By: Nicolas Wright
Originating from the Web, Analog Horror is a Subgenre of Found Footage. The Blair Witch Project was credited with making the Found Footage genre popular. In 2017, A Youtube channel called ‘Local58TV’ released a video called “You are on the Fastest Available Route”, which is considered the first Analog Horror Video.
Analog Horror features videos that all have a VHS (Video Home System) Visual aesthetic to them. Differing from Found Footage, there is either a lack of characters, a group of people or no protagonist at all which is the most common feature among these. The videos make you deal with its horror features while giving you clues during it so you can piece together the story as there isn’t a character to do it for you. This is a broad definition, however, the video that’s shown to you could be a different number of things.
The kinds of Analog Video series you will vary. Mentioning our previous example, ‘Local58TV’ represents itself as a New Channel that documents the area called Mason County. In the video series, strange things have been occurring especially with the moon. Usually, Analog Horror video series have an underlying story, but one series, ‘The Mandela Catalogue’, has been recognized for its extensive story which isn’t common. The Youtube Channel, ‘Analog Archives’ is a Analog Horror series that poses as an organization that collects anomalus footage, or footage that deviates from the norm.
I personally would recommend watching The Mandela Catalogue, not because of the story but it’s a good introduction to the subgenre. ‘Local58TV’ is another series that I would recommend, especially the previously mentioned video made by them. This is a recommendation only to those interested in the subgenre or people who enjoy horror in general. After watching a good amount of Analog Horror, I can confirm that they give a sense of anxiety, suspense, dread, and even uneasiness, but that’s what makes them good.
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