Marble Hornets Season 2 review: Episodes 27 to 42

!!!!!!SEASON 1 AND 2 SPOILERS!!!!!!

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Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers review

Director: Nick Park
(1993)

There's only very little that needs to be said about Nick Parks Wallace and Gromit the Wrong Trousers, a short stop motion animation that's The Godfather of its genre. After renting out the spare room to an ambiguously sinister penguin, Gromit’s Techno Trousers are integral in the heist of a diamond by the malevolent bird. From start to finish Parks magnum opus is crammed with pitch perfect humour, genius gags and an astute sense of britishness. The low fi charm of Claymation is delightful that enhances every scene with such detail and ingenuity putting everything else similar to shame. And then there’s that climax, a chase on a miniature train track around Wallace’s home as Gromit lays down additional track as the locomotive barrels forward at an alarming and exhilarating rate. Quite possibly one of the greatest moments in the history of film, animation or otherwise.  A true masterpiece.

Marble Hornets review: Episode 12 to 26 season 1 conclusion

!!!!!Warning: Mild Season 1 Spoilers!!!!!

Concluding season 1, Marble Hornets has almost reinvented itself during the second half of its debut. Our protagonist and Youtube uploader Jay is embroiled into the actions of the enigmatic Operator more frequently, leading to plenty of twists and scares to go along the way. As far as being both entertaining and horrifying, Marble Hornets is astonishing.

What elevates this half of the season above the first is the stronger emphasis on story, which in turn solidifies the force of the horror. E13 shows us an odd recurring symbol, E14 shows the Operators violent side as Alex wakes up covered in blood while E17 highlights the effects that close proximity to the Operator has on people. What's wonderful is how many of these episodes seem normal for the majority of their running time, until at the last second you realise that our faceless antagonist has been lurking in the background the entire time.

As Jay gets drawn into the mystery, the tension is ratcheted up with fierce intensity. A foray into an abandoned house at night reeks of cliché, but what is shown inside these empty rooms was one of the most genuinely scary moments I've ever witnessed. Afterwards, things become more and more strange, Jays paranoia almost identical to Alex’s as he films himself sleep, an entry that provokes fear in the viewer just as much as it does in Jay. Various plot strands are thrown around towards the season’s conclusion, from coughing fits, pill bottles and creepy dolls that litter the floor.

Season 1 has a conclusion that’s equal parts weird and scary, adding to the hopelessness of the situation of our protagonist. Sometimes cheap jumps are used thanks to some distorted audio and erratic visual artefacts, but these are no match for the real fear that brews in every new entry. New characters are introduced well, something that has proved pivotal in keeping the season fresh. The element of supernatural has been given some much needed depth, and Jay and the others involved in Alex’s Marble Hornets project. Totheark, the man in the mask, the fearsome Operator himself, the development of these characters, and the answers we gather on them, will surely be absolutely enthralling. Marble Hornets is guerrilla filmmaking executed to a level of perfection.

Marble Hornets: Prologue to episode 11 review

Based on the fearsome and immensely popular Slenderman meme, Marble Hornets is a collection of episodic content that can be found on Youtube. The backstory behind the series is relatively simple, film student Alex gives up his raw footage of his project to J before its completed, citing ‘unworkable conditions’ on the set, despite being in within close proximity to his home. J uploads this footage to Youtube, and we’re thrown into a thoroughly unnerving series concerning an entity known only as ‘The Operator’.

The prologue starts innocuously enough, featuring footage from a car journey interspersed with text from J, explaining the story about how he came into possession of the tapes, as well as Alex leaving school. It sets the tone perfectly, and the episodes are paced sufficiently in order to keep interest. What's great is that some episodes are out of chronological order, and its satisfying to see events unfold from a different perspective.

While E1 gives us a fleeting glimpse of the mysterious tall man, the next few uploads show Alex behaving strangely, as well as eerie visual and audio distortions. While these initially seem like imperfections from filming, they have sinister light shone on them around E5. E6 and E7 feature more sightings although the latter gives the audience a bit too much of a good look at our strange stalker.

The remaining episodes continue to show Alex’s erratic and aggressive behaviour that culminates with a restrained yet horrifying payoff in E11. Aside from some unexpected intentional audio distortion, Marble Hornets doesn’t resort to cheap scare tactics; but would much rather subject its audience to a slow burning build-up. This tension does get a chilling payoff every few episodes, but in a way that possesses a great deal of control. Marble Hornets doesn’t want to startle you with cheap, jumpy scares. Instead, it would much rather get under your skin and play on your mind, and it succeeds for the most part. If these 12 episodes are any indication, fans of true fear are in for a treat.