The Rise of Digital Horror: Making Nostalgia Scary

Today, we're doing something a bit different. We're talking about the rise of Digital Horror, the future of horror online. We're looking at four series that exist in this genre, analyzing them, and then briefly discuss their connections and the future of where things will go from here.
SOCIAL MEDIA

Opening: (0:00)
BrandonWorks: (3:43)
Old Minecraft Reuploads: (37:19)
gunslingerpro2009: (1:00:14)
The June Archive: (1:26:30)
Brief Analysis: (1:49:01)
Ending: (1:52:25)

[SaganHawkes]

For those wondering: The soundtrack for this video is now up on my Spotify, as well as a bunch of different streaming services.

[its_Aurelia_]

Brandon saying “feel free to scream and shout, and let it all out” while could be referencing an abusive household, it also references that popular song from 2013 scream and shout, thus making it even more 2010s than it already is

[stateofconfusion]

Theres something so eerie about the small detail of Brandons mother, assumed to be locked in the bedroom, not having a health bar

[lemonk]

GoldMario quitting as soon as he heard that breath sound's probably the smartest thing I've seen a protagonist do in an ARG.

[ringkunmori]

Brandonworks: Most realistic
Old Minecraft Reuploads: Most anxiety-inducing
Gunslingerpro2009: Most terrifying premise
June Archives: The best production

[imapurplehoodie]

Dude, someone NEEDS to make a digital horror series with Sims 2. Because with the amount of messed up things in that game, it's just asking to be turned into a digital horror story.

[SSD_Penumbra]

"Sundowner" or "Sundowning" may be a reference to the medical term, but it's also a slang term for an alcoholic in the UK. "A sundowner" is a drink taken in the evening, or someone who drinks a lot after work, like a high functioning alcoholic.

EDIT: Or his dad is actually a FUCKIN INVINCIBLE mercenary with scissors.

[kingbash]

The gunslingerpro2009 videos kinda freak me out the most, since Gmod already has this uncanny, bizarre vibe around it, so seeing character models the are supposed to lifeless be given subtle hints of sentience gives me a level of paranoia I've never thought I'd had before.

[sickntired]

I wasn't expecting to feel the level of discomfort I did during the gunslinger overview. The 'punishment' for blue spy really struck me. It's a unique perspective coming from the creator who is actually some sort of tyrant rather than a guy in a weird situation looking for a way out.

The characters faces of fear bothered me more than I expected. It really does just feel like it could be a glitch, but something about it is too human to shrug it off entirely.

[gigabytegaming]

I think that the light bins are hiding spots because the number of bins increase as the updates go by meaning that the dad's episodes can happen at any time, so he has to find spots to prepare for it. also, them being "light bins" might mean he sees them as a safe spot because we typically see light as safety. oh, and the bins getting rid of his legs? that might mean that he has to spend long amounts of time in these spots making his legs hurt.

[JukuFR]

DUDE... The Soldier going wide-eyed and shaking his head "no" during the gunslingerpro2009 part is so good. It's so simple but so unsettling.

[HawkTeevs]

The living ragdolls concept in gunslingerpro2009 is such a great solution to how cheesy the concept of “sentient computer programs” can get. Instead of us somehow supposed to be scared of a literal computer program, it puts into perspective just what it would be like for a program to be sentient. It’s constantly at the mercy of the user, forced to do whatever they want it to do without having any say in the matter. And the fact that the player seems to not care makes it even more disturbing. Of course they wouldn’t care, why would they? It’s just a game after all. But put sentience into the mix, and it becomes a torture horror story where the torturer likely has no idea what they’re doing to those things.
Instead of you being concerned for the player, you’re concerned about the things that are supposed to be simple lines of code.

[sagaq]

The horror of minecraft has been ingrained in me since I started playing at 9 years old, I’m now 22 and I had such a hard time watching the minecraft portion of this video. It makes me incredibly uneasy because I remember how scared I was playing alone with the thick fog and the potential threats looming in it.

[JaxxMCC]

Another interesting detail about gunslingerpro2009 - he's represented by a RED engineer, whilst the ragdoll that's caused him the most "trouble" and endured the worst punishments is a BLU spy, a counter to the RED engineer in the game

[ringkunmori]

Brandonworks hits me hard man. Not only is it relatable trying to rekindle and reminisce on a friendship you formed online, being a kid and not seeing the clear signs that they went through some hardship that you'll never could comprehend nor being able to do anything is a minor tragedy everyone goes through.

It's like going back to talk to a friend online only to be responded to by their parents telling you that their child had passed away due to a terminal disease. Only then does it dawn on you how special those moments were yet you never faced them face to face.

[iseeyou]

The movements of the "rogue spy" were actually done via Kinect, a surprisingly creative use of the Kinect to not only bring the character to life but also add a surreal element to it.

[ranfang]

I can't wait until the next generation grows old enough for creepy analysis videos and video essays to become nostalgic.
I can picture a channel in the future 'covering' a fictional horrifying event as if it actually happened in an hour long analysis video in similar style to the ones we have now.
Or a fictional 'unsolved crime analysis' where the narrator accidently slips at various points, implying that they had something to do with the crime in question.
Or a 'Rise and Fall of' video about a made up show, which gets more bizarre in the later seasons, while the narrator goes over disturbing production issues.

[jamesbone]

Herobrine never scared me directly, but it did plant the idea that I was never alone in Minecraft, and the thought of playing single player and not being alone terrifies me. Now every game I play alone I can't help but feel like someone is watching me, whether virtually or physically. It reminds me of my favorite short horror story, "The last man on earth hears a knock on his door"

[IceWulfSpirit]

About the red vials in the June archives: a common thing to see in flipnotes (especially high quality ones with a quite a bit of detail) was a bar with red in it to show how much space, or memory, was left to be used in the animation. It was often used as a way to show that the animator couldn’t keep doing as much animation because they had barely any space left.
Although, most of the time when they were showing it, it was a black bar with only a small amount of red left, to show it had almost ran out. This whole memory issue was only a problem with those with a ton of animations on their dsi as far as I’m aware. So maybe that will be important to this story later, or I could be completely wrong. Perhaps the red vials are literally vials of memory.

[randomlycombust]

Another thing I really appreciate about the Old Minecraft Reuploads is the authenticity of younger minecraft players’ actions. Things like building your house on top of a big mountain and not bothering to build a pathway down, the wide area with the low roof, and the tunnels leading into the mine being built straight into the house all coming from GoldMario’s world. Similarly, I appreciate that Anthony’s house is way taller than is necessary. It gives kind of an inconsequential look into the personalities and building styles of each character, which just adds that little extra bit of realism. I remember building houses just like Anthony’s, unnecessarily tall rectangular pillars, whereas other friends of mine built like goldmario. Just something that immerses me personally :)