I’m disappointed that the upcoming Lovecraftian movie isn’t a TV series instead

An upcoming Lovecraftian Movie seems incredibly exciting, but I’m disappointed that it’s not a TV series instead. While each horror subgenre has its own distinctive strengths and weaknesses, I am particularly fascinated by cosmic horror because of how it attempts to capture unnatural terrors and ideas through fictional storytelling. As HP Lovecraft’s stories suggest, written narrative is usually better at capturing the existential dread that comes with cosmic horror because it relies heavily on the power of suggestion and leaves room to the reader’s imagination.

Movies, video games, and television shows, in contrast, always have to stimulate the viewer’s senses by immediately presenting visual and auditory cues. This leaves little room for audiovisual storytelling to fully embrace the ineffable elements that come with Lovecraftian narratives. However, every once in a while, a movie, show, or video game comes along and manages to capture Lovecraftian horror despite the limitations of its medium. One of the brilliant Lovecraftian horror video games is now getting a movie adaptation, but it would have worked better as a TV show.

Dredge would work better as a miniseries, not a movie

The game’s slow-burn approach would translate well to the television format

The indie Lovecraftian game Dredge is getting a live-action movie adaptation, which is exciting because the game does an incredible job of blending Lovecraftian lore with its fishing game setup. However, I can’t help but believe that it would have worked better as a miniseries. The reason is that It is a slow burning game that initially disguised itself as a regular fishing simulation video game. It only gradually unveils its cosmic elements and becomes creepier when the player notices something wrong with the fish they are catching and the mysterious ship they discover.

What begins as a quest to catch more fish eventually takes a grim turn as the game manifests more Lovecraftian aspects as the player progresses. Even in his creepy moments, Dredge Is strangely relaxing because it slowly immerses the player in the chilling atmosphere by introducing strange fishermen’s stories and strange fish mutations. A movie adaptation would struggle to achieve anything similar due to its limited runtime. Although the movie would risk being too rushed, the episodic format of a TV adaptation would allow the story to unfold at a more deliberate pace than the original game.

One Dredge movie may not be enough to explore the breadth of the game

The Dredge movie would need more sequels

Now that a movie adaptation of Dredge has already been confirmed, it must tread carefully and avoid stuffing its narrative with too much knowledge. Instead of jam-packing all the plot developments of the game’s story into its limited runtime, The movie can only adapt a segment of the game while paving the way for more installments. If everything works fine, Dredge could be turned into a full-fledged movie series that not only stays true to the Lovecraftian Elements of the original game but also expands its universe in more ways than one. Hopefully, the movie will live up to the high standards set by its source material.

Dredge is a single-player adventure simulation game from Black Salt Games. Players will venture into a mysterious archipelago known as ‘The Marrows’ to fish and salvage fish and treasure to fund their expeditions – but the deeper they go, the more the dark secrets of the deep are revealed, some more strange or terrifying than the last. . .

Systems

platforms

PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Released

March 31, 2023

developer(s)

Black salt games

Publisher(s)

Team 17

motor

Unity

ESRB

E10+ for everyone 10+ due to animated blood, fantasy violence, mild language, use of tobacco

How long to beat

10 hours

Metascore

81

PS Plus Availability

Extra & Premium