Martha Is Dead is set to release next month after facing some delays, and the indie game promises to be a psychological horror with themes of war, memory, and the supernatural, as many survival horror titles do. As an aside, while PT’s name initially sparked intrigue (and some confusion), Martha Is Dead’s title has been repeatedly compared to a meme referencing Batman V. Superman. The game is set in Tuscany in 1944, and Martha Is Dead has the potential to tap into some major horror themes that make it an interesting choice for fans of the genre - particularly those that liked PT.
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Guillermo del Toro and European Period Horror
Identifying how Martha Is Dead appeals to the same market as PT requires some elaboration on specific elements of PT that made it such a significant moment in gaming. Aside from being a viral hit and genuinely terrifying players, one of the most exciting aspects of the full Silent Hills game was the involvement of Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro is known for his fantastical and darkly creepy worlds, often setting his films in early to mid 20th century Europe. The period setting contributes to themes of Gothic horror within these stories, such as del Toro’s Crimson Peak. Martha Is Dead similarly utilizes elements of Gothic horror, and more visceral modern horror, to create its frightening experience. However, del Toro is not the only horror director who utilizes wartime and post-war Europe, particularly in dealing with psychological horror and trauma.
A psychological horror game set in 1944 Tuscany should have plenty to appeal to longtime del Toro fans, especially those hoping to see some of his approach in video games. Generally, this type of horror uses the trauma of war as a means of expressing inner turmoil, such as del Toro’s own films set during and just after the Spanish Civil War. While certain factors differ in Spain versus Italy during this time, broadly speaking both countries were deeply damaged and traumatized by World War 2. Del Toro’s horrors are often praised for the monster design, and since that is a big element of the Silent Hill franchise, Guillermo’s involvement was an interesting prospect. The grotesque monsters often seen in survival horror projects set around war are usually compared to fallen soldiers. As such, Martha Is Dead taps into many of the same cultural themes of del Toro’s cinematic work
Horror and War without Combat
For those unfamiliar with del Toro’s work, the other most exciting element of PT was the involvement of Hideo Kojima. Kojima’s work, unlike del Toro’s, is much more heavily preoccupied with war and technology, which is often manifested through self-reflexivity. Much of the gameplay and interactive capabilities of PT emphasize this, but one rather simple tool Kojima used was completely removing combat for the teaser.
Both PT and Martha Is Dead can be described as walking sims, which for horror games makes the player feel more vulnerable and defenseless. Martha Is Dead equips the player with a camera as a means of exploring the world around them, and this use of a camera in horror is best compared to the Clock Tower games. What Clock Tower, PT, and Martha Is Dead have in common is that although they offer means to interact with the world, the stress and anxiety of the horror are raised by having no real means of defense.
Finally, Death Stranding gave fans a brief taste of what a Kojima-directed horror might be like, particularly with regard to Mads Mikkelsen’s character, Cliff. With Kojima’s own preoccupation with themes of war and del Toro’s penchant for the Gothic and grotesque, Silent Hills would likely have touched on many of the themes Martha Is Dead does, even though the franchise doesn’t usually deal explicitly with war and horror. For these reasons, Martha Is Dead has multiple aspects that should appeal to both PT fans and horror fans more broadly, as it taps into the same psychosocial themes that the creators of PT feature in their own work.
Martha Is Dead is set to release February 24th for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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