The Tapes of Wrath: Long Live Analog Horror

I’ll openly admit I was late to the analog horror game, but goddamn, I’m glad I’m here now. I’m honestly embarrassed I drug my heels in so long, giving me less time with these gems (cue Julia Fox saying Uncut Gems). Before we go any further, let me answer the question you might already be asking - what exactly is analog horror? 

Analog horror is a niche of found footage horror that constructs its narrative and does all of its world building through short videos. These series lurk over on YouTube and range in  things from  employee training videos to wilderness survival tips. However, these videos quickly devolve into something far more sinister through corrupted text and images, where most of the storytelling takes place. As a die-hard horror fan and writer, I am absolutely riveted by the concept. 

If you can’t tell, analog horror is becoming one of my favorite types of content on the world wide weird (The phrase made me feel like Fi in So Weird, so I stand by it). Today, we’re focusing on my big four analog horror series: The Walten Files, Local58, Gemini Home Entertainment, and The Mandela Catalogue. This isn’t to discredit any other great analog horror series out there, but these four are my favorites out of the ones I’ve seen so far. 

These are all so masterfully done, I’m almost against having any film adaptations created because I don’t think anything could truly encapsulate the worlds Martin Walls, Kris Straub, Remy Abode, and Alex Kister (who is a TEENAGER, by the way) are creating for us, as most of these are confirmed to be ongoing. The only tentative series is Local58, as they have recently uploaded a video, leaving viewers wondering if the series will continue as an ARG (Alternate Reality Game).  

There’s so much to unpack with each of these series that I’m only going to give you brief overviews to pique your curiosity because to cover each of these at the level of analysis they deserve would take pages and pages. I can’t even begin to do any of these justice in the amount of space I’m limiting myself to, so I’m going to include links to YouTube videos I feel give a good analysis of the series and movie recommendations for each. So join Alice and I down the rabbit hole as we talk about the exciting world of analog horror. 

The Walten Files

[CW/TW: drunk driving, child death, alcohol ab*s*, disturbing images] 

Many of the videos in this series contain flashing lights and loud noises, so I would proceed with caution in watching both the series and analysis videos if you have light and/or sound sensitivities. 

The Walten Files was created by Martin Walls, and the first episode was uploaded back in 2021 (and, as of this writing, has 7 MILLION VIEWS). This series is focused on the fictional and short-lived Bon’s Burgers restaurant and affiliate company Bunny Smiles Inc. Through employee training videos and recordings, we learn the story of Jack Walten, his family, and his business partner, Felix Kranken. And boy howdy, is it a tragic and disturbing one…potentially involving some, uh, bodies, in some, uh, animatronic mascots. The Walten Files is one I would recommend watching with the lights ON, and honestly, you’ll probably never want to set foot inside a Chuck E. Cheese again. 

Commentary video: Nexpo - What are the Walten Files?

Movie recommendations: Willy’s Wonderland and The Banana Splits Movie (which has the added bonus of Patrick Stump’s musical scoring) 

Local58

[CW/TW: disturbing images, widespread illness, mass s**c*d*] 

Many of the videos in this series contain flashing lights and loud noises, so I would proceed with caution in watching both the series and analysis videos if you have light and/or sound sensitivities. 

Local58 is considered by many to be the original analog horror series, with the first upload dating back to 2018. Local58 was created by Kris Straub and is still shrouded in mystery. If the name Kris Straub sounds familiar, he’s the mastermind behind the Castle Cove Creepypasta as well as the writer of its Channel Zero TV adaptation, which, in my humble opinion, is one of THE best horror series to come out in the past decade. He’s also behind Broodhollow and the Ichor Falls website. 

The series appears to chronicle a hijacked local TV station, and the viewer is bombarded with conflicting messages throughout the series. Here’s what we know for certain: something bad is happening when we look at the moon. As in, people are dying and/or being transformed into something monstrous when looking at the moon. As in, the government, in the 1970s, created a tape telling us we needed to end our own lives because of what’s happening. As in, whatever it is isn’t…good. And whoever is behind it is…trying to hack into the broadcast trying to save us (we think). 

Local58 is the outlier in this group for two reasons: 1) It has the most ambiguous narrative and 2) We don’t know exactly what the most recent upload from three months ago represents. As I mentioned earlier, the speculation is Local58 is becoming an ARG, but no matter where this series is going, I’m ready to tune in, and I don’t plan on turning that dial…or looking up at the sky at night until further notice. 

Commentary video: Nexpo - Local58: The Broadcast Station that Manipulates You 

Other recommendations: Local58 is utterly unique, so it’s hard to recommend movies with adjacent story lines. If you enjoy the video, You Are On The Fastest Available Route, I would recommend the Cloverfield series. I would also recommend all four seasons of Channel Zero because I really do think it’s easily one of the best horror series of the past 10-12 years, and the first season is based on Kris Straub’s Candle Cove Creepypasta. 

Outside of those two recommendations, I have an ARG for you - The Sun Vanished. The story is told through Twitter accounts, and creator Aidan Elliott is an absolute genius. Imagine waking up, but the sun is gone. At first, it seems like a weird eclipse or some naturally occurring event, but it becomes increasingly apparent the sun vanished…but something (or someone) else has appeared in its place. 

Gemini Home Entertainment

[CW/TW: communicable diseases, disturbing images, home invasion, child endangerment] 

Many of the videos in this series contain flashing lights and loud noises, so I would proceed with caution in watching both the series and analysis videos if you have light and/or sound sensitivities. 

Okay, I try not to play favorites, but I can genuinely say Remy Abode’s Gemini Home Entertainment is my favorite analog horror series to date. Gemini Home Entertainment seems to be a video distribution company with either different subsidiaries or partners including Harbinge Technologies (get it, like Harbinger?), Regnad (aka Danger) Computing, and Optica! Video (I can’t for the life of me figure out if this Optica or Optical with flare). Each of these companies are behind different videos within the series, with Optica! Video seemingly being the most villainous. 

Each tape ranges from something similar to what you would watch in science class, complete with music you would hear on the Local on the 8s segment on The Weather Channel (except for the time I heard Explosions in the Sky and applaud the brave intern who inserted it) to a fake computer game you can actually play. Based on the 17 videos (16 in the Complete Box Set playlist and 1 in the Library), we can assume: 

• People are being turned into extraterrestrial/supernatural creatures known as fake people and/or vessels. 

• There’s a communicable disease called Deep Root Disease that, uh, is absolutely fucking terrifying (seriously, seeing it will make your skin crawl…before it falls off, and you turn into a COMATOSE NERVOUS SYSTEM WHILE SOMETHING WEARS YOUR FLESH?)

• Nature’s Mockery is a type of fungus/plant that will mutilate your entire body should you encounter it. 

• Oh, and on top of all of these other things, there are giant, spider-like Woodcrawlers moseying around, and it appears humans are turning into those too?

So yeah, uh, things aren’t great. The execution of this series is though. It’s aliens (insert meme here), but it’s aliens in a way we truly haven’t seen before. When I was rewatching Gemini Home Entertainment, I also couldn’t help but notice the meaning of the name itself. If you don’t know, Gemini represents The Twins on the Zodiac. People are being replaced…meaning there are technically two of them. Coincidence? Absolutely not because this series is planned way too well. 

Commentary video: Nexpo - Gemini and the End of the World 

Movie recommendations: The Brain, Slither, and TerrorVision 

The Mandela Catalogue 

[TW/CW: disturbing images, SI, self-harm, sacrilegious ideas] 

Many of the videos in this series contain flashing lights and loud noises, so I would proceed with caution in watching both the series and analysis videos if you have light and/or sound sensitivities. 

If you had told me eight months ago I would be sincerely bothered by an analog horror series created by a teenager mostly on his iPhone, I would have laughed in your face. Alex Kister’s The Mandela Catalogue, aka an analog horror series made by a teenager on his iPhone, has wrecked my shit. One thing that has always bothered me is the idea of the Uncanny Valley - where human-like creatures tend to be mistaken for humans upon first glance but aren’t; something is just OFF. Naturally, this is exactly where The Mandela Catalogue has taken up residence. 

With what we know so far, humans are being replaced by imposters. These ghastly, murderous beings are slowly taking over the human race, and it appears those in power have fully lost control and may even be allowing it to happen. It might even go back to Biblical times with the likes of Gabriel, and erm, JESUS HIMSELF, having been replaced and/or exiled. So, uh, yeah, it’s frightening. I fancy myself to be the resident horror queen, so I’ve watched this twice… both times in broad daylight and with plenty of Gossip Girl after as a palate cleanser. 

Will I continue watching this series as it unfolds? Of course. Will I watch this series at night? Hard no. And maybe, just to be safe, stay away from your friend’s house if they ask you to lock up. 

Commentary video: Loey Lane - The Mandela Catalogue Explained: YouTube’s Scariest Analog Horror Story 

Reaction video: As this is extremely heavy content, I recommend watching through both Vol 1 and Vol 2 with jacksepticeye because he keeps it as lighthearted as any person possibly could. 

Recommended movies: The Thing, The Faculty, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 - obviously)

Analog horror is a terrifying, innovative, and masterfully-crafted addition to the Found Footage horror subgenre. I think some of the emerging voices in the analog horror game are going to redefine Found Footage as we know it. While a lot of this content is heavy, and I don’t recommend watching a series all within the same day, let alone all four, they deserve a warm welcome to the horror family. If you’re like me, and you’re not scared easily, these are definitely for you. If you’re scared easily, I recommend looking for a watch through with one of your favorite YouTubers, just to cut the scary. 

Throughout my 30 years, the entire face of horror has completely changed, and Scream (2022) reminds us of that. I think, between the isolation we’ve faced in the pandemic and the entire restructuring of content we’ve seen, that analog horror isn’t going away anytime soon - in fact, I think it’s going to become a full genre. In the meantime, make sure not to shine light in the faces of the animatronics, don’t look at the moon, stay away from fake people, and know when it’s not a cat. End transmission.