if you want to infodump about analog horror please do I'm only vaguely aware about it and I'd love to hear your thoughts <3
OKAY SO FIRST IM GONNA TELL U WHAT EVEN IS ANALOG HORROR IN MY OPINION
Analog horror is a form of horror that leans on found footage horror, and usually has a supernatural or alien element whether its the threat or just the whole vibe it. Analog horror is usually meant to feel personal and like it could happen to you, similar to home invasion movies. Analog horror also uses outdated technology to tell its stories, like VHS, old TVs, ect. This is where it got the analog part of its name because those technologies use analog signals (look it up if u wanna know what those are !!) A lot of the time, an analog horror series can also have an ARG (alternate reality game) element to further the plot.
Analog horror is a relatively new type of horror and it's mainly found on YouTube. Some well known analog horror series include Local58, The Mandela Catalogue, and Gemini Home Entertainment. There are a couple other series that fit the analog horror genre a bit more loosely, like The Walten Files, Petscop, and Catastrophe Crow. Petscop and Catastrophe Crow also fall into the genre of creepypasta ARG games which if u are interested in learning about those I suggest watching Game Theory's videos on both of them (that's how i learned about them lol)
I've only really watched Local58 because its like 25 minutes total watch time, and the Mandela Catalogue because its super recent (i think it started getting posted summer of this year). Both of them lean into the whole personal fear and anxiety in different ways. I especially love MC because of how it can subvert your expectations and make you uncomfortable with its imagery. I highly recommend it if you're okay with jump scares, religious imagery, mentions of suicide and violence, and just a general sense of dread.
A lot of these series deal with disturbing topics that range from child murder, people's identities being stolen, possible cults, and a bunch of other things. Obviously you're going to get something scary since it's horror, but for me, I feel like these series can get viscerally disturbing in a way a movie or tv show can't. Especially when they bring in the ARG element.
In the end, I'm really happy this form of horror exists and is widely available for free so anyone can experience it and even get to be a part of it to help solve the mystery of it with a community of people who also enjoy the series.
