NerdPool

Tonight the Nerdpool team look into the genre of horror, taking it apart and dissecting it like a hideous, monstrous experiment that should be kept from the light of day… Why is horror such a popular genre and just how much longer can zombies be the superstars? Kirsty asks can they ever be scary again? Horror has evolved a lot since its early days of wandering, mindless zombies even to the point of making zombie rom-coms and sparkly vampires. Ken asks are we more scared by irrational monsters, eating to survive or characters with an evil side, with a dark purpose? Looking back at classic films, the team discuss the important aspect of the atmospheric soundtrack that draws you into the story and the power of the imagination in creating something more scary in the viewers’ mind than anything they could see on screen. Mike highlights Dario Agenta’s Suspiria as an excellent example of using a strong visual style coupled with a powerful accompanying soundtrack, for maximum effect. More recent films such as Saw using misdirection and mystery to tell their story and a variety of interestingly technical traps to boot! Do you remember the horror of the classic Simpsons Halloween episodes? The popularity of Resident Evil 7 shows a continued love of horror and jump scares in video games, perpetuated perhaps by let’s play and reaction videos swarming their way around the various YouTube channels. Mike discusses the emotional response and attachment that players attribute in some horror games like Silent Hill to wandering monsters that seem to be helpless. Playing as the monster is an interesting new twist for games, which Ken points out seems to take away from the unknown horror element and romanticises the monsters as you see their perspective. AVP was a classic game to give the player the option to play, not only as human prey but also the alien and predator hunters. Did anyone ever do well as a human?! Rounding off the talk, the team provide their recommendations for games, TV shows and films that any horror fan would enjoy / run screaming from! Remember you can suggest topics and questions for the Nerdpool, just use the hashtag #nerdpool and tweet your idea or question to @RtDNerds * Music Credits - Thanks to the incredible Ollie Lewis for providing our awesome intro music (Check him out on SoundCloud here: https://soundcloud.com/olfredj) and our wonderful background music tonight provided by the highly talented Peder B. Helland and you can find more of this work here: http://pederbhelland.com/  

Each episode of NerdPool digitally summons together a team of Nerdlings, calling upon their great and powerful knowledge. Questions will be asked, debates detailed and of course opinions expressed and challenged! Tonight's summoning ritual is brought to you by Martin, James, Ben, Ayla and Ronan. Our first toe dip into this new realm reveals... - Ayla needs to find new games on Steam to entertain and terrify - Martin and James zombie hunting strategy on Dying Light - Just why does Ben love simulator games so much? - Who was James' mystery passenger in his dream car stunt..? - Was the Girl on the train really on a train? - Hear the horrors of Ben's simulated truck driving exploits - James' thoughts on the Lost TV series - Netflix shows to watch, including Dirk Gently and WestWorld - Early thoughts on the Nintendo Switch from Ronan Got a question for the NerdPool? Tweet us @RtDNerds with #NerdPool! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music