Identity Test | Analog Horror

The third video from the Basswood County Series

Music: I Still Remember - Rudy Vallee

Instagram: @darkmindarts

[dougmode]

yeah i cant even bring myself to watch this by myself during the day with the sun out

[DANGERINTHEFALLS]

3:47
When he said *_AFAFEFEFA_* I really felt that.

[dezaraexlile]

The “WE CAN HEAR YOU” at the beginning was enough to hook me, there’s potential in this series and I can’t wait to see it

[russian_knight]

One of the few videos that does "stretched faces" trope very well. I like that there's no loud sounds, just subtle ambiance and very well done live action, and the art is also extremely well made. Not necessarily the scariest, but there was a continuous sense of unease and dread throughout the entire video, Phenomenal work

[ulrichdrolet]

0:51 dont ever buy no weed from the gas station

[lazthespaz]

I like it. I know a lot of people will say it’s “Mandela Catalog copy, ” but idc
The distortion of the human face is not a design inherent to only Alex Kiester.

Anyways
You’ve got yourself a very good start, there’s scenes like the shower curtain being pulled that give you a ton of dread. The visual aesthetic is grainy and yucky, which I like. I’d describe this as the beginning to something really amazing
Some constructive criticism:
- Please avoid the use of jumpscares
Let’s say the scene with the shower creeper was done in a different way; the entity very slowly peels the curtain back and lets the viewer get a partial look at the eyes or the face. Just long enough that you’re forced to sit there in absolute terror as this entity does your undoing.
- Live action segments were nice, but the sudden cuts to the images of these entities was jarring and felt more like I was looking at a picture of a monster than the monster itself. Again, dread technique could be used again here with the hat wearing fellow; the cameraman spots the entity and jumps back, visibly startled but the entity doesn’t move immediately. Maybe after a few moments it begins walking out of the darkness, potentially revealing a hidden and distorted looking body. Depending on what the origins you have planned for them, I’d suggest either going with the age old “Extended limbs, ” method of disfigurement but also consider some alternative options. Imagine if parts of their limbs were like insects or cephalopods?
- I’m guessing these are eldritch horrors of some kind like Lovecraft’s monsters, and I feel you could do a lot with the ‘incomprehensible horrors’ approach even if it is analog. Use your imagination for this one.
- Play around with the aesthetic, yes it’s grainy and colorless, but imagine bending this in different ways. Like what if there’s a freak out moment and you have some colors present, or heck, a sudden high quality image? It would jump out to viewers and I’d recommend just toying around with various ideas until you find something you believe to be best.

I like what you got goin chief, I’d recommend looking at good and bad analog horror stories alike. Good to recognize what you want to do; and bad to see the stuff that you can easily do better on. It’s why artists should watch crappy movies too; you can easily point out “This is garbage! It should be written like this!”
Keep it up champ!

[ZebraOnYourNose]

1:27 when you stub your toe but it's 3 am and you can't wake up your roommate

[arandomperson]

I don't get scared easily whatsoever, but the combination of music, whispering and the face at 3:47 I genuinely got chills and looked away

[mindfairy_]

Whenever I try to pull an all nighter and get tired I just watch these💀

[cow_mangler]

The one thing this video stands out from the rest is that there isnt even a mockup of normality. Shit starts getting real in the first ten seconds, and it doesnt stop until the end. It feels way longer than five minutes, in a good way, and Im pretty sure you could become physically tired if it was 15+ minutes. Keep up with the dynamic in following videos, it is what makes your videos unique!

[cameronabshire]

I keep thinking about how good the "What does his face look like?" moment is.

The viewer is shown that their task is to identify uncanny faces, but the next question "What does his face look like?" turns this task on its head. You sit there asking yourself, "What? How am I supposed to know what their face looks like if I've never met them?"

But then it presents you with the two choices.

You DO know his face looks like.

You reach for the less-horrifying face choice, but hesitate because you don't know what the consequence is for choosing wrong. So you select the face on the left, and your fear is confirmed - you knew what he looked like before he turned around.

[Nv.frt.]

WE AINT SLEEPIN TONIGHT WITH THIS ONE BOYS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[MerryEverlyAfter]

The shower one got me. I thought it would turn into a still frame with the face distorted and some creepy sound, but it staying as a video with the blocked out face was a great touch.

[reclaimeddead]

I feel like this is showcasing a portion of what the Mandela catalogue alternates are capable of even when they take flawed assimilations. If Alex ever decides to do a Mandela Catalogue Vol. 1 remake, this is exactly how I imagine it would look like. Honestly I think you and Alex should do a collaboration, this was really good animation.

[ARandomKids]

This video is amazing, i love the fact there is basically no build-up, just straight uncanny valley and scares, I think this is your best video so far. Amazing

[chronicallypessimistic]

I love how you made a horror video that’s meant to scare and terrify people, but ended the video with a short, sweet “Subscribe!”

[elixtonni]

I have a theory.
The humanoid who invade "Basswood County" are came from the woods of the county. That's will explain the strange roots like tentacles of the humanoid creatures.

[MoonlightMirage]

I LOVE the brief detail at 3:30 pretty much implying the entity knows where you live and can hear you because it's actually watching you in real time, perhaps from a higher plane of reality (this makes more sense with the "I can tell you what your mind cannot comprehend" line and the failure of detective Jeff Alberson in the murder cases)
Wonder why it murders people though

[Rykyuby]

3:36 still looks more human than mark zuccerberg

[planetxtraa]

its unusual for me to be scared of horror anymore but this really got me good job man