The History of Analog Horror [ft. Kris Straub, Nexpo, NightMind & others] | Documentary (2022)

Love for nexpo
your vocal was introduced me to everything now I listen

I would say that it's not the digital recreation of analog media as much as it's the digital recreation of a romanticized version of analog media, same as with a lot of other throwback media - 80's synthwave music, Old-school film styles being revisited, etc.

Thank you so much for mentioning Czechia and Poland as one of the points of origin. I recall seeing series like Ponožek a Nanožka wayyyy back then before Analog really broke into the scene in the English speaking world

I also feel like the ‘Central Europe’ brand of VHS is unique in a way where it’s recalling a period shortly after communism or when communism was ending, giving it a different twist

Videodrome is not softcore porn, the channel they speak of features porn. It's a legitimate movie. I mean the fuck?

The role of "copycats" in the development of a new genre is some of the most insightful, intelligent artistic commentary that I've ever heard outside of academic realms like literary analysis. Well done, sir.
If I may point out two data points that have been overlooked:
* Winter of '83 (aka Blizzard of Fear), which is one of the few examples of innovation in the medium of expression itself, i.e. incorporating imperfections of audio cassettes and video camcorders in addition to VHF broadcasts and VCRs.
* An entire sub-genre of, I kid you not, Jurassic Park analog horror, that actually works.

Oh, boy. If they can excavate that nostalgia crevice where I'm still finding "be kind, please rewind" anti-theft stickers on my Blockbuster DVD rentals, THAT's the corner of the analogue/millennium horror genre I want to see next.

This was such an excellent overview. Thank you for putting this together and enlightening those of us on the fringes!

thank you all for your hardwork !♡

great documentary, the song at the end is just epic
too :)

This is genuinely one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen and almost everyone I’ve recommended it to has agreed whether they were already interested in analog horror or not. It’s such an interesting genre because it’s so new, and you’re able to hear from the key players/creators in real time in a more authentic fashion than high production value projects. I’ve always explained it as “uncanny valley as a concept” - something almost real, but not quite, which makes it so unsettling. Shit is wild and I can’t wait to see where you and this genre go in the future.

This is one of the best videos I've seen on this platform. The nuance in the script and the effort in the production is really impressive. This is my second time watching and I'm actively watching this time because the content is so compelling.

Just realized that QAnon is basically the world's largest creepypasta.

watching this at 144p for the complete experience.

I love this video and how deep and informative it is. Analog horror has quickly become one of my favorite genres of horror and I am hoping to see how it expands and grows over the coming years.

The eating explosion was stolen from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

This is a great documentary. But I'm curious why you didn't acknowledge Adult Swim.

I have been thinking that someone should create a video specifically examining the history of Analogue horror, and I am so happy to find a video to scratch that itch.

holy shit this video's quality and thoroughness ain't playing around. this must've taken FOREVER. excellent video, alex!

i constantly get this video suggested, I think it's boring, I think people making analog horror are boring, This whole topic is cancer stop suggesting it to me, go do something with your life

I always thought the Max Headroom was the person who did the Shaye St John videos. The spanking part especially. Also Skeleton Creek was my intro to analog and horror so I loved seeing it here. Took me so long to remember what series that even was

I love how shortly after this video was made, Skinamarink blew the hell up in popularity and Kane Pixels spearheaded the Backrooms movie adaptation. Also, tangentially related, the Five Nights at Freddy's movie utilizes analog horror techniques in the marketing of the film, and will perhaps feature VHS tapes for story beats.

Poor Alex Kister :(

I was delighted to see Max Headroom mentioned. An arguably prophetic in retrospect show that deserved far more recognition than it received.

incredible documentary. i loved seeing all the interviews with the creators of some of my all time favorite internet horror.

Hey I know you won’t respond but I just have to ask will you ever make another arg or something similar?

anyone remember the tv hijacking that said that zombies were coming alive? when i was a kid i watched it and it made me so scared i threw up LMAO

I like how possibly this might in the future be the first mention of "Millennial horror" instead of "digital horror". I had to leave a second comment. Just great great documentary. I hope you get all the recognition it deserves.

I have no idea why it appeared on my feed one year after release, it's about everything i am interested in. Great documentary.

Hey man what's the name of the song you used in the credits

i havent watch the whole thing but I really hope Fantastic Daily is recognised in this, despite the channel being defunct now

along side Videodrome - i thjink Halloween 3 - They Live & Prince of darkness all contain elements of hijacking via broadcast which also influenced a lot of people into hacking reality and horror - great vid

also i think a lot of content creators were psychologically projecting the notion of the creepy psychopathic author perhaps alluding to being the kind of quiet psychopath we see in movies such as manhunter and one hour photo - i remember that creepy as f**k video of the mannquins being controlled supposedly by peoples breathing movements who buried alive-was it a serial killer?

So happy to see this massively blown up since I checked it out a couple of weeks ago, it had like 150k views. It's gotten 500k more views in the past couple of weeks. Absolutely deserved!!

Nick Nocturne voice reminds me SO much of daddy Jim, Metokur! I have LONG been inspired by Blair Witch. I write a lot of horror fiction and post it to my pad of watt. The Witches of Jupiter Six, and more. Writing one right now called "Scare Me To The Fin". I have a VERY hard time with SEO so I would love more readers.

Adult Swim’s bumpers ruined mine and thousands of other kids sheets

This documentary is amazing, thanks so much for doing and uploading this Alex <3!

Damn u got that Nexpo ma dude !

I can't help but consider movies like Beyond The Black Rainbow may have had some influence in the genre.

There’s a 1987 UK movie called Hidden City, written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, which deals with a journalist piecing together a missing persons story from extracts of government footage he finds spliced into innocuous films. It’s way before the advent of analogue horror but it really feels as if it might have been influential - or predictive. Anyway, I love analogue horror so thank you so much for this detailed and well researched documentary.

i knew that this was going to be good the moment u started out in 1938 with war of the worlds. i never even considered that you could view that whole thing as the grandfather of modern analogue horror. thats so good

Great video. If I may, though- The word 'aesthetic' does not mean 'style'. It means a concept or rendition of beauty. We may think that's what we're using it as, but... no. I see the young folks are using this word ad nauseam, so we should use it correctly. Seriously though, excellent exploration of the genre.

Local58's "Contingency" made me cry , it was that horrifying to me

What an amazing documentary. I did not feel as though you brought fat to pad to pad the length. You displayed in-depth research, bringing a clearly structured chronology of events. You are obviously incredibly talented, and it shows that you spared no effort when creating this video to make full use of that talent. Seeing that this came out a year ago, I'm in shock that you do not have more subscribers. I hope this comment reaches you and motivates you to create more masterpieces like this one.

Marble Hornets happened in my hometown by some dudes a few grades ahead of me in my high school. It was sick watching it years later and seeing familiar points of interest, and finding out that it was a big part of the creepy pasta/slender universe.

Speaking of childhood memories as the root of analog horror, remember back in the 90s when I was around 5 I woke up at like 4 am and went to the TV room to watch a tape (had two channels of national TV with programme that ended at midnight). The TV was on with the testcard showing and that constant tone that played throughout but this time they probably were working on introducing the stereo audio signal because after a while the tone cut off and i heard "CHANNELS IN PHASE" then shortly after "CHANNELS OUT OF PHASE" in some robotic voice. Never felt such terror in my life until then, it was one of the most horrifying things a kid could hear in a dark room with a TV on. And it seems like I wasn't the only one sith such memory since it's such a heavy trope in analog horror genre.

Ben Drowns was my first introduction to analog horror, and creepy pasta, I just want to point out how horrific it was to me as a total adult I was 30 when I came upon it through my daughter who was into FNAF and we still both are still hugely into it. Sorry can't stop commenting because I think of something else I must say 😂