Tag Archives: horror

The Twisted Story Behind Five Nights At Freddy’s

December 1, 2014 Alex McCumbers

WARNING! SPOILERS ABOUND!

By now, most people know about this point and click indie game that almost always results in jump scares. If you don’t, the premise is kind of, different. Players take control of a nighttime security guard at Freddy Fazzbear’s Pizza, essentially a knock off Chuck E Cheese. During the night, the main attraction of singing and dancing animatronic animals come to life. Players are tasked with keeping them in check and making sure nothing bad happens. For a good look at what the game’s about without experiencing the scares yourself, check out Markiplier, Pewdiepie, or The Game Grumps’ videos.

The game has caused many, many screams from its players over the past few months. On the surface it’s just that, a quick game to show to friends to make them scream. For the longest time, that’s what I thought too; however, beneath this deceptively simple game lies a darker tale.

I never played the first game, even though I’ve seen all of it played and bested by Markiplier. I saw the game’s plot unravel as Markiplier discovered things for himself. I loved learning the story and speculating on what could happen next. When the trailer for Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 came out though only months after the first, I will admit that I was more excited than I thought I could be.

The game’s launch was barely a whisper on the internet, but it quickly turned into a frantic wailing from gamers everywhere. Almost overnight, YouTube became a flooded place of commentaries and reactions. I added to that flood as well with my own video, but I’ll save that for the end. Anyways, when the sequel came out a great debate rose on whether this game took place before or after the events of the first game. Fans are still trying to piece together the story. This intrigued me. I had already delved into the story of the first game, which was pleasantly twisted by Game Theory, but I wanted to experience the new story first hand or at least lay out the facts and try to make sense of it myself.

Thus, I will be attempting to make a timeline of the events. Be warned that there are a few points that could throw off my reasoning. I’m also going to sit on the side of the fence that claim this game is a prequel as evidenced by the check gained at the end.

Golden Freddy could be one of the original animatronics. It's also possible that the diner had suits instead of machines... — Golden Freddy could be one of the original animatronics. It’s also possible that the diner had suits instead of machines…

Freddy Fazzbear’s Family Diner

This diner is mentioned by name during the phone call of Night 5. It was the place where Old Bonnie, Old Chica, Old Freddy, and Old Foxy come from originally. The diner was closed down due to some event, which the company denies or at least is trying to divert attention from. During the diner’s use, a former employee lured five children into a back room, killing them and stuffing them in the suits of the animatronics.

During Night 2, Phone Guy brings up the old robots as they don’t attack during the first night. He says they’re from the old establishment, which at the beginning of the game seems like the restaurant from the first game, but is actually the diner. “The idea at first was to repair them… uh, they even started retrofitting them with some of the newer technology, but they were just so ugly, you know? The smell…”

The smell he’s referring to is the smell of the bodies that were inside the old suits that are talked about in the first game in the news clippings. Not much else is known about this diner.

I’m also going to assume that if another game is made, Freddy Fazzbear’s Family Diner will be the setting since there are some unanswered questions that are raised during mini games in FNAF2. There’s a segment that tells the player to “give life.” The graphics are crude in this segment, but it definitely looks like the Marionette is giving life to the Old Bonnie, Foxy, Chica, and Freddy. Why the puppet has this power is a mystery? What role did it play in the horror involving this company?

tumblr_inline_nf06k4KewR1r34222 — Players will sometimes see the posters change. . .

11/7/1987 – 11/12/1987 – Freddy Fazzbear’s Pizza (Five Nights at Freddy’s 2)

This is the company’s finest establishment, filled with games, prizes, and of course pizza. The old animatronics were replaced with happier, sleeker models, which look friendlier than the old ones. These new models have a lot of money invested in them, adding facial recognition, advanced mobility, and access to a criminal database. A new Foxy was also going to be made, but the children kept messing up wires and pulling off parts. It became so frequent the staff didn’t bother to fix him anymore, letting the kids dismantle and assemble him as a game. This Foxy, later deemed the Mangle by the staff, has an obvious motive for wanting to enact pain, but for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why the new models wanted to kill the night guard so badly.

That is, until I thought about their access to a criminal database. In some shape or form, the player is a criminal and that’s what compels the new animatronics to attack. Jeremy Fitzgerald could be the original murderer of the children or he could be related to him. The robots could be seeing the resemblance and become mistaken. Either way, there’s a connection there. What’s even more interesting is that Jeremy is asked on Night 6 to attend a birthday party as the last event to be held.

The Bite of ‘87
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During the first game, the Phone Guy mentions this terrible tragedy that happened during 1987. It is not mentioned in the second game, so one can assume that it happened afterwards, probably on the birthday party mentioned above. A victim was bit by one of the animatronics, taking most of the person’s brain. It’s unclear which animatronic is to blame, but many believe it to be Foxy or Freddy.

This incident effectively ruined the company’s reputation. A lot of money was lost due to law suits and the investigations that took place. No longer were the animatronics allowed to roam during the day, as evidenced by the first game’s first phone call. That and the old animatronics from the diner had to be repaired on a low budget, which also explains the power outages.

I think the victim of the Bite of ’87 was indeed Jeremy Fitzgerald. On his assignment to watch the animatronics closely during the birthday party, he simply couldn’t hide behind the mask or use his flashlight during the day. This made him known as the criminal he is to the robots, who in turn were trying to protect the children. This idea also brings to light which robots were brought to the birthday party. Seeing as how the old robots were ugly and smelled bad, I’m assuming Fazzbear Entertainment would bring in the new models. One could also assume that The Mangle was left behind, due to its appearance. Those models were then probably apprehended by the police or forcibly dismantled, which would explain the need to repair the old ones.

Contrary to many gamers, Chica is a chicken... Let's eat! — Contrary to many gamers, Chica is a chicken… Let’s eat!

Freddy Fazzbear’s Pizza (Five Nights At Freddy’s)

This restaurant is much smaller than the last, a shadow of the glory days. The building clearly lacks the attention it needs, evident by the multiple rooms in disarray. Not only that, but only so much power is allowed per night, putting the night guard in quite the situation when the robots start to get restless.

I don’t think there needs to be a lot of detail put into this area, since the original game has been out for a while. Just know that the night guard here was fired for tampering with the machines. I also like the idea of this place being a nightmare for the victim of the Bite of ’87 or some sort of purgatory. However, by this point, the past events are more helpful for unraveling the plot. Much of the game’s backstory comes from the newspaper clippings that appear in this game, aside from Phone Guy of course.

If you're too nervous to play the game, I recommend Markiplier's playthrough. — If you’re too nervous to play the game, I recommend Markiplier’s playthrough.

Holes in the Timeline

While I’ve written that the original murders happened before the events of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 for the sake of this timeline making sense, it could have happened during the end of that week. Phone Guy tells the player on Night 6 that one of the suits was stolen and was used in, something. He doesn’t explain what the suit was used in previously, but he does say it’s the yellow one or Golden Freddy. This means someone could be using the suit after night six to murder children or at least recreate the murders. It’s also said on Night 4 of FNAF2 someone has tampered with the animatronics and their facial recognition is messed up. That person is fired during the day of Night 5 as a new position has opened up for Jeremy to take.

Another problem with my timeline is we have to assume Jeremy is a criminal. He could have just been caught up in the mess because the robot’s facial recognition was messed with. However, if he was, then there would be little reason for the New Freddy, Bonnie, and the others to attack. Therefore, I have to stick by the idea of Jeremy being a bad guy.

The Marionette is one of the few enemies in the game to lack an endoskeleton. What is this thing really?

A third game could completely throw off my ideas. There’s still the mystery of the Marionette. It seems to be the most powerful being of the game, held at bay only by the music box. He also seems to be the one who tethered the souls of the murdered children to the animatronics. Makes me wonder if the Marionette is the fifth child most say is inside Golden Freddy. The previous diner could have also used suits instead of machines. Before that, Fazzbear Entertainment could’ve been using puppets, so the Marionette could be much older than the rest.

Either way, the foggy story details add to the depth of the game in ways that are much scarier than the jumping monsters. Researching this almost drove me insane, as certain details were vague, but overall it’s been awesome to speculate.

Maybe one day the creator of these games will clarify exactly what happened in the game’s back story. Until then, I’ll be waiting for another game in this vastly interesting series.

If you’d like to see my reaction to the game, watch the video below. Stay cool, everyone.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtqpDHCqw7Q&w=640&h=360]

Film/Television/Broadcast/Radio, Movies/TV, Pop Culture

Why Old-School Horror is the Scariest

October 31, 2014 Nathan Joseph Sitton Marchand

Whenever I wander through the local Family Video, I think the shelves are walls of horror movies. Not classics like Bela Lugosi’s Dracula or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, but schlock like Silent Night, Deadly Night or a horde of wannabe George Romero zombie movies. It seems like every idiot with a camera tries to make a horror film (if he doesn’t make a porno first).

I’m not quite sure why these movies flood the market, but 99% of them suffer from the same problems as most modern horror: they’re not scary. Whether they have big budgets or small, famous actors or unknowns, these movies fail to frighten audiences or even entertain them. This is disappointing because scary stories are as old as civilization and have made great contributions to the literary and film worlds. When it comes to movies, I find classic horror films to be leaps and bounds above most new films.

What makes the classics work? There are many reasons, but I’ll focus on a few I think are most important.

1. No over-reliance on gore/shock

“Splatterfest” is practically a synonym for “horror movie” nowadays. Its a sad cliché. Now, horror—icon Stephen King did list “the Gross-Out” as one of three types of fear. The problem is the majority of modern horror seems to think its the only kind. I swear these filmmakers have a gore fetish, and so do their fans. Many of them are too desensitized to find it shocking anymore and revel in it instead. It stereotypes horror fans as sadomasochistic weirdos.

Can gore be effective? Yes, but it should be a supplement to the other types of fear King outlines: horror (something unnatural) and terror (fear of the unknown). Like an exclamation point, it can be powerful when used sparingly, but if used constantly (like it is in many an internet forum), it just looks stupid.

The original Alien (my all-time favorite horror film) has one gory part. It horrifies for many reasons, not the least of which being that it’s the one bloody scene in a fairly bloodless film.

2. Leaving some things to the imagination

A related problem is modern horror’s penchant for showing audiences everything, whether its the gruesome deaths or Jason Voorhees stalking up behind a victim. This isn’t always necessary. A person’s imagination can create more terrifying images than any filmmaker or author can conjure. Plus, as noted, the unknown is usually the scariest thing. What did the monster/killer do to that unsuspecting woman? The audience doesn’t know since it cut away when she screamed. What does the monster look like? The mystery frightens audiences.

This is why films like The Blair Witch Project—arguably a modern classic—are effective. It scares people with ideas. Some say the infamous witch is a decrepit old woman; some say she’s a hairy half-human/half-beast creature. Since she’s never revealed, the audience is terrified by both the mystery and the image of the monster in their heads.

3. Better protagonists

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Now, should senseless/despicable characters be nixed from stories? No. I’m not opposed to idiot characters or having them move plots along, but the story shouldn’t be dependent on them. As for reprehensible characters, there’s something to be said about watching them get their comeuppance; however, variety is the spice of life, so it’s refreshing to see likable heroes.

John Carpenter’s The Thing is noteworthy because it has no stupid characters. All of them react in smart, rational ways until paranoia drives them insane. The first Fright Night has some of the most entertaining heroes in a horror film: a teenage boy and an out-of-work horror movie actor. The original Nightmare on Elm Street has the wonderfully strong and clever heroine Nancy, who refuses to become Freddy Krueger’s next victim. She’s a breath of fresh air in a genre that typically relegates women to hapless victims.

4. Better antagonists

Heroes are often only as good as their villains. In that case, most modern horror flicks have forgettable and boring heroes and villains. Some may look cool, but they’re presented as these nigh-invincible monsters who relentlessly pursue/torture people. It makes the victims and heroes look like powerless pawns, mere tools to give gorehounds a cheap thrill. Such villains are one-dimensional caricatures.

Classic horror villains are powerful but they also have weaknesses. Dracula has the classic vampire vulnerabilites. Zombies cease to function if their brains are destroyed. Giving villains such vulnerabilities doesn’t undermine them, instead it gives the heroes a fighting chance to stop them, increasing the tension.

5. Multilayered fears/ideas

As I said before, modern horror tends to fixate on the “gross-out” scares, but fear is an often nuanced emotion. There’s psychological horror, where the fear comes from frightening ideas, and cosmic horror, which scares people by making them feel small and insignificant. Not only that, but the monsters in good horror stories, whether they are human or not, are often metaphors for real-life fears, adding depth to them and allowing them to work on multiple levels.

Going back to Alien, that film works because it touches upon many types of fears: the unknown, shadows, body mutilation, isolation, unnaturalness and even rape. Add to that the corporation which values a scientific find over human lives, and what could’ve been another B-grade creature, feature is elevated to a classic award-winning film. It goes beyond just showing audiences horrific things.

So this Halloween, after the kids finish trick-or-treating, have a marathon of classic horror films until the witching hour passes.

Sidenote: If you’d like to hear me talk more about this, check out “But I Digress . . . , Episode 2: Horrible Horror,” a video I made a few years ago for my YouTube show.

Cinema Sit-Down, Film/Television/Broadcast/Radio, Movies/TV

The Vicious Brothers are Back with EXTRATERRESTRIAL

October 29, 2014 RaShaun Eshalomi 1 Comment

I didn’t know what to expect when I first read the description of Extraterrestrial—I’m not a huge alien-horror-film fan because the thought of aliens scares the shit out of me. Honestly, when I saw this was another The Vicious Brothers creation, that was enough to get me interested. Their first two movies Grave Encounters and Grave Encounters 2 successfully shut down my plans to tour any haunted locations. Despite that, I was ready to be scared again.

The set up is cliché: the almost happy couple, April (Brittany Allen) and Kyle (Freddie Stroma), make plans to spend the weekend at a cabin in the woods of a small town. Kyle invites Mel (Melanie Papalia), April’s best friend; Seth (Jesse Moss), the annoyingly funny loudmouth and Seth’s new ditsy girlfriend, Lex (Anja Savcic). On the way to the cabin, Seth causes some trouble, which leads the group to meet the Sheriff (Gil Bellows); by looking at him you can tell he’s going through a tough time. Soon after arriving at the cabin, April and Mel run into April’s old family friend, Travis, played by the great and always crazy Michael Ironside.

Later that night, after witnessing a ball of fire fly out of the sky and crash in the distance, the group decides to go check it out—great idea. Shit goes down hill from there: an alien is shot and a pack of pissed off aliens make it their duty to hunt the group down.

Though the characters are one sided, the actors are believable and play their parts well—by the end of the movie I wanted Seth to die and the couple to live happily ever after. We learn very little about the main characters’ backgrounds other than they like to smoke, drink, and they are in college. Regardless of what we know (or don’t know) about them, it was nice to see them make some smart moves to get the hell out of dodge. When I yelled at them to “Get in the car and leave!” they actually listened; I was quite pleased. You get a little insight into the Sheriff’s background and you feel bad for him, but not enough to make you really care.

Travis’ crazy conspiracy theory explanation of the alien’s presence is a nice change from the usual “we’re aliens, we can do whatever we want because our planet is dying/we’re bored/uh, we’re freakin’ aliens” explanation.

Realizing his error, http://greyandgrey.com/social-security-disability/ purchase levitra online he ceased leaking untruths to the press. A concerned young man recently wrote that, ever since he experienced a hard blow to the penis during a high school gym class, he has been able to feel a hard lump on one side of the shaft along with the testicles/scrotum when purchase cheap viagra a person just isn’t erect. For example, by monitoring generic cialis best link levels of sex hormones boost the blood supply to the reproductive organs. Males who are allergic to india viagra generic Sildenafil or any other ingredient of Caverta 100 mg Tablets should keep away from this drug. The film is more tense than scary—though I did have alien nightmares that night. With the help of sound and light, the tension is built up successfully: glaring white and heavy red lights imitate the UFO’s presence and give the feeling of hopelessness. It has its scary moments; however, they are a little predictable: there’s something behind you, alien; there’s something above you, alien; don’t look through there, alien; etc. I still jumped, but that’s about all.

The film does not look low budget at all. Very little special effects were used, which I love and appreciate. I didn’t like the found-footage-styled scenes; you know, like The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. They seem like a last minute addition and didn’t help the film; luckily they disappear as the action builds up. The aliens. You get to see the aliens and they look creepy-good and real. Their grey bodies are long and thin, and the eyes are large black pools on their expressionless faces.

The ending disappointed me. I was hoping for something different—it would have been so cool—but the last 5 – 10 minutes are drawn out and corny. I get the feeling it was done on purpose.

As I watched the movie, I couldn’t tell if The Vicious Brothers wanted this film to poke fun at the horror genre, be a legit thriller or a mix of both. Maybe they were trying to create a scary horror-spoof. Travis’ exaggerated crazy-guy-in-the-woods character is the complete opposite from the Sheriff’s gloom or the group’s desperate attempt to save themselves. Also, death by butt probe? Gotta be a spoof, right? Despite the confusion, I enjoyed Extraterrestrial—more than I thought I would. I laughed, I jumped and I got a little twist.This film gave me a much needed break from the slew of paranormal films that have come out recently. I just wish it ended my way.

Extraterrestrial will be released at New York’s IFC Center and additional U.S. theaters on November 21, 2014.

Game File, Games and Software

Alex’s Top 5 Horror Games

October 20, 2014 Alex McCumbers

For the past month or so, I have been on a huge horror-game kick. I’ve been seeking out all the titles I missed out on, simply because either I was too scared to play them or too confused by the control schemes. This has led me to buy some of the classics: Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Silent Hill 2, and Dino Crisis. Even though I haven’t beaten any of these yet, I’m having the best time playing them.

Playing this genre piqued my interest in the history of survival horror games. Turns out, much of the survival horror genre can be accredited to Shinji Mikami, one of the minds behind the original Resident Evil. This guy defined a whole genre. Soon after Resident Evil’s success, not only were there sequels, but other games followed that style and control scheme. Developers started pushing the genre, creating terrifying games like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame.

Now Mikami is back with a vengeance. With Tango Gameworks and Bethesda, he has probably created another masterpiece known as Evil Within. Judging by the trailers, screenshots, and what little I have played of the game, I can already tell that this game is going to be awesome.

In honor of this release (but mostly because I’m on this kick), let me share with you my personal Top 5 Horror Games. Know that I haven’t played everything and that I’ve avoided the genre for a while now, but these are the titles that stand out to me.

Final Fantasy IX (PlayStation)

Don’t question it, just follow me on this. As a child, I was afraid of most horror monsters, mostly vampires. However, there is one particular ’90s movie monster who disturbed me to no end, Chucky. It’s not like I’ve actually seen the movies, but the trailers that played while my dad watched wrestling were traumatizing. Since then, I’ve had a fear of dolls, which leads me to why my favorite Final Fantasy game also scared the crap out of me.

Not long after the forest scene, the party arrivs at a simple mountain town. Zidane and his pals soon discover a dark secret. Turns out, the Queen of Alexandria is making an army of black mages. They look like fat scarecrows that throw fire magic around, but they are described as dolls. The narrative leading up to this moment is creepy. There are sounds coming from the only well in the village and then Vivi vanishes. Towards the end of the dungeon, I found an assembly line of the things being created. That’s when I turned off my PlayStation, crawled into bed, and proceeded to have nightmares.

It took a few days, and daylight, before I could play it again.

House of the Dead 3 (Xbox)

This title is mostly just a fun little arcade game. There are few scares in it, but there is a hefty amount of gore. Players use a lightgun to blast away zombies and monsters, all while having to put up with terrible voice acting. Seriously, it’s like after Resident Evil came out, all horror games had to have bad voice acting too. Granted it’s hilarious, so at least there’s that. I remember playing this game with a friend on his Xbox. We hooked up two gun controllers and shot up a staggering pile of zombies. The best part is having infinite lives. That, and after he got bored of playing, he handed me the other gun.

Dual-wielding light guns, while yelling because the moment is so awesome, will forever be ingrained into my memory.

P.T.

The pure genius behind the idea of P.T. is astounding. Not only was it a complete mystery, but Hideo Kojima published it under a fake studio name. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the millions who was purely surprised. I learned about this game from my favorite YouTube gaming show Game Grumps. Yet, when I finally sat down to play it, the horror was real.

Ever since Amnesia became a hit, several horror games have chosen to have the player completely defenseless. P.T. uses that helplessness to pull true fear from their players. It is less of a game and more of an interactive short film. Most players don’t know how they “beat” this game, even more, I assume, stopped playing due to the many heart attacks I’m sure they experienced. Me, I share this game with friends and film it for my YouTube show, Forever Classic.

What’s even better than a short, focused horror experience? The fact that this game was a secret teaser for an upcoming revival of the Silent Hill franchise. The amount of talent behind this project is amazing. Not only will Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) be behind the wheel, but also Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim) and Norman Reedus (Walking Dead).

I can’t wait for Silent Hills’ release, but to be honest I’ll probably never finish it. I’d never thought I would look forward to wearing Depends. . .
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BioShock

Speaking of demos, I first learned of BioShock through Xbox Live. The demo was essentially the first bit of the game. Those who have played it know that this one grabs you by the jewels from the first scene. I remember my friends teasing me about it, saying that the game wasn’t scary. I love media of all types, so I have a tendency to suspend my disbelief for everything. Some people will look at a horror game and say, look how silly the monster is, but I become that character and the fear is real.

One of BioShock’s biggest strengths was definitely its atmosphere. Rapture holds a lot of dark secrets, making the player want to discover them, but these same secrets are often morally puzzling and disturbing. Players have to choose to save or kill the Little Sisters, gaming’s most adorable evil. Also, the player is alone. There are no shop keepers or other characters to help you out, it’s kill or be killed.

Even to this day, I consider the first BioShock to be the best in the franchise. It drew me in and consumed me for a week or so. I’ve always wanted that same feeling, but few games have done that since.

Resident Evil 4

If I hadn’t borrowed Resident Evil 4, and if it hadn’t been seriously recommended by a friend, I never would’ve played horror games. For me, this is the absolute peak of the genre and anyone looking for a place to start may as well start with the best. I have played this game more times than I can count. I know all the secrets, all the weapons, and all the history. While I may know less than I boast, I love learning everything about it.

Resident Evil 4 is a third person survival horror game, which originally appeared on the GameCube. Yep, the same purple box that had Super Mario Sunshine and Animal Crossing was the first to have the newest Resident Evil of the time. I actually didn’t get to play it until it came out on PS2. The mission is simple, save the President’s brain-dead daughter from a grisly fate at the hands of cultists infected with bio weapons.

Even though the main character, Leon, gets to use powerful weaponry, ammo is scarce and placing shots well becomes a key way to survive. He uses these guns to put down angry Spanish farmers, Tolkien-esque trolls, and ugly fish. Several of the later enemies proved to scare me the most, like the Regenerators and the Verdugos. However, one moment in particular made me quit playing for a while.

As my friend suggested, I played this game exclusively at night with the volume cranked up. I was doing fine at first; I only died once or twice, usually to quick time events. Eventually, I was tasked with getting a key to a church. Getting the key wasn’t too bad, but coming back was awful. It started to rain, obscuring poor Leon’s vision. I walked across the rickety bridge with no obstruction, where before there had been farmers. Just before reaching the church, I came across a dog.

Fans of Resident Evil 4 will know that you can save a dog from a bear trap that will later help you in a boss fight. I wasn’t that afraid of dogs up until this point.

A low growl sounded from the dog. At first I was glad to see my puppy friend, but then it leaped at me. I watched as the beast tore at Leon’s throat in horror. After the initial shock I frantically tried to push it back by mashing the onscreen commands. It stood there afterwards, staring at me. I emptied a full clip of my sub-machine gun into the thing, having little to no effect. Ripping out of the beast’s back were tentacles that struck out at me. This depleted my health and Leon fell with a sigh.

This moment not only scared me half to death, but forced me to quit for the night. Since then, if I come across a dog in a horror game, I shoot first and ask questions later. Resident Evil 4 will always be one of my favorite games of all time.

There’s a reason I chose to make this list a Top 5 instead of a Top 10. I simply haven’t played that many horror games. That’s why you should leave your favorite horror game in the comments below. Who knows, you may see an article here at Giga or a video on Forever Classic. Either way, I love this genre, so lead me on a path to discover the best.

If you like to watch other people get scared, check out my latest video on Forever Classic.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI3V4WKN21A&w=640&h=360]