It’s 1996. You’re playing a typical zombie survival game before it was cool with fixed camera angles, and a facsimile of a zombie dog jumps out of a window and scares the shit out of you. Nowadays? That’s standard fare. At the time, though, it was terrifying. And in a world where your character would maybe have 700 polygons compared to upwards of 350,000 polygons today, video games have become incredibly realistic. But have horror games gotten too scary?
You’re telling me that a franchise known for being scary is too scary? Oh no. Sign me up, I’ve already preordered it.
In a recent interview with PC Gamer, director of Resident Evil 2, Hideki Kamiya, commented on how scary more recent installments have become.
“Nowadays, with how photorealistic and high-fidelity video games have gotten, the amount of crazy, horrifying things that people are able to put on the screen is absolutely insane, and I think anybody who’s on the Resident Evil teams at Capcom, at this point, they must all be completely numb to how scary the thing they’re making is.”
I’ll tell you what I thought when I read Kamiya’s quote: seems like a great marketing campaign. What? You’re telling me that a franchise known for being scary is too scary? Oh no. Sign me up, I’ve already preordered it.
Familiar fears, new marketing
It begs the question: what is too scary? The first example that came to my mind were audience reactions to The Exorcist in 1973. According to Cydney Contreras for SYFY, “it inspired some of the most shocking reactions in history” including reports of “a number of moviegoers vomit[ing] at the very graphic goings-on the screen. Others fainted, or left the theatre, nauseous and trembling.”
“Where does fictionalized horror sit when, currently, we see extraordinarily graphic images and videos of real-life events from atrocities happening across the world on our social media feeds?”
I think that’s an important distinction: if someone is experiencing bodily symptoms like vomiting or fainting, that feels like a clear indication that the story was too scary for them. But I read some of the reactions to The Exorcist and it’s hard not to feel a marketing team at work. We dare you to see a film so scary it caused someone to faint. You can’t buy publicity like that. And in this day-and-age with algorithmic feeds that move lightning fast, I think the adage applies that any publicity is good publicity.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s also worth noting that fears over a piece of media being ‘too scary,’ as evident by these Exorcist qualms, go back at least as far as 1973 and have continued into the age of social media. Remember when The Conjuring franchise went viral for having priests “bless” movie-goers before the The Conjuring: Last Rites premiere? In many ways, I think Kamiya’s Resident Evil comment plays on the same fears with a different dressing.
Chasing thrills
Confession: as I write this, I’m watching a playthrough of the newest Silent Hill in the background. I am one of those people who naps to murder podcasts. So, granted, I do recognize I might be on the far side of this spectrum.
But what I wonder is where does fictionalized horror sit when, currently, we see extraordinarily graphic images and videos of real-life events from atrocities happening across the world on our social media feeds? When compared to what our algorithms show us, a scary horror franchise seems pretty tame.
Some suggest that horror fiction might serve as a vehicle to safely process trauma. Others just like the thrill of the scream. There are also real physiological things that happen when you sit down to watch or play a spooky story, some of which may make you feel good — all of which I experienced watching the most recent Resident Evil film. It’s directed by Zach Cregger of Weapons and Barbarian fame, so that should give you an idea of how twisted it is. And, how funny it is.
Honestly, the future of Resident Evil looks bright. Whether that be through video games or films, I’m fully on board.
