I’ve been doing a lot of crypto posting lately, so I thought as a change of pace I would write about our latest game.
As I mentioned in my intro blog, my company produces the WhackIt series of games. E.g. Whack your Neighbour, Whack the Creeps, Whack the Burglars.
The next game we are releasing is “Whack the Serial Killers”. This is the first game we will be selling on Steam, rather than releasing on web/mobile for free! As I have said before these games are quite violent, although we always keep the violence quite slapstick, and we like to think we are quite creative with the kills.
We always make a lot of references to cult films in our games, so I thought I would share with you 10 films that inspired some of the kills in Whack the Serial Killer.
See if you can spot the Simpson's quote I've used in the picture captions!
So without further a do, here we go...
Hostel
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450278/
John wished he'd stopped at 3 pints
One of the most famous examples of the sub-genre called “Torture porn”. Hostel is a film that divides opinion. It’s certainly not for the faint hearted, the violence is extreme and very gory. You can see the influences from Asian cinema in this film - I’m thinking Audition, Ichi the Killer. We give a nod to a famous scene with a blow torch in our game.
Severance
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464196/
That's not how you smoke a fag you muppet
Hard to decide whether this more a comedy than horror flick. Either way, it’s a little gem. It’s a British film that pokes fun at a lot Hollywood horror movies, so it has a special place in the collection. We reference a particularly gory scene with a bear trap in our game.
Hellraiser
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093177/
Try acupuncture they said...
What is there to say about Pinhead?! If you haven’t seen this old horror flick and you are a fan of the genre, get hold of a copy now. As a guy in his late 30s this is one of those 80s horror flicks that we always tried to watch when we were kids in the 90s, catching bits of it here and there before our mum burst in on us and gave us a lecture about watching violent films. Whether you like the film or not you cannot deny that pinhead has become a major cult figure. He makes a personal appearance in our latest game.
Child’s Play
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094862/
If you should die before you wake..
Chucky scared me to death when I was younger. I don’t know why because when I watch this film now I find it more funny than scary. That being said, the idea of a children’s doll coming to life and murdering people in all sorts of imaginative ways still creeps me out. Also, it's probably the source of my life long hatred of dolls. Again, Chucky makes a cameo in Whack the Serial Killer.
Puppet Master
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098143/
Lady Penelope had really let herself go
OK, I admit it, this 80s B movie is absolute trash. The acting is horrendous. However, if you asked me or my bros what horror movie we remember the most from the late 80s I am pretty sure that we would all say puppet master. Apart from anything else, it is absolutely hilarious! The different dolls all have funny little abilities – choking up leeches being one of the creepiest. Watch out for the puppets, they might just pop up in Whack the Serial Killer.
Texas Chainsaw massacre
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/
Every Halloween, the same old costume
One of the creepiest movies ever made. An absolute classic that transcends the horror genre. Nothing else needs to be said. If you haven’t seen this film, go watch it right now. I’m not even going to bother to tell you how we referenced it 😊.
P.S. Do not bother with the remakes.
Nightmare on Elm Street
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/
When you offered to go down on me...
From the genius that is Wes Craven, this is one of the few horror films that I found hard to watch when I was younger. I think it’s because I was partial to a nightmare or two myself. I think the idea that what happens in your nightmares doesn’t stay in your nightmares scares us on an almost subconscious level. We couldn't well have a horror movie inspired game without including Freddy could we? 😉
Green Mile
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120689/
Every night out he does this
Although Stephen King is most famous for his horror novels, he writes in a lot of different genres, and a lot of his novels cross several genres. Green Mile is a brilliant example of this, and the film adaptation is excellent. I know it’s not a horror film, but we did borrow a nasty scene involving an electric chair from this film, and it’s one of my favorites, so you’ll forgive me for including it.
Salem’s Lot
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079844/
No Hasselhoff, you've really let yourself go
The second Stephen King novel on the list. Quick bit of trivia, this novel is referenced from the Dark Tower novels, one of characters even stars in a couple of the novels. if you haven’t read that series, I would really recommend you do. I could have chosen any vampire film as inspiration for the kill in Whack the Serial Killer, but Salem’s Lot has a special place in my heart from childhood. Technically it is a TV miniseries, but at just over 3 hours you can watch it in one sitting. Whenever I think vampire, I think Salem’s Lot. It’s so creepy, and the mundane, domestic, middle America setting really gives you the idea that vampires could exist. There are some terrifying scenes in it as well.
Pulp Fiction
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/
It's not the 70s anymore John...
OK I know, it’s clearly not a horror film, but who can forget that classic scene in the shop basement? Yeah you all know the one I mean. As soon as we started thinking of kills for What the Serial Killer, we all screamed: Gimp! Chest! Ninja sword!
Obviously, it’s an awesome film as well, and you can’t have a violent game without referencing Tarantino.
Well that’s it, there’s loads more kills in Whack the Serial Killer, but I think 10 will do for now. Hopefully you enjoyed reading through this list, and maybe I’ve given you a few movie ideas for the next time you shut the curtains, turn all the lights off, and settle down to be scared out of your wits for a couple of hours!
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