Podcasts
Back Into the Tunnels With ‘Metro: Last Light’ [Safe Room Podcast]
There are certain franchises whose name becomes synonymous with elements of their design that go above and beyond the status quo. Resident Evil; abstract puzzles and monstrous mutations. Silent Hill; psychological nightmares. And when it comes to the Metro series, few other horror series have crafted a world as immersive and rich with horrifying texture as 4A Games did with Metro: Last Light.
While my first post-apocalyptic survival horror love will always be S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadows of Chernobyl, Metro made a name for itself in a way that the open world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. never could. Given the intimacy of metro’s environments (made possible by the first two games linearity), 4A Games created a world reflective of the history of its unique setting. This first-person exploration of humanity’s survival in the face of nuclear annihilation was far more sobering, given the player was essentially knee-deep within the bones of the old world.
While the save the world (again) stakes of the Metro series have never interested me much, the world and those residing within it had far more engaging narratives. Going out of one’s way to explore every nook and cranny of the metro yields the reward of information, which would further the player’s understanding of the daily lives of metro citizens, the politics of the metro, and the rumors of what horrors lay waiting just outside their protective walls.
So, for Metro: Last Light‘s 10th anniversary, Neil and I further unpacked the game’s approach to world-building, the immersive sim-like quality of combat, and why linearity is imperative to retaining Metro’s signature brand of storytelling.
Safe Room is a weekly horror video game discussion podcast with new episodes every Monday on
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On the DL.
After spending June on explicitly queer texts like Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn (listen) and William Castle’s Homicidal (listen), it’s only appropriate that Horror Queers celebrate the American holiday with a blockbuster film with a not-so-secret gay connection.
In Independence Day, an unlikely group of people come together when the human race faces extinction from a threatening alien race. After spaceships destroy every major city, pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith) must team up with secret tech genius David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), as well as the US President (Bill Pullman), to execute a daring plan to save the planet from annihilation.
Along for the ride are the two saviors’ romantic partners – WH Communications Director Constance (Margaret Colin) and stripper Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) – plus eccentric scientist Dr. Okun (Brent Spiner), who is at the center of the film’s most horrific set piece.
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Episode 393: Independence Day (1996)
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day…courtesy of gay German director Roland Emmerich.
As the summer blockbuster celebrates its 30th anniversary, we’re looking back on an alien disaster film that scared young Trace (thanks to that alien autopsy scene) and turned Will Smith into a star.
Plus: the death that upsets the most; bemoaning Vivica A. Fox’s career; pondering what could have been with the casting; why Smith’s bravado and the film’s patriotism doesn’t always work for Joe; and plenty of riffing on the atrocious sequel.
Cross out Independence Day!
Coming Up Next: We’re retreating to the country for some questionable therapy courtesy of Joe Dante’s 1981 classic, The Howling!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 503 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Forbidden Fruits, Saccharine, Evil Dead Burn, an audio commentary on the utterly ridiculous sequel Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985), and the conclusion of our Requel Tier coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.