Clear the kitchen in Ghost House.
I ain’t afraid of no ghost! – The Playroom VR
Clear the kitchen in Ghost House.
Month: November 2017
He slimed me! – The Playroom VR
Fail to capture all ghosts within the time limit in any of the rooms in Ghost House.
Fail to capture all ghosts within the time limit in any of the rooms in Ghost House.
Playtime’s over, kids! – The Playroom VR
Clear the toys room in Ghost House.
Clear the toys room in Ghost House.
Who you gonna call? – The Playroom VR
Clear the living room in Ghost House.
Clear the living room in Ghost House.
Once upon a time in VR – The Playroom VR
Clear the Rookie level in Wanted!
Clear the Rookie level in Wanted!
Meet the Crofts – Rise of the Tomb Raider
Croft Manor: Collect 50% of the Documents in Croft Manor
Croft Manor: Collect 50% of the Documents in Croft Manor
Pop it! – The Playroom VR
Burst the balloon at the end of Robots Rescue (playing alone or with a friend).
Burst the balloon at the end of Robots Rescue (playing alone or with a friend).
How did you get down there? – The Playroom VR
Rescue the lost VR Bot down by the cliff in Robots Rescue (playing as the VR Player).
Rescue the lost VR Bot down by the cliff in Robots Rescue (playing as the VR Player).
It’s a me! – The Playroom VR
Look at a VR Bot behind you and make it wave back (playing as the VR player).
Look at a VR Bot behind you and make it wave back (playing as the VR player).
Encounter of the block kind – The Playroom VR
Lost to the alien invasion in Toy Wars.
Lost to the alien invasion in Toy Wars.
Hey partner! – The Playroom VR
Look at your BotCop partner behind you at the beginning of Wanted! (playing as the VR Sheriff).
Look at your BotCop partner behind you at the beginning of Wanted! (playing as the VR Sheriff).
Welcome to VR! – The Playroom VR
Fire your first rocket and step into the magical world of VR!
Fire your first rocket and step into the magical world of VR!
Key to the Past – Rise of the Tomb Raider
Croft Manor: Acquire the Master Key
Croft Manor: Acquire the Master Key
Nocturnal by The Midnight
The Midnight are a two-piece synthwave band consisting of songwriter Tyler Lyle and producer Tim McEwan. They are from the American deep south and Denmark respectively. However, they now both live in Los Angeles and make some of the coolest music of the past few years.
They are well respected, often revered, within the Synthwave community. Their music is awash with eighties retro sensibilities and an innate ability to bring back the parts of that era we often see through rose-tinted glasses.
Nocturnal by The Midnight
Nocturnal is the third full album release by The Midnight and is as strong an album as I have come to expect from them.
We open the album with footsteps on a rainy Los Angeles street. The sirens in the background and the initial synth pads that swoon in gave me similar feels to Sarah Connor before ducking into the Tech Noir. I wasn’t to know just how close to the Terminator we were going to come with this album – more on this in a moment. This first song, ‘Shadows’, is a steady beat and synth driven tune that soon showcases singer Tyler Lyle’s awesome, almost vulnerable feeling, vocals. And you best believe there is a little bit of Saxophone sprinkled in there too. This song brings you straight into the era they are shooting for with style.
It was great to hear Nikki Flores’ return after her previous collaboration with The Midnight on the previous album’s hit ‘Jason’. This time she takes the microphone for ‘Light Years’, her voice pairing perfectly with Tyler’s. Meanwhile on ‘River of Darkness’, we are treating to a different kind of collaboration. Fellow Synthwave artist Timecop1983 helps out in the production of ‘River of Darkness’, creating a stunning mid section to the album.
Inspired by the greatest
‘Crystalline’ is most definitely one of the stand-out songs for me on this album. It was also the first single to be shown off from Nocturnal. The vocals continue with their dreamlike delivery as we are led into what can only be described as a head nod towards Phil Collins. The drum fill that thrusts us into the wailing Saxophone solo, sounds wonderfully inspired by those infamous beats from ‘In The Air Tonight’.
The title track on this album feels like a love letter to Brad Fiedel – the composer from the Terminator. The song begins so close to one of the most iconic film themes ever written. The iconic theme I speak of is the main theme from the Terminator. Again, as with the Phil Collins flavours on Crystalline, these Terminator-esque beats are merely a jumping off point. The song soon blossoms into its own deep synth bass/beat driven beast. Noctural also featured synthesizer sounds that sounded identical to ones used in the film.
These inspirations seem to come from a place of deep love and respect for the era and the artists. As opposed to simply being a popular retro vehicle for them to write on. It’s the delicate touches throughout this album that put it in the upper circle.
Summary
Even though Synthwave is one of my favourite musical genres, I don’t tend to write about it that often. This is only due to the fact that I think I’d end up repeating myself with most albums and artists. Most I’ve heard have been great, but there are those special few that warrant the time it takes. FM-84 are one such band, The Midnight are another.
Not once was I awoken from their retro spell during this album. When listening, you will be transported to an idealistic moment of the eighties – if you allow yourself. A moment pieced together from your own memories of films and tv shows of the time. Those memories then bound together with the beautiful music from Nocturnal by The Midnight.
Growing Pains (Hammer House of Horror episode 4)
We open the episode to see a small boy looking around a laboratory at the different coloured powders on the shelf. He then proceeds to eat one of the powders, which immediately sends him into a trance-like fit before dying on the grass outside. His parents run out after hearing breaking glass only to find their son, William, dead in the garden.
After the tragic opening we move to some time in the near future, the length of which is never revealed. The mother is picking up her newly-adopted son, a very polite – and slightly odd – young boy. After a near-fatal accident on the way home, the boy starts to become integrated into the family.
However, something just doesn’t sit right with the parents Terence and Laurie – something about their new son just isn’t right. After an increasing number of strange, and graphically horrific, occurrences happen around the home and the father’s lab, the story ends on a darkly melancholic note.
Put the bunny back in the box
I find that any horror that is being told is almost always amplified when children are involved. Whether that involves the child as being either the victim or the perpetrator. Take the rabbit killing scene for example: if an adult breaks the neck of a rabbit on screen, yes it is horrible. However, put that action into the hands of a small child, whether possessed or not, and the violence takes on a whole new angle.
Hammer House of Horror was going places and trying things that other shows at the time just weren’t doing. At least that’s what I believe based on my limited research. We can see parallels with modern anthology series like Black Mirror and Inside No 9, which themselves are doing things others just aren’t. Both of these no doubt took some of their cues from this TV series.
Although this episode was a bit of a slow burn for me, there was still enough to enjoy it as a whole. I thought the child actor at the time, Matthew Blakstad who played adopted son James, was suitable creepy. But from all of the reviews / critiques I’ve read of this episode, all mention him as being an evil boy. Although that was the impression I had from the start, I didn’t feel that by the end. Instead, I believe him to be a sheltered boy who unwittingly becomes possessed by the late Willam.
Summary
This episode is definitely the weakest of the first three i have watched so far. Although it did have a few redeeming qualities for me. You wouldn’t be missing too much if you bypassed this episode. But, for any of you fans of the Hammer House of Horror series, you should find enough interest to warrant 50 minutes of your time.
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