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The Casting of Frank Stone Review – A Scare-Free Horror With a Good Hook, but a Plot That Turns Dull

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The Casting of Frank Stone Review – A Scare-Free Horror With a Good Hook, but a Plot That Turns Dull

The Casting of Frank Stone Review – A Scare-Free Horror With a Good Hook, but a Plot That Turns Dull

The trouble with this is that it’s impossible to both play the overseer and share in the plight of the characters. You end up feeling more like Augustine, the shadowy string-puller, and what should strike you as a tense corridor, say, or a creepy antique store, just have the airless quality of sets. Plus, the controls are clunky. You never feel as if you’re directly manipulating a character – rather that you’re persuading them (via a conference call with their agent, perhaps) toward their marks. These are outlined in glowing white, so no scene is invested with mystery for long. Of course, Supermassive doesn’t want anyone to get stuck, and thus to break the illusion of a lightly interactive movie, so a certain amount of lubrication is understandable. Still, a little more freedom, even at the risk of a snag, would go a long way, and after several hours of plodding through the motions, I wanted to register a complaint on behalf of the audience: We are frustrated that you don’t trust us.

At the beginning of the game “The Casting of Frank Stone” by Supermassive Games, a spine-tingling sound captures our attention. A hooded figure stands by a fire in the woods, speaking eerily about an ancient force with insatiable appetite, “voracious in hunger.” Could this be some kind of demon lurking at the edge of reality? Then, our mysterious antagonist reveals herself: “I am Augustine Lieber. And I’m going to alter our realities forever.” Instantly, a shiver ran down my spine. Realities, or maybe I should say realities, plural? Perhaps it’s time for congratulations. Supermassive Games, after stumbling with ghosts, vampires, and werewolves, have found the most sinister type of monster: the multiverse. This monster threatens not just characters or stories but any reality and audience alike.

The Casting of Frank Stone Review – A Scare-Free Horror With a Good Hook, but a Plot That Turns Dull

The interest level is a place where all human emotions are stored, including those that are yet unreleased or unpaid, as well as any other form of human suffering, in a way that it could be said to have been mired in the Stygian world of the patent attorneys and contractual clauses.

In the event, Supermassive is more interested in the plot. Though The Casting of Frank Stone is billed as being “from the world of Dead by Daylight,” there are no third-act interruptions from bored Freddy Kruegers, or Xenomorphs hitching a ride into foreign fictions in search of lunch. Instead, we have Linda Castle, a film director who in her youth wielded a Super-8 camera and, along with a couple of pals, made Murder Mill: a charming little flick, richly spattered with what one character describes as “spearmint cough syrup.” The friends shot the movie in a condemned steel mill in Cedar Hills, Oregon, and – wouldn’t you know it – the place was the site of several real murders, years before. The killer? One Frank Stone, who was stopped by a police officer just before he could drop a baby into a vat of gulping lava.

The Casting of Frank Stone Review – A Scare-Free Horror With a Good Hook, but a Plot That Turns Dull

In 1980, it’s not about what happened in that year, but rather what happened to her as she was being processed through various institutions, systems, and even countries, with a variety of outcomes depending on which one she would end up.

Initially, the game “The Casting of Frank Stone” shows potential. I was pleased to witness characters exploring an abandoned mill, reminiscent of Alan Wake’s investigation. The setting served as a fitting allegory for a stalled and messy project, with its hanging hooks and ominous atmosphere. However, unlike the original developer Remedy who skillfully manipulates emotions, this new game, much like many productions by Supermassive, appears neither capable nor eager to evoke such feelings. Instead, it positions you as the director, allowing you to pan and zoom through scenes rather than a narrative, guiding your actors towards various outcomes. An additional feature called “The Cutting Room Floor” in the menu lets you replay segments and experiment with different results. As stated at the beginning, “Every choice made, every action taken has consequences,” and dialogues often include subtitles such as “Sam is annoyed that you don’t trust him.”

The Casting of Frank Stone Review – A Scare-Free Horror With a Good Hook, but a Plot That Turns Dull

The trouble with this is that it’s impossible to both play the overseer and share in the plight of the characters. You end up feeling more like Augustine, the shadowy string-puller, and what should strike you as a tense corridor, say, or a creepy antique store, just have the airless quality of sets. Plus, the controls are clunky. You never feel as if you’re directly manipulating a character –  rather that you’re persuading them (via a conference call with their agent, perhaps) toward their marks. These are outlined in glowing white, so no scene is invested with mystery for long. Of course, Supermassive doesn’t want anyone to get stuck, and thus to break the illusion of a lightly interactive movie, so a certain amount of lubrication is understandable. Still, a little more freedom, even at the risk of a snag, would go a long way, and after several hours of plodding through the motions, I wanted to register a complaint on behalf of the audience: We are frustrated that you don’t trust us.

A long and complicated process of gathering evidence, the truth about the situation, or the story that unfolds in the late afternoon, there is a feast of sights on display.

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2024-09-03 16:30

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