Editorials
FNTASTIC’s ‘Propnight’ is a Refreshingly Lighthearted Take on Asymmetrical Horror
Picture this-you’re watching an intense slasher movie with a killer that wields a massive chainsaw. The killer is making a beeline for a seemingly helpless teenager, barreling down hallways as his victim screams out in terror. The killer gains on the teen, lifts, and revs his chainsaw, rounds a corner, and…suddenly, the teen is gone. But a random rubber ducky sits suspiciously in the middle of the hallway before slowly rolling away, later revealed to be the teen in disguise. This is the premise of FNTASTIC’s Propnight: teenagers transforming into mundane, inanimate objects to avoid being sliced and diced by murderers.
Propnight is another addition to the asymmetrical multiplayer horror space–a genre currently in its limelight with hits like Dead By Daylight and Friday The 13th: The Game, and highly anticipated titles like Saber Interactive’s Evil Dead: The Game. As the genre becomes more saturated, developers have acknowledged that it’s becoming a more difficult space to break into. Rather than take the venerated IP route, or fully pivot into the survival-horror route, Propnight took the road less taken–a lighthearted, somewhat comical route with its prop gimmick. And it works – being chased down by a killer as a trash can is surprisingly fun!
The gameplay paradigm can most closely be likened to Behaviour Interactive’s Dead By Daylight: Four players control four different teenagers on a survivor team, while one player controls one of (currently six) killers. The objective of the survivors is to repair 5 different Prop Machines to escape, while the killer’s objective is to knock each survivor down and carry them to a “Hypnochair” (think electric chair, except less scary). Where Propnight most significantly diverges is the survivors’ ability to transform into props–rocks, scarecrows, suits of armor, backpacks, you name it.
Matches take place on a randomly selected map that can range from a camp to a castle. This means that in one instance, you could be rolling around as a hotdog and in the next, a giant sword. The range of potential props to transform into is impressive: almost every single item on the map can be used as a disguise. This works in Propnight’s favor in alleviating one of the most commonly critiqued aspects of asymmetrical horror: redundancy. The maps vary significantly enough that it feels like a unique experience for each match.
Transforming into a prop has a variety of uses. If you’re playing as a survivor that was chased into a garage, you can quickly transform into a toolbox to try and blend in with your surroundings. If you’re up against The Granny, a killer with projectile weapons, you can transform into a smaller target like a soda can to avoid being hit. Or in a desperate situation with nowhere to turn, you can transform into a large item like a bale of hay to try and bonk the killer over the head to stun them. The system is as surprisingly complex as it is hilarious to watch: Propnight is the only asymmetrical horror game where a killer can get hit over the head by a player transformed into a refrigerator while you hide as a garbage bag in the corner and watch.
While playing as a survivor is where Propnight truly shines, its diverse range of killers makes the other side fun to play as well. One killer, The Imposter (clearly a spoof on Slenderman) allows you to disguise yourself as a prop or one of the survivors to stealthily ambush your prey. High-mobility killers like Igor and The Banshee cater to folks who prefer rush-down gameplay to control map objectives. While there are currently only six killers, players shouldn’t have any trouble pinpointing one that suits their murderous needs.
In addition to the prop mechanic, Propnight feels fresh from the batch of other asymmetrical horror games on the market right now because it doesn’t take itself very seriously. Where Dead By Daylight features its survivors screaming in agony as they dangle from bloody meat hooks, Propnight’s survivors will deliver melodramatic, Scooby-Doo-esque “I’m being chased!” quips – the game even allows a random fart mechanic for instances when you’re bored waiting to be rescued or trying to taunt the killer.
Propnight’s tone can easily be polarizing for those seeking a more “hardcore” survival-horror experience, but it’s a breath of relief in a genre that has otherwise felt intense and potentially alienating for folks who want a more casual experience. Not to mention that this doesn’t mean Propnight isn’t capable of being a competitive game–it had a competitive matchmaking system until a recent update (presumably being buffered out to be reimplemented in the future). Propnight fills a void that has been neglected thus far in asymmetrical horror and highlights the important fact that horror doesn’t always have to check the box of being absolutely terrifying to still fit the genre. Sometimes you just want to transform into a giant stuffed rabbit while being chased by knockoff Slenderman–Propnight is there to let you do it!
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
!['Rosemary's Baby' - Is Paramount's 'Apartment 7A' a Secret Remake?! [Exclusive]](https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Rosemarys-Baby.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1)
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.
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
‘Stream’ – Horror Movie from the Team Behind ‘Terrifier’ Sets August Theatrical Release
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
You must be logged in to post a comment.