Noiseless Chatter Archive

I had a wild idea early in the drafting phase of my Resident Evil book: I’d try to contact one of the actors or voice actors from the game, so that I could include some insight regarding those infamous performances. It was something I both really wanted to do and something I’d already resigned myself to failing at. I’m some nobody on the internet, after all, who wanted them to set aside their personal time to talk about the most embarrassing roles of their lives for free. It was important, though, that I’d try. If I couldn’t include any anecdotes or insights from these primary sources, I could rely on whatever information I could find and verify on my own, and that would be fine. But I at least had to give it a shot. I ended up getting not one actor from the game, which was the goal I set for myself, or two actors from the game, which I’d have considered a massive success. I got every known actor from the game, with only two exceptions. If we narrow the focus to onl...

As I write this, the Kickstarter campaign containing my Resident Evil book is nearing 350% funded. That’s astonishing; thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you haven’t pledged yet, please consider doing so. You’ll be supporting a great publisher and great writers. (I’m also pitching in an additional stretch goal for hitting 350%, so if you pledge now, you can make that happen yourself!) I didn’t expect the campaign to get funded so quickly, so I guess I’d better start actually posting some of the behind-the-pages stuff I’ve been meaning to. To start with, I wanted to spotlight a few of the experts I brought in who allowed me to provide a much larger view (and achieve a deeper understanding) of the material. I’m one person. I can perform my own research and provide my own interpretations, but there’s only so much I can show you from my own fixed angle. Getting some additional voices involved would enrich and enhance the book substantially. And, y’know, it would...

You absolute madmen. Or women! The campaign is sitting at nearly 250% funded, and it hasn’t even been 24 hours. It was fully funded in under two hours. There is still a full month to go. Thank you. A million times, thank you. What this means is…well, the book is happening. There’s no longer any question. Enough people threw enough support behind the campaign that every book in season five (and a few bonuses as well) will be released. The Kickstarter will continue, of course, but now when you back it you are essentially preordering it. You’re reserving your copy and you’ll get it immediately upon release. $15 gets you a physical and digital copy, but there are a lot more options and, of course, a lot of other great books. So check it out. Preorder it . You’ll like it. If you have already supported the campaign, I appreciate you. If you haven’t but will, I appreciate you, too! If you haven’t and aren’t interested…well, yeah, of course you have and deserve my a...

Three years in the making, it’s finally time for the official announcement: My book, Resident Evil , is part of season five of Boss Fight Books. Boss Fight Books is an excellent publisher, and I cannot express how profoundly honored I am to be included in their lineup. Each of their books focuses on one particular video game and then branches — to varying degrees — into larger topics, histories, personal journeys, and so much more. This season includes books about The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask , Red Dead Redemption , Silent Hill 2 , and Final Fantasy VI . My book is about Resident Evil . Here, I can prove it: Resident Evil is my central case study for discussing horror and how it works, with an extended tour through the deadly Spencer Mansion allowing us to discuss the writing, directing, and structuring of scares, along with the surprising power of horror to bring us together. It’s done. It’s as ready to be distributed as it can possibly be without actually bein...

It’s difficult to judge season finales in serialized shows such as this one on their own merits. You can talk about individual scenes or developments, but unless they actively tie up storylines as opposed to introduce new ones or continue existing ones, you’re left in a sort of narrative limbo. Some Better Call Saul finales do wrap up storylines, most notably season one’s “Marco.” There, it may have been written with the thought that the show might not get a second season. It didn’t show us Jimmy’s complete transformation into Saul, but it could arguably have showed us enough that we could fill in the blanks. Here, in “Something Unforgivable” (as in the past couple of seasons), the show knows it’s coming back. The writers are able not only to keep their momentum, but to leave things so artfully unresolved that audiences will be left anxious for the next season. All of which is to say, there’s not much I can discuss from a story standpoint. Last week’s episode broug...

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. At least, that’s what they say. Rudy Ray Moore was never very big, though, and it’s difficult to imagine a fall harder than Disco Godfather. The movie wasn’t just disappointing; it singlehandedly sunk Moore’s career. It was a movie so bad it seemed expertly designed to dismantle everything Moore had built. It’s a strange product of monumental misjudgment that is almost beyond understanding. Watching it is a dismal experience. It’s sad and disheartening. Every artist ends up producing garbage at some point, but Disco Godfather is like watching gravity reassert itself, the universe finally realizing Moore had bent the rules and now must be punished. If that sounds overly dramatic, so be it; I’m talking about Disco Godfather , and “overly dramatic” is the nicest thing anyone can possibly say about this movie. With Dolemite , Moore left his stamp on the action film. With Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil’s Son-in-Law , he left his s...