Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dead Island - This Made Me Emotional Today

Hey, all, I know it's been a while since my last post!

***You can watch the trailer below either before reading on or after what I have written. Cheers!***

It's very rare that something makes me a little, or so teary eyed that I would go ahead and write something about it. It feels like I need to, what we call in Spanish desahogar me, or vent to get it out of my system.

As most of you out there who have read my posts know, and I want to thank you, I am a huge fan of zombie movies, books and games. I can go into a long discussion of which games I like and have played. But, the larger element that always held my imagination, curiosity and emotional state of mind is the human condition.

These stories, movies or games may be examples of survival horror, action or comedy, but, of my preferred collection they all had one thing in common - people, the characters were always affected emotionally and psychologically.

That was the gripping state of mind that always captured my curiosity and my sentimental side. I dare say that there were moments that I did cry when a character died, or he or she watched another, most likely a loved one, die right before their eyes. I felt fear or impending doom when the narrator of my treasured book, or the lead character(s) of my movie or game realized that there was no going back and that they were going to die after all.

Brain Keene's Dead series, all three of them, had moments that brought tears to my eyes, or made think Christ all mighty that was a horrible way to go! My favorite games, the Resident Evil series, only the ones that placed you within that fictional secluded mid-western town of Raccoon City, gave me moments of morbid guilt or pity. It's the scattered notebooks, Man! You know, the ones left behind by the once inhabitants of that fated town. George Romero's ORIGINAL Dawn of the Dead was built on the human interaction element that would ultimately lead to their confrontation and demise. Well, we don't know if Fran and Peter did survive after they flew away, but you get the picture. Even AMC's The Walking Dead had plenty of those moments, and I raved about how good that was!

So, what got me all teary eyed this time? Well, it was the cinematic trailer for the video game Dead Island. Game trailers for zombie games never made me so emotional. They made me excited, but never emotional. There was something about the way this trailer was put together that was both brilliant in design/editing and story that gripped my heart and wouldn't let it go because you knew where it was rewinding to. I say rewinding because the trailer runs backward from the end, with moments of forward running scenes to depict the sad story of the family in the trailer. I hope this made sense, but you'll see in the trailer below soon enough.

And, the additional element that gave the trailer an even sadder revelation was the piano and violin theme that played in the background. From the moment it starts playing and we look into that little girl's eye, we know a tragic tale is about to unfold before us. The other moment is when the trailer is rewinding through the scene where the father had rescued his daughter and we're seeing what happened to her. There's a moment where the video rewinds to the point where he begins to reach out for her and you can see the expression and emotion on his face as it slowly crawls to black. That moment was so gripping for me that I felt my heart thump hard and my tears swelled up in my eyes. It one of those moments where a million words could describe it, but none can capture that emotion just right.

I probably sound like a big cry baby! Ha!

It makes me think about my life and all the things I have lost or fought and struggled hard to achieve, and in the blink of an eye they were taken from me. My life is full of struggles and complications just like anyone else out there in this crazy mixed up reality we call life. I've had my share of joys and sorrows. I brought joy to others be it family, friends or special people in my life. Often times it didn't last, for a multitude of reasons, but I tried to hold on, to fight for it, even though I knew it was a losing battle and it was doing me more harm then good. Yet, I tried to hold on in hopes that something was still there, like standing by that bus stop for something that might never come or releasing that door nob ever so slowly in hopes that someone would open it after you. It just like that father fighting desperately to get to his daughter, taking her, but still somehow realizing that it was too late.

Como decirle a alguien que te quiero y te extraño , pero sabiendo que la persona no puede sentir lo mismo. Y sigo luchando por ti, pero no se porque. 


Ah Zombie Books, Movies and Games!! Why do you bring us such climatic action and carnage only to leave us with despair and moments of deep sadness and heartfelt pain. On the other hand, that just means that it was a good thought provoking read, or a well crafted and engaging story, game or movie! 

Well, that's enough of me talking. Go watch the trailer below, unless you have do so already in which case - WATCH IT AGAIN!! 

Until next time!

 

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