[Interview] James Rolfe of Angry Video Game Nerd/Cinemassacre Talks About Horror Gaming Past and Present

James Rolfe is easily most famous for his online persona of Angry Video Game Nerd, but his talents have stretched beyond the realm of retro gaming with the likes of the Cinemassacre series on YouTube, as an Actor in, and Director of, several films, and as a contributor to a variety of horror documentaries among his credits.

Rolfe is, in fact, participating in another horror documentary quite soon with the upcoming In Search of Darkness. The film focuses on the horror of the 1980s and features the likes of John Carpenter, Kane Hodder, Keith David, Joe Dante, and more discussing one of the horror genre’s most celebrated decades. It’s set to release in May.

Ahead of the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting asked a few questions of Rolfe regarding horror games and movies from the ’80s and beyond.

Bloody Disgusting – Horror games weren’t exactly easy to do in the ’80s? Is there a one from then that you think still holds up to some degree?

James Rolfe – Castlevania is the one that comes immediately to my mind. Also Ghosts N’ Goblins. I think they hold up as difficult and challenging sidescrolling action games. They have a big nostalgia factor. They still hold up. Castlevania especially, because it draws from gothic horror and even Greek mythology.

BD – A lot of early horror games were directly influenced by horror films. Which film director’s work do you think is most influential in the history of horror games?

JR – I would have to guess Terence Fisher because of the Hammer films of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. They were recent enough, where the game designers could have possibly seen those films as kids. Just a logical guess. And those films dealt a little more with heroes trying to fight the monsters. More emphasis on the vampire hunters than most of the older monster classics from the 30s and 40s.

BD – Is there an ‘80s horror film that you’d like to see made into a game, but never has been? For instance, I’d love a game about The Blob.

JR – A game of The Blob remake would be cool. Or set it in the 50s like the original. Either way. I wouldn’t mind another Gremlins game. Could be cool to play as the Gremlins and run around wrecking things. 

BD – Do you think the controversy of gory, over the top horror of the ‘80s had any influence on the creation of controversial games of the 90’s such as Mortal Kombat, DreamWeb, etc? It could be argued that Resident Evil became such a success because it was so daringly graphic for the time.

JR – I’m not sure if it did or not. But the shock effect gory games had, I believe was similar to film, just a decade or more, behind. I remember seeing the Mortal Kombat arcade, and surprised how much blood there was. It was a big deal. 

BD – We’re seeing more games that tap into the slasher movie setup (Friday the 13th, Dead By Daylight, Last Year The Nightmare), but they tend to be online-based. Considering the stalking slasher-style horror of Clock Tower and Resident Evil 3 worked so well, don’t you think it’s surprising we haven’t had a full-on modern slasher horror game in single player form?

JR – Yeah, I don’t know. I played the new Friday the 13th and it seemed like the game we always wanted. It felt just like playing out one of the films. I’m interested in eventually seeing the rest you mentioned. I think the stalking/ hide-and-seek aspect can be real fun.

BD – You’ve come up against some pretty crazy glitches. What’s the most disturbing glitch you’ve ever encountered in a game?

JR – I’m not sure. It’s probably the Rocky game featured in my Game Glitches episode. It’s specifically that one disc, and nothing else. It’s like it’s haunted. 

BD – Zombies are probably the most overused enemy type in horror games in recent years, what should step up to take their place? Personally, I think there are not enough werewolves in games.

JR – Yeah at this point, Mummies I guess.

BD – What retro horror game do you think deserves more praise and attention than it gets?

JR – Probably many. Hard to think of just one. But also, it seems even the most obscure games have gotten more attention now. It’s like everything is talked about now. Maybe Clash at Demonhead. But also, I haven’t played it in a long time.