Analog Horror: VHS, broadcasts and...Digital?
A growing category of videos on Youtube where indie video creators mix modern horror in with a retro yet disturbing aestethic has been a hot topic known as "analog horror". To any person familiar with this 'new' genre, a few names come automatically to mind: 'Mandela Catalogue' (Kister, A. 2021) , 'The Walten Files' (Walls, M. 2020) or 'Local 58' (Straub, K. 2017) for example.
But, first and foremost: why use the term 'analog'? According to Pad Chennington in his video 'What is Analog Horror?' (2021), analog horror comes from the use of different analog formats such as film reel, VHS and television broadcast, and, of course, it has to be a horror narrative.
As we've in our class on Analog vs Digital, the main difference comes from the digital age use of binary but in this case the focus is more based on recreating an old fashioned broadcast with the menacing ambiance it can come with: here's an example :
listen to the first 30 seconds:
Kirster, A. (2021)
Here we can see how this video uses an old fashioned analog broadcast: the quality isn't good and the sound ominous: using a sort of patriotic anthem reminiscent of the 50S but also a robotic sounding hot, that barely sounds human. This is the horror in 'analog horror': the uncanny valley: 'The concept suggests that humanoid objects that imperfectly resemble actual human beings provoke uncanny or strangely familiar feelings of uneasiness and revulsion in observers.' (Wikipedia, 2022)
The true terror of analog horror lies in the feeling of insecurity in a place that should be safe: inhume narrators warning us, the viewers, of a non-human threat, making us question if we can trust the broadcast supposed to keep us safe.
As the genre grows and becomes oversatured, we are left to wonder: what happens next?
Well only time will tell for 'Local 58' who recently came back after 2 years of absence. Say 'Goodbye Analog' and Hello Digital, as the channel switches we can wonder: is this the birth of a new genre called 'Digital horror'?
References:
Alex Kister. (2021) The Mandela Catalogue Vol. 1. SEASON 1 [online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8d12w6pMos&t=14s (Accessed 27th February 2022)
Chennington, P. (2021) What is Analog Horror? [online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An1OJXIMCTo&t=186s (Accessed 27th February 2022)
Straub, K. or @LOCAL58TV. (2021) Contigency. [online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S5Qo84D_NA (Accessed 27th February 2022)
Straub, K. or @LOCAL58TV. (2021) Digital Transition. [online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S5Qo84D_NA (Accessed 27th February 2022)
Straub, K. @LOCAL58TV. (2017) Weather Service. SEASON 1 [online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M75VLQuFPrY&list=PLRE93y-rhbuIS5BSVpqmlymzTTMlzWqRB
(Accessed 27th February 2022)
Walls, M. (2020) The Walten Files. [online channel/series]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNzZD3otfZVlIdvYYRRqNSw (Accessed 27th February 2022)
Wikipedia. (Last updated February 2022) Uncanny Valley. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley (Accessed 27th February 2022)
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