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I Spent 20 Terrifying Minutes With ‘Outlast 2’
The Outlast series has delivered some of the more harrowing gaming experiences I’ve ever had, its boldness most evident in the Whistleblower expansion where nothing felt off-limits. The expansion really drove that point home in its final act, when you stumble upon a grotesque scene left by the Groom, which he made from stitched together corpses he had posed in a macabre display, like a twisted tribute to the body horror genre.
It’s too early to say for sure, but my time with the Outlast 2 demo has left me eager to see what Red Barrels will do with the sequel when it releases this fall. Eager, and maybe a little anxious.
This series has mastered the art of the jump scare, which it continues to use to spectacular effect, without sacrificing the frightening atmosphere or the dread it slowly builds during the quieter moments. And much like its predecessors, Outlast 2 keeps you permanently on edge, always cautious of what’s lurking around the next corner, waiting for the inevitable moment to come where you’ll need to run for your life.
It plays almost identically to the others, the intuitive cameraman controls becoming a familiar comfort. The variety that’s on display in this small slice of the much larger game is one very welcome departure from the claustrophobic cells and blood-smeared corridors of Mount Massive.
I ventured from a rural freakshow and into a catholic school before being dropped into a corn maze where flashlight-wielding villagers babbled incoherently and chased me around until I had my balls mutilated by a very mean lady — they’re fragile innocence dashed upon the soil by a hellish pickaxe seemingly conjured from thin air.
You bested me this time, lady. But next time, you won’t be so lucky.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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