dark is unique, for a grown woman at least. And there’s a plethora of original characters you’ll come across in the secluded mountain town of Bright Falls that will either fill you with dread or put a grin on your face.
Of course, it’s not all bright and sunny in Bright Falls; there are some minor things like aged character models (no doubt because the game was in development for so long) and awkward driving sections, but my major complaint is how little time you can spend with it. You also have a modestly sized single-player campaign with essentially nothing in the form of stuff to do outside of the main game other than collecting items. The game also at times feels a little constricting in its linearity; you need to this or that before you can move to your next destination, than repeat. The missions are fun and well designed but offer little in terms of variety.
If you don’t mind a single-player only experience and are patient enough to wait for the upcoming DLC that will expand on said experience, this is a truly amazing game. It’s emotional, engaging, highly polished, and intense. One minute you’ll be walking along a quiet forest floor and the next you’ll be surrounded by shadowy enemies, fighting for your life as you try to find a source of light. Alan Wake takes the overused Light versus Dark plot and makes it tangible. The Darkness hunts you, it’s intelligent, cunning, and will stop at nothing to keep you from achieving your goals. The only question is: are you afraid of the dark?
We are now one full month into Spring 2024, which kicked off on Tuesday, March 19 and comes to an end with the start of Summer on Thursday, June 20. This year’s summer movie season has a whole bunch of exciting horror highlights, including A Quiet Place: Day One, MaXXXine, and Alien: Romulus, but let’s hold that particular thought until June rolls around.
We’re here today to talk about Spring 2024 and the many horrors we still have left before the weather gets warmer and we find ourselves in the heat of one hell of a spooky summer.
Here are 12 horror movies you don’t want to miss in Spring 2024!
STING – April 12
Two words: SPIDER HORROR. Writer/Director Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood) hopes to induce eight-legged terror with his brand new horror movie Sting, only in theaters April 12.
Of particular note, Sting features practical spider effects from 5-time Academy Award Winner Weta Workshop, with the spider in this one inspired by H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph!
In Sting, “One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider. The creature is discovered by Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl obsessed with comic books. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting.
“But as Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases, so does its size. Growing at a monstrous rate, Sting’s appetite for blood becomes insatiable.”
BLACKOUT – APRIL 12
Indie darling Larry Fessenden is back with new horror movie Blackout this Spring, Fessenden’s third movie – following Habit and Depraved – to put his own spin on classic monsters.
While Habit was centered on vampires and Depraved was a fresh take on Frankenstein’s Monster, Larry Fessenden’s Blackout is the filmmaker’s contribution to werewolf cinema.
The film follows Charley, an artist whose drinking binges blur with his sneaking suspicion that he might be a werewolf. He distances himself from those he loves and sinks deeper into solitude, his flashes of memory of his nighttime grisly acts manifested through his artwork.
ARCADIAN – APRIL 12
If Nicolas Cage is covered in blood, you better believe we’re going to be watching. Cage gets his own A Quiet Place with Arcadian, a new creature feature coming to theaters April 12.
In Arcadian, which also comes to Shudder later this year, “After a catastrophic event depopulates the world, a father (Nicolas Cage) and his two sons must survive their dystopian environment while being threatened by mysterious creatures that emerge at night.”
Jaeden Martell (IT 2017) also stars in the post apocalyptic monster movie.
ABIGAIL – APRIL 19
If you’re bummed about Melissa Barrera being fired from the Scream franchise, you’ll definitely want to get out to your local theater this month to support Abigail, the new VAMPIRE BALLERINA horror movie from Scream and Scream VI directors Radio Silence.
Barrera stars alongside fellow horror favorite Kathryn Newton (Freaky) in Abigail, which is actually the latest horror movie in Universal’s relaunched Universal Monsters Universe.
In the film, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – APRIL 19
One of the most talked about horror movies of Spring 2024 has been the Halloween 1977-set Late Night With the Devil, which has been playing in theaters since its premiere on March 22.
Late Night with the Devil will begin streaming at home on April 19, 2024, less than one month after arriving in theaters. Shudder will be the exclusive streaming home of the movie.
David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in Late Night with the Devil, set on Halloween 1977.
In the found footage-style film that captures a period aesthetic, “A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.”
INFESTED – APRIL 26
Spring 2024 is all about SPIDERS – sorry, arachnophobes! – with the previously mentioned Sting being followed by the French creature feature Infested (Vermines) later this month.
What’s particularly exciting about Infested is that its director, Sébastien Vaniček, has been hired to direct the next installment in the Evil Dead film franchise, so this will be our first taste of what Vaniček is capable of within the genre. And the buzz for this one is strong.
In his review out of Fantastic Fest last year, for starters, Bloody Disgusting’s own critic Trace Thurman raved that Infested is “one of the best spider attack movies in years.”
In the upcoming horror film, “Fascinated by exotic animals, Kaleb finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap.”
HUMANE – APRIL 26
The daughter of horror master David Cronenberg, Caitlin Cronenberg is making her own mark in the genre filmmaking space with IFC Films’ Humane, coming to theaters this month.
The film is described as “a dystopian satire taking place over a single day, months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to reduce the earth’s population.”
The wild premise? 20% of the world’s population must VOLUNTEER TO DIE!
“In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.”
I SAW THE TV GLOW – MAY 3
Fresh off the haunting and singularly creepy indie We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Jane Schoenbrun is back with A24‘s I Saw the TV Glow, releasing only in theaters this May.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for BD, “I Saw the TV Glow offers a layered and authentic portrait of identity, wrapped in ’90s nostalgia and surreal imagery that embeds itself deep into your psyche.” Meagan continues, “Schoenbrun delivers a singular vision of arthouse horror that entrances for its fevered dream style and insanely cool imagery.”
In A24’s latest, “Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.”
TAROT – MAY 3
Originally titled Horrorscope, a much better title if you’re asking me, Screen Gems returns to the big screen with studio horror movie Tarot this Spring, a Tarot-card themed spookshow.
When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings – never use someone else’s deck – they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards in the upcoming Screen Gems horror movie Tarot. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death to escape the future foretold in their readings.
The hook for this one? Artist Trevor Henderson designed the film’s eight monsters!
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 – MAY 17
Bryan Bertino’s 2008 home invasion classic The Strangers spawns a brand new reboot trilogy this year, with first film The Strangers: Chapter 1 kicking things off in theaters on May 17.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is expected to follow in Fall 2024.
Madelaine Petsch is the lead of the new reboot trilogy, playing a character who drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest.
When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE – MAY 31
Slasher fans who have been hungry for a new Friday the 13th movie won’t want to miss In a Violent Nature, which plays out like a Friday movie… entirely from Jason’s perspective!
IFC Films will release In a Violent Nature exclusively in theaters on May 31.
In the film, “When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back – along with anyone in his way.”
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for Bloody Disgusting, “In a Violent Nature may offer slasher thrills and a delightfully gory rampage across the wilderness, but the approach captures the carnage through ambient realism. It results in a fascinating arthouse horror experiment that plays more like a minimalist slice-of-life feature with a grim twist.”
THE WATCHERS – JUNE 14
M. Night Shyamalan returns with the new thriller Trap this coming August, but the road to that film’s release will be paved by the feature debut of his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.
Ishana Night directed The Watchers, in theaters from WB/New Line on June 14.
The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
Which Spring 2024 horror movies are YOU most looking forward to?
Spring 2024 Horror Preview: 12 Horror Movies You Don’t Want to Miss
4 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘Late Night with the Devil’ at Home
Blumhouse and Lionsgate Join Forces for Brand New ‘The Blair Witch Project’ Movie!
The ‘Scary Movie’ Spoof Franchise Is Getting a Reboot at Paramount!
‘The Omen’ Franchise Ranking: All Six Movies from Worst to Best
You must be logged in to post a comment.