Horror has been a key component of video games since the medium’s inception. From Haunted House for the Atari 2600 to this year’s Resident Evil: Village, video game designers have tasked players with something wholly unique to the genre: live through the horror, or die trying. The artistry behind crafting compelling stories with stimulating and responsive game mechanics requires a singular perspective and skill set. Miskatonic is proud to welcome genre legends Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick to discuss their role in the craft behind such hit horror video games as Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan. This lecture will be an in-depth exploration of their approach to the maze-like structure of horror video game scripts, and how they make sure the audience never gets lost in the process. Horror has always pushed the boundaries of sensation, and Fessenden and Reznick know firsthand how powerful, and terrifying, this relatively new medium can be.
Please note these are live events – they cannot be downloaded and watched later, so please be sure you are available at the time and timezone the classes are being offered in before registering.
Larry Fessenden (writer, director, producer, editor), winner of the 1997 Someone to Watch Spirit Award, and nominee for the 2010 Piaget Spirit Award for producing, is the writer, director and editor most recently of DEPRAVED, as well as the art horror films HABIT (Nominated for 2 Spirit Awards), WENDIGO (Winner Best Film 2001 Woodstock Film Festival) and NO TELLING. His film, THE LAST WINTER (Nominated for a 2007 Gotham Award for best ensemble cast), premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Fessenden directed SKIN AND BONES for NBC TV’s horror anthology FEAR ITSELF and the feature film BENEATH for Chiller films. He wrote the screenplay with Guillermo del Toro of THE ORPHANAGE, an English language remake of the successful Spanish film EL ORFANATO.
He is the co-writer with Graham Reznick, of the hit Sony Playstation videogame UNTIL DAWN, which won a Bafta, and of several subsequent games for Supermassive gaming company.
Fessenden has produced dozens of films including FOXHOLE (Jack Fessenden), THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (Ti West), WENDY AND LUCY (Kelly Reichardt) and STAKE LAND (Jim Mickle).
As a character actor Fessenden has appeared over 100 films including THE DEAD DON’T DIE (Jim Jarmusch), THE MOUNTAIN (Rick Alverson), IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE (Ti West), BRINGING OUT THE DEAD (Martin Scorsese), BROKEN FLOWERS (Jim Jarmusch), THE BRAVE ONE (Neil Jordan), ANIMAL FACTORY (Steve Buscemi), WENDY AND LUCY (Kelly Reichardt), as well as many independent horror films including JAKOB’S WIFE, WE ARE STILL HERE, YOU’RE NEXT, I SELL THE DEAD and TV shows including “Louie” and “The Strain”.
Graham Reznick is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. In 2009 he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed experimental horror feature film I CAN SEE YOU (“heralds a splendid new filmmaker” – The New York Times) and the award winning microbudget stereoscopic 3D sci-fi short THE VIEWER (featuring Lena Dunham). With Larry Fessenden, he is the co-writer of the BAFTA award winning Playstation 4 video game UNTIL DAWN (featuring Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere, for Sony / Supermassive Games) and its best-selling PSVR tie-ins RUSH OF BLOOD and THE INPATIENT, and several more. Fessenden and Reznick hold a 2015 Guinness World Record for their work on the UNTIL DAWN screenplay.
In 2015 he wrote and directed the iTunes chart topping audio drama THE CHAMBERS TAPE (featuring SUPERNATURAL’s Misha Collins), and in 2016, Graham co-wrote the Sundance premiere BUSHWICK, an action/thriller starring Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow. In 2017 he wrote and directed RAPID EYE, a live action, interactive sci-fi horror thriller pilot for Sony / Olive Bridge / Eko. Most recently, Graham created, directed, and executive produced the thriller/sci-fi/horror television series DEADWAX for AMC’s Shudder.
As a sound designer and musician, Graham has designed audio, mixed, and/or composed additional music for over 20 feature films, including Ti West’s IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, and THE INNKEEPERS, Jon Watts’ CLOWN, Larry Fessenden’s BENEATH, and Jim Mickle’s STAKELAND, as well as the 2013 Academy Award winning short CURFEW and the 2016 Academy Award nominated short documentary WITHIN THE WALLS. He has also edited music videos for numerous bands including LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, THE JUAN MACLEAN, and JIMMY EAT WORLD. In 2018, Graham’s debut electronic music album GLASS ANGLES was released on vinyl by Death Waltz / Mondo and the follow-up ROBOPHASIA was released on Burning Witches Records. (Image credit: Nelson Bakerman)
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Graham Reznick is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. In 2009 he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed experimental horror feature film I CAN SEE YOU (“heralds a splendid new filmmaker” – The New York Times) and the award winning microbudget stereoscopic 3D sci-fi short THE VIEWER (featuring Lena Dunham). With Larry Fessenden, he is the co-writer of the BAFTA award winning Playstation 4 video game UNTIL DAWN (featuring Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere, for Sony / Supermassive Games) and its best-selling PSVR tie-ins RUSH OF BLOOD and THE INPATIENT, and several more. Fessenden and Reznick hold a 2015 Guinness World Record for their work on the UNTIL DAWN screenplay.
In 2015 he wrote and directed the iTunes chart topping audio drama THE CHAMBERS TAPE (featuring SUPERNATURAL’s Misha Collins), and in 2016, Graham co-wrote the Sundance premiere BUSHWICK, an action/thriller starring Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow. In 2017 he wrote and directed RAPID EYE, a live action, interactive sci-fi horror thriller pilot for Sony / Olive Bridge / Eko. Most recently, Graham created, directed, and executive produced the thriller/sci-fi/horror television series DEADWAX for AMC’s Shudder.
As a sound designer and musician, Graham has designed audio, mixed, and/or composed additional music for over 20 feature films, including Ti West’s IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, and THE INNKEEPERS, Jon Watts’ CLOWN, Larry Fessenden’s BENEATH, and Jim Mickle’s STAKELAND, as well as the 2013 Academy Award winning short CURFEW and the 2016 Academy Award nominated short documentary WITHIN THE WALLS. He has also edited music videos for numerous bands including LCD SOUNDSYSTEM, THE JUAN MACLEAN, and JIMMY EAT WORLD. In 2018, Graham’s debut electronic music album GLASS ANGLES was released on vinyl by Death Waltz / Mondo and the follow-up ROBOPHASIA was released on Burning Witches Records. (Image credit: Tina Thorpe)
