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LITTLE NIGHTMARES: A Must-Play Haunting Gaming Experience

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Trasier Studios and Bandai Namco have managed to do something strange and beautiful in the form of their latest, Little Nightmares.

The odd little title revolves around a young yellow raincoat clad girl named Six, who is trapped aboard The Maw, a submerged island that caters to gluttonous monsters who come aboard in droves to be catered to. The Maw, is a dark place with secrets and terrors waiting around every corner. As Six, you explore The Maw looking for a way to escape before you become part of the menu.

The platformer is something out of a Tim Burton nightmare. The environment and characters are richly developed and embody the world that is built around them. Little Nightmares is primarily a puzzle based game that has you figuring out simple brainteasers in order to get into the next area. Each level is centered and compartmentalized to a different part of The Maw and gives you a nice change of scenery and architecture as you make your way from the belly of the Maw to the upper decks.

Much like Limbo and Inside, this game takes place in a masterfully unique world that offers up very little in the form of what, where and why, instead posing new fragments of the unknown. Little Nightmares is aptly named and has a hypnotic effect that puts you in a state that is akin to that feeling you have between waking and sleeping, and firmly on the paradigm shift between dreams and nightmares.

The game is earmarked by a lot of  homages to great genre cornerstones. Heavy influences from City of Lost Children imamate throughout, with character design that mirrors Freddy Krueger, Leatherface and characters from Spirited Away. Little Nightmares doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares either. The palpably addictive terror comes from the dark world that inhabits The Maw.

Little Nightmares doesn’t give you anything to fight back with; leaving you to encounter its dwellers with nothing to do but outsmart them, and play hide and seek in order to stay alive. Speaking of running, there are a few points when you will be chased that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and cause your stomach to roll over.

The character design is beautiful and while it does borrow from a range of art and pop culture it is also uniquely belongs to itself. Characters like The Janitor who blindly dwells the deepest floors of The Maw complete with arms three times as long has his torso is pure nightmare fuel. He uses those skinny, freakishly lengthy arms to reach you while hiding in small spaces. Trying to sneak around him is hard considering his hearing is so well evolved as a side effect of his blindness. This leaves you having to figure out ways to sneak past him as the blind creature pats the floor in search of you. The protagonist Six, is adorable too. She is a character that you want to hug but, also know full well that she would take an adorable little bite out of you as a return gesture.

“…hypnotic effect that puts you in a state that is akin

to that feeling you have between waking and sleeping,

and firmly on the paradigm shift between dreams and nightmares.”

The levels are brilliantly designed and have haunting levity that goes for the throat. In one section the entire floor is covered with mountains of dis-guarded leather shoes and bags. This area was eerily reminiscent of the rooms that Nazi’s would use to dispose of peoples clothing during the horror of the Holocaust. While making your way, waist deep in shoes and baggage, something begins to move underneath them going after you, as you try to make it to solid ground without being pulled under

Intentionally, somewhat complex controls make it an anxiety inducing event to try to get away from something or to hide. By making one of the shoulder buttons have the grab functionality Little Nightmares causes your hands to shake and fumble while trying to find your way to safety. For example, if you are being chased by something, you need to remember to sprint, jump and at the right moment, hold the grab button to pull yourself to safety. I know, I know. It sounds simple, but one play-through with the game and you realize the control layout is just as much a part of the story as The Maw itself.

Little Nightmares isn’t very long but its short narrative allows for a concise and effective story, that doesn’t allow time for boredom and cuts out all the fluff in order to make it a memorable experience. I really wanted to spend more time in this world, I wanted to know more about the breathing enviroment around you, but just as quickly and as satisfying  as it begins it ends. With a game that looks this great and has this level of dynamic lighting and world building, it is hard to not want to revisit it for either a second playthrough or in hopes that the dev team decides to follow this up with another Little Nightmares title. Get ready for a singular experience that really does have the power to infiltrate your dreams and maybe even turn em into nightmares… in a good way, of course.

Little Nightmares is out now for PS4, Xbox One and Steam for the awesome price of $19.99.

 

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film

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The Blair Witch Project Cast

Jason Blum is planning to reboot The Blair Witch Project for the second time. That’s a fairly large task considering none of the reboots or sequels have managed to capture the magic of the 1999 film that brought found footage into the mainstream.

This idea has not been lost on the original Blair Witch cast, who has recently reached out to Lionsgate to ask for what they feel is fair compensation for their role in the pivotal film. Lionsgate gained access to The Blair Witch Project in 2003 when they purchased Artisan Entertainment.

Blair witch
The Blair Witch Project Cast

However, Artisan Entertainment was an independent studio before its purchase, meaning the actors were not part of SAG-AFTRA. As a result, the cast are not entitled to the same residuals from the project as actors in other major films. The cast doesn’t feel that the studio should be able to continue to profit off of their hard work and likenesses without fair compensation.

Their most recent request asks for “meaningful consultation on any future ‘Blair Witch’ reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”

The blair witch project

At this time, Lionsgate has not offered any comment about this issue.

The full statement made by the cast can be found below.

OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of “The Blair Witch Project”):

1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.

2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc…, in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.

Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far un-utilized secret-weapon!

3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making theirfirst feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.

A PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS OF “THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”:

As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.

While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.

Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello

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