Archive 81 showrunner, Rebecca Sonnenshine, explains how the new Netflix series uses different techniques to create an immersive horror experience. The latest project from producer James Wan following his 2021 horror film, Malignant, Archive 81 has garnered praise for its eerie tone and blend of found footage and conventional cinema. The series is an adaptation of the popular podcast of the same name written and produced by Marc Sollinger and Dan Powell, altering the podcast's concept of discovering lost audiotapes and showing the story through the lens of VHS tapes.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Sonnenshine shares her passion for various camera formats and how utilizing different cinematic styles together can enhance the typical storytelling experience, like Archive 81's unique found footage style does. She says that "a lot of TV looks the same, and this kinda gave us the opportunity to make it be a little bit more cinematic in the sense that it doesn't have to look like everything else. In fact, we're going to try to make it look, like, ugly in a way." She refers to the various recording devices which explore the show's central plot. "Every format has a different kind of visual quality and texture to it," Sonnenshine remarks, adding that the show's colorist, Frederik Bokkenheuser, had a big part in making the show feel different.
Found footage horror movies have dipped in popularity recently, with Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin and V/H/S/94 being the most prominent entries in the subgenre last year. Despite its passionate fanbase, the days of found footage giant, Paranormal Activity, dominating the box office and inspiring a host of similar projects feel long gone. Genre purists will remark that Archive 81 isn't "true" found footage, but its ability to create immersion through an unconventional blend of formatting could be the kick that found footage needs to escape stagnation. Archive 81's cliffhanger ending and other unique storytelling elements - alongside the popularity of the podcast and Netflix - will no doubt help achieve some buzz too.
Archive 81 is co-produced by podcast creators Sollinger and Powell, while Sonnenshine served as a writer for three episodes. It follows film archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), who restores a collection of tapes belonging to filmmaker Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) and unravels a chilling mystery related to a cult. Playing out over two distinct timelines, Dan explores Melody's discoveries and secrets by playing the tapes he restores, aided by friend Mark Higgins (Matt McGorry). Opposing Dan and Mark are the mysterious Davenport (Martin Donovan) and other characters in Melody's past.
Source: CinemaBlend