Stars in the dark: ‘Alone in the Dark’ once again shows how Hollywood and games are increasingly merging with each other

A defunct game like Alone in the Dark bringing it back to life is not an obvious choice. Although the 1992 debut is still seen as the innovator of the so-called 3D survival horror genre – which set the standard for still popular titles such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill – the subsequent iterations consist mainly of low points. As a result, there was a threat of oblivion. Yet driving force Frédérick Raynal had been dreaming out loud for ten years about a second chance, which the Swedish studio Pieces Interactive has achieved today.

In the hope of tapping into a new, younger audience, the makers roped in some beloved headlines. David Harbor (48), immortal as the cynical sheriff Jim Hopper in the Netflix colossus Stranger Things and Jodie Comer (31), the equally flamboyant and unpredictable assassin in the drama series Killing Eve, portray Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood respectively. In the swampy New Orleans of the 1930s, Hartwood’s uncle turns up missing. And so she hires private detective Carnby to investigate Derceto Manor, a psychiatric care home. With all the horrifying consequences that entails. Of course.

The player then ends up in an intriguing web of puzzles, exploration and mild action, with an army of Lovecraftian creatures and – as the title suggests – a lot of darkness.

Layering

“I loved being part of a risky reboot of such a strange game,” Harbor explained his role. Comer’s green light also persuaded him, although ironically there was no personal interaction between the two actors. “I just sat alone in a room, with bulbs on my head,” referring to the one used motion capture-technology. “I think I’m prettier than I actually am, so it was a bit of a shock to see how accurate my face is in the game. Couldn’t they use Brad Pitt’s?” (laughs)

It was Comer’s fascination with the “greatness of the video game world” that excited her about this project. “Also the layered nature of the character. Yes, Hartwood is mainly scared in this world full of horror, but I didn’t want to portray her in such a one-dimensional way.” Injecting a video game with a good dose of Hollywood, in other words.

More serious

It is far from the first time that such celebrities have appeared in games. In times gone by, Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson already graced the covers of respectively Bruce Lee (1984) and Moonwalker (1990) and in the space flight simulator cutscenes Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994) featured Mark ‘Luke Skywalker’ Hamill and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) given a starring role.

Over the years, the medium has gained popularity as a legitimate, interactive form of storytelling. Technological advances also allow game builders to implement increasingly accurate physical likenesses of all kinds of celebrities, continuing the trend. Attaching a well-known actor or actress to your game naturally generates more media attention, but at the same time provides more credibility as they can provide characters with complex emotions and nuances. And that often leads to a more immersive experience – the end goal for developers.

That’s how they functioned The Matrix and John Wick –actor Keanu Reeves and later also Idris Elba – legendary as Stringer Bell in TheWire – as a flagship for the recently revived action role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077 (2020). “I’m not sure I’ll do another game anytime soon. It’s work – it’s real work,” he said.

Norman Reedus, best known as Daryl from The Walking Dead then tied his fate with the Japanese grandmaster Hideo Kojima Death Stranding (2019). Actress Léa Seydoux, Oscar-winning director Guillermo Del Toro and even talk show host Conan O’Brien also appeared in that eccentric walking simulator, in which Reedus plays a kind of futuristic parcel deliverer in a post-apocalyptic world. The second part will be released next year, and – to complete the circle – production house A24 is busy working on a film adaptation.

Super fan

The roles are often obvious – such as the fully-captured Kevin Spacey as villain Jonathan Irons Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014) – but it can of course also be done more subtly, in the form of pure voice work. For example, Matthew ‘Chandler Bing’ Perry, who died last year, as a self-proclaimed superfan, was only too happy to lend his voice to sneaky Benny in Fallout: New Vegas (2010).

But it can be even more obscure: her big breakthrough was Emma Stone, who recently won an Oscar for her brilliant performance in Poor Things, the love interest of undercover agent Wei Shen GTA-clone Sleeping Dogs (2012). “Everyone thought it was so cool that I did a video game,” she said. “Really, you in a video game?” We better get used to it.
Alone in the Dark is available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X and PC.