I ran into the fine folks at Cavity Colors while attending Monsterpalooza down in L.A. and have been a fan ever since. Their use of colors against violent and vivid images from the horror franchises we grew up loving are impossible to ignore and are the standard they stand by.
image via Attack on Planet B, art by Cavity Colors
High quality and searing imagination go into each new project they work on, and as result, give the horror community some of the best-looking posters and shirts you’ll find this side of Hell.
For this Friday the 13th I wanted to showcase what amazing things they’ve done with Jason, my absolute favorite slasher killer.
They have so much more to offer fans and you can check them out here.
When it comes to Halloween and horror icons Michael Myers readily (and rightly so) comes to mind. The impact Myers holds over both the genre and the holiday as a whole now spans the gulf of generations, and, if his 2018 successful return to the silver screen is any indication, will go on to do so way after you and I are finally laid to rest. Michael Myers is as timeless as Halloween itself.
image via Screen Rant
It’s safe to say he is the Halloween Slasher.
There is the expectation for me though. Not to downcast the legacy of Michael Myers but I was introduced to another slasher icon on Halloween and it left an enormous imprint on my (back then) young mind.
It was the night of Halloween and trick-or-treating was in full effect. We ran door to door to glean the sweet goodies friendly neighbors had to give us greedy monsters. We wound up at a friend of my parents’ house and during my boredom of waiting for the adults to shut up so we could rush back out in the twilight to fill my bag with more (so much more) candy my wandering eyes stole a glance at the TV.
image courtesy of Paramount
It was a forbidden thing and out of the warm guilt of taboo a face rose prominently to forever fascinate the darkest regions of my imagination.
Given the title of this, you’re sure to have guessed who I saw on the glowing screen. Jason’s rampage across the TV held me rooted in place, absolutely transfixed on the crimson spectacle before me. I had not seen a single Jason film up to that point, and always managed to admire the covers whenever I was at a video store, but in those brief little moments of viewing, I was enthralled. Given the chance to stay and finish the movie or got forth to trick-or-treat more I probably would have stayed behind. I wanted to see it end! I wanted to see Jason slaughter more!
To me sequels meant nothing. I wasn’t even sure which part I was watching. Plot wasn’t important. To me, there was only Jason and his wrath. That mask was burned into my memory.
image courtesy of Paramount
Back then there was still a whole world of horror movies left in the wild for me to go and discover. Some I saw overseas while living in Russia, some over here, and a few I saw in Finland. It’s been an international adventure for me.
Thanks to VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray I’ve collected most of these series along the way. Like everyone else I have my favorites to watch every Halloween. And still, after all these years later and no matter where I’ve found myself in the world the haunting mask of Jason will be seen in my home come Halloween.
image courtesy of Paramount
Jason is by far my favorite slasher icon. Maybe because I saw him in such a secret way because I damn well knew my folks wouldn’t want me to watch a Friday the 13th picture, believe me, every time I went to the movie store I tried to rent them!
image courtesy of Paramount
Or maybe I just connect with the character in some scary way. But we all have that one evil monster out there that we love and root for.
From all of us at Nightmare Nostalgia to you who help keep horror alive, have a Happy Halloween! And please share with us your Halloween memories and favorite horror icons to watch this time of year.
“Go back to the 80s and solve the mystery of what really happened in the events that unfurled before the Camp Sunshine massacre years later.” – Fossil Games
Camp Sunshine,available now on Steam, is a riotous return to the glory of ’80s slasher films, which is my absolute favorite genre! Fossil Games created one helluva fun experience!
Expectations are high for their upcoming title, Sunshine Manor , a prequel to the previous game. After playing Camp Sunshine (which has gone on to sell over a 100K copies!) I can’t wait to see what gory surprises the team has in store for us next. I had the privilege of sitting down with Fossil Games to get to know the madness behind the magic.
About the Games
Manic Exorcism: After playing Camp Sunshine it’s abundantly clear you guys are horror fans. Not just that, but there is a lot of love for ‘80s culture and ‘80s slashers in this game. When making the game what movies were most influential over the project?
Fossil Games: Definitely Friday the 13th, as that’s how the game began life (as a fan game). I’d have to say Part 4 and Part 6 are my favourites and that’s what really inspired everything but then we began adding more, and more, and more and eventually it became something in its’ own right!
Manic Exorcism: Being horror fans yourselves, what are your personal favorite movies?
Fossil Games: There’s honestly just so many, most recently we really enjoyed Host and The Invisible Man. A little further back it was anything Ari Aster had put out … but after those it’s all about the ’80s horror movies for us! Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play – all of them!
ME: And each of those titles find themselves in the game.
ME: One of the first things I noticed was the plethora of Easter Eggs. Made me fall in love with it that much more right away. What were some of your favorite Easter Eggs to include?
FG: Oh man, all of them were great fun. From the sweater in the boiler room, to Bigfoot, the Aliens and all of the posters. It was great fun trying to cram as many in there as possible!
ME: I was glad to find the Silver Shamrock Masks.
ME: On the topic of Easter Eggs were there any you couldn’t include and wish you had? For that matter, do they get an appearance in the upcoming Sunshine Manor?
FG: For Camp Sunshine we kind of reached a limit where they began to become obvious, so the ones we canned we put to one side and they’re going to be in Sunshine Manor.
ME: Another thing that stood out was the soundtrack. Perfectly eerie! Who was behind that and what were the inspirations?
FG: That would be us! We’re huge retro synth fans and so writing the music was so much fun! We grew up listening to bands like Tangerine Dream etc. so it kind of comes naturally.
ME: So Sunshine Manor is a prequel to Camp Sunshine. Do you recommend playing both games in any particular order?
FG: Nope, you can play them in whichever order you like!
image via Steamstore
ME: What do you want fans to take away from both games?
FG: From Camp Sunshine we’d like people to feel on edge, and vulnerable. You have no weapons and are being hunted down all the time.
FG: For Sunshine Manor we want the player to feel trapped and on edge, this time around you do have psychic powers to protect you – but there are a whole lot more enemies on the look out for you and even more dastardly tricks that we haven’t revealed yet!
ME: What connects both games?
FG: Now this is going to be difficult without giving the plot away completely! However in Sunshine Manor we go through the story of Clement Aitken, our universes Mr. Rogers and what he did to gain his fame … and what it ultimately cost.
ME: How do both games differ from each other?
FG: In Camp Sunshine, you were very much unarmed and vulnerable whilst a maniac with a large knife was hunting you down. In Sunshine Manor you now have Psychic Powers that you can call upon to cast out the nasties in the demon realm, and also give yourself a little bit of breathing room from the evolving Mansion and Shadow Man.
FG: The two stories are intrinsically linked though, and each game sheds light on the other. It’s been fun!
Game Style
ME: The RPG style of gameplay and art design can’t help but remind me of some classic retro games – namely SNES titles. Earthbound readily come to mind. The NES Friday the 13th too. What video games most influenced you?
FG: Definitely Earthbound, but then others like Zombies Ate My Neighbours too – the NES was just a classic machine with it’s own look and feel to each game so there was just so much to choose from!
via Fossil Games
ME: Given the chance to introduce newcomers to the blood-splattered environments of your games, what other games would you compare the Sunshine games to?
FG: One of our discord members said it the best … Earthbound meets Splatterhouse
ME: That’s perfect!
ME: I might already have guessed this one, based on the copious amount of guts and gore, but what audience are both games targeted towards? And let it be known, those of us here at Nightmare Nostalgia love blood, guts, and gore.
image via Steamstore
FG: Well the guts and gore are pixellated which I think takes away the real-ness of it really, but we’d have to say if you have a weak stomach or are averse to some weird stuff going on then maybe our games aren’t the best choice … we like to get weird!
ME: We love it weird! Our readers can handle this no problem.
ME: Are there any plans for Sunshine merchandise?
FG: Oh definitely, at the moment we have our Sunshine Anthology which includes a soundtrack cassette, sweatbands and a VHS case but we have been looking at other things too. We’d love your suggestions!
image via Fossil Games
ME: I love that kind of stuff. Maybe a comic book?
ME: Do you manage any social media pages for fan discussion and announcements?
FG: We have Facebook and Twitter and we love talking to people on there about anything and everything it doesn’t have to be about our games, even just what movies we’ve watched recently.
ME: Any plans for DLC?
FG: DLC isn’t something we’d ever look at doing. All of our games (so far) have been complete stories so adding in content has never been something we’ve wanted to do.
image via Fossil Games
ME: Do you see these games becoming a franchise? Are there plans for a sequel? Where would you like to see the games go?
FG: They were always going to be a series of games with a set story – and yes, we have plans for a third game. Every good horror franchise has to have a trilogy!
ME: Are there secret endings?
FG: There are a boatload of secrets in each game, it’s one of things we really like doing – seeing what we can get away with. Even after four years from release, there are still secrets in Camp Sunshine that (as far as we’re aware) no-one has found.
ME: What should gamers be most excited about for Sunshine Manor?
FG: Honestly, I think it’s going to be the tension we’re aiming for. Of course there are going to be scares and spooks, but there is always this pervading tension that is bubbling away with everything you do … it’s almost like the Mansion is waking up!
ME: Even though it’s a long way off can you share anything about the third game in the series?
FG: Oh we can tell you a little bit … it’s going to have the word Sunshine in the title!
ME: What would be a dream project come to life for you?
FG: Oh man, there’s way too many! Finishing off this trilogy will be an absolute dream and then we’ve definitely got ideas for some weird and wonderful stuff in the coming years too!
“Sunshine Manor is the eagerly awaited prequel to the cult horror RPG smash, Camp Sunshine – which sold over 100K copies worldwide on PC and is set to release on all major formats in 2021. There’s also a playable prologue chapter available of the game on Steam – so players really can play before they pledge on this very special title.” – Fossil Games
I’ve had a blast playing Camp Sunshine for hours. It was my horror game fix this October. Looking forward to seeing what the team brings us in the years to come. Sunshine is definitely Manic approved.
I want to thank Fossil Games for taking the time to let me sneak behind the curtain and see what all they’re up to. Stay tuned, Nasties for all of those retro goodies and horror fixes.
