Happy Halloween, Lunies! Its been kinda a busy month this year, but hopefully you've crammed in your halloween events and fun in the last month (or 2 months since September is just October Eve XD).
To that end, I wanted to bring up some of my favorite analog horror (and one excellent short film) videos recently. Some are a lil older, some are newer, and some just really get me in those dark, scary places deep in my anxiety ridden brain. YAY 8D I've tried to pick some of my favorites from the channel, but I totally encourage you to check them all out! Some cataloges are much larger than others, but I think I got a little variety for everyone.
Portrait of God by Dylan Clark
This is the only "short film" in the list, though by that measure, I mean its not an analog series. As the description states: "A religious girl prepares a presentation about a painting titled "Portrait of God". What she sees challenges her beliefs." And does it ever. As someone who isn't even seasonally Catholic anymore, I felt this chill in my bones watching it. The production value on this one may blow the rest of the article's recommendations out of the water, so consider your viewing order tonight.
However, filmaker Dylan Clark has a number of fantastic trailers and short films on his channel and his masterful cinematography and narratives are definitely worth the watches. While it was hard to pick just one, I continually come back to "Portrait of God" the most. It got under my skin and slithered around for a good couple days after watching it the first time. It was haunting and terrifying and its build up was so achingly, perfectly paced. Haunting, more so if you are religious or spiritual.
The Back of the Moon by おにぎり猫 (Onigiri Cat)
Normally I'm not a fan of using AI for constructing actors/voice actors, however, I do make exceptions to many rules, and Onigiri Cat is one of those exceptions. They're a japanese analog channel who makes short (5 mins or less) analog horror and dreamcore videos. They use AI voices and I presume translations for each video in english so that they're more accessible. And to be honest, the slightly off-kilter diction and syntax, the flatness of the voices and the sometimes awkward mistakes gives the whole channel a feeling of unease. That feeling of Uncanny Valley, an Otherness that's trying to be "human", that makes the whole channel feel odd and haunting.
Many people find their channel through the "Happy Child" videos or the stairs in the forest video, but my personal favorite is "The Back of the Moon" (close runner up is "GHOST PLANE" and the afore mentioned "Stairs in the Forest") because the story feels....just out of reach. An astronaut on the moon finds a structure that shouldn't be there on the dark side, and his story is told through blurry and redacted photos, disfigured portraits of the astronauts, and emails/letters to his newlywed wife back on earth. Does he fall into another time, place, dimension? Is he really him anymore at the end? What really happened inside that cave? Its left up to the viewer and in the most abrupt and chilling way possible.
The Signal (Arcadia TV) by Chilling Abyss
A short series on a newer channel that has a really interesting set of stories. They all connect to the titular Arcadia TV, in a sort of public access tv style; if you're familiar with the giant that is Gemini Home Entertainment, then you're in the right place. But my favorite of all the videos (at the moment of writing there are only 7 videos and a sort of retuned remake of the first video) is "The Signal". When a project to reach out to other universes goes horribly awry, the consequences are immense. Chilling Abyss has some great potential.
What I love about "The Signal" is that it gives the same dread and hopelessness that a truly well executed Cthulhu mythos work does. The buildup is slow and agonizing and most horrifying of all: inevitable. The finality of the beginning of the end is so powerfully scary that this video really brings the A game to lingering dread. The follow up "Interference" closes the story nicely, though I'm sure more is to come since the channel is still working hard. The aforementioned remake of the first episode is really great, and they left the original for you to compare how far they've come. Can't wait to see more.
Liminal Land by Nexpo and Nick Crowley
An analog horror AND ARG AND A CLOTHING LINE? Sign me the fuck up. I've been pretty intro liminal spaces photos and art though I don't talk much about it, but the ideas of being the only one around for miles and miles in an empty place that looks like people should be there but aren't? One of my biggest fears, but also consequently one of my big horror draws. Silent Hill in its first few games really nailed that liminal space fear that I've come to enjoy. And this series, short as it is, really nails the feeling while adding in impossible machinery and architecture and maybe something supernatural at heart. LIMINAL LAND OWNS MY SOUL.
I need to grab a couple shirts lmao.
While the channel only has a mysterious website with secrets and disturbing photos and dense lore, as well as a mere 5 videos, the depth of the story is pretty intense. A theme park with some rather disturbing and inexplicable rides and a massive, nearly infinite underground facility that makes the Backrooms pay attention, and then there's that nagging "memory" of when the park ultimately closed...taking a number of guests with it. What's going on? I have no clue but I'm hungry for more. Of all the videos and their insane production values, my favorite is "Investigation Tape: The Liminal Land Anomaly". The visuals are truly creepy and unnerving, which sets the stage for an even more impressive follow up video "Found Footage: Welcome H.O.M.E." You won't want to miss being on the ground floor for this epic.
Meet the Neighbors by MOTH
MOTH has a lot of awesome, interesting, and downright scary videos on their channel, but my favorite here is "Meet thr Neighbors". Something tells me that moving to Wakefield, Washington might be the last thing I do. I love the atmosphere and the gradual degredation of the situation of meeting the various peoples of the neighborhood, creating an escalation of proportions I wasn't expecting. And a lot of videos on this article have that. They step up the terroe gradually, and though the spooky hits maybe in the middle or a minute or two afterwards, they keep the escalation going until the big drop.
Many of MOTH's videos have this great pacing, and this video is definitely the one that hit me good. The not quite right faces and expressions that teeter into deeper, darker emotions really lend a feeling of horror that I enjoy a lot.
The Children Under the House by Vintage 8 (complete series)
Vintage 8 has a HUGE output. They seem to always be working on something, and what I do like about them is that they often collect the episodes into one long video for you to binge when it finishes. They're like mini movies. I found them through really great series like "The Tangi Virus" and "The Oracle Project", and while I haven't really been a fan of recent series, I still think the time, effort, and love into each series shines through and they're all a collective of really amazing horror directors.
Of all the series I have seen (I'm still working through that giant catalog @_@), I really liked "The Children Under the House". It has a rare happy ending, has a lot of horrific things that happen, and visuals that are creepy and unsettling. Other than Oracle and Tangi, I always recommend this series to people wanting to try out Vintage 8. While Oracle is my top favorite, I have a soft spot for this really riveting story.
Also, they have a book for it! I might have to pick it up.
Blue Channel: Thalasin by Gooseworx
Last but not least is Gooseworx's "Blue Channel" work, of which there really is only 3 videos, and Thalasin is the one most people know. And when you watch this not quite 3 minute video, you'll see why. I am not familiar with Gooseworx outside of this series so I might be remiss in my recommendation but DAMN this one gets right up and crazy pretty quick. An advertisement for a pharmaceutical called Thalasin and Thalasin +, you too can feel new, raw, and downright OLD GODS emotions like dorcelessness, ponnish, and kyne.
Those enmhanced, new, alien emotions and their faces really pull no punches when you get to them, and holy god I have seen these in nightmares once or twice. This video gives a whole new definition of emotions, and emotions we humans are not meant to feel. More than attaining knowledge not meant for us, I think that feeling emotions not meant for humans is so much more scarier. Because processing even "normal" emotions is hard enough, I don't want to know what's going on in these even in the slightest.
Hopefully you've gotten a couple good things to get under your skin this halloween! Whether you've been hunting for all the new Halloween tchotchkes, viewing as many horror films as you can take in, or playing as many creepy games until the last day, I hope you all had a great time doing it!
Happy Halloween!
--Dio 10/31/23)