We’ve discussed Kane Pixels previous work in my previous blog entry, and we already established how good of an analog horror creator he is, especially when it comes to the theme of liminal space. Despite that, I still feel the need to discuss his latest series uploaded onto YouTube, titled The Oldest View. The topic of discussion surrounding this series extends beyond the video itself, involving real historical people within it,
The premise of The Oldest View begins with Wyatt, a college YouTuber, who stumbles upon an old stairwell while hiking in the woods. This seemingly innocent find leads him to an abandoned shopping mall buried nearly a mile underground. But the mall isn’t empty, something, or rather someone, is lurking. A terrifying, rolling monster made of papier-mâché begins stalking Wyatt, offering a chilling glimpse into a world where reality twists into something unrecognizable.
The majority of the story follows Wyatt running away from a creepy statue the viewers called “The Rolling Giant,” Wyatt found out that the entrance he came from has collapsed, and that he has to find a different way out while being chased by the statue. Throughout the chase, Kane Pixels subverted the viewers expectations and assumptions about the nature of The Rolling Giant. At first, it seemed as if it’s following the rule of a “Weeping Angel”, where the creature will not or can not move as long as it is being observed by someone. It is a popular mechanic in horror video games in which the players have to constantly stare at the threat in order for it to not kill them. When Wyatt noticed that behaviour, he began to constantly stare and gaze at The Rolling Giant as he was moving away from it. But during one of the chases in the middle of the video, The Rolling Giant continues to move despite being observed. Subverting Wyatt and the viewer’s expectation, causing a sense of panic as the statue broke its own rules. In the end, Wyatt failed to escape, and met his end inside the underground mall.
The cinematography and pacing is as good as backrooms, if not better. Allowing the audience to be immersed in the horror experience. But what I want to discuss for The Oldest View specifically are the technical aspect of its creation as well as the background surrounding it. The underground mall of the series is the real-life Valley View Center, in Dallas, Texas. But, the actual mall has been demolished by the time The Oldest View is produced. So, Kane Pixels, knowing that he is not able to film in the mall, decided to seek the building plan of the mall itself and create a one to one digital recreation of it using 3D modelling software Blender. Essentially, immortalizing the mall in a digital form.
Not only that, The Rolling Giant that haunts Wyatt is a real creation by artist Kevin Obregon, based on a local botanist, Julien Reverchon. The statue was inside the Valley View Center mall during its demolition. Kane saw a picture of it somewhere on the internet, and began doing an investigation on what the statue is as well as its significance. He then created the series The Oldest View based on both the statue and the memory of a demolished mall. A place that once was bustling with happy families where people would meet with each other, is now completely empty and eerie to look at. The Oldest View immortalized and gave relevance to the Valley View mall, as well as the statue of Julien Reverchon. Spreading the story of what would have been a relic lost to the passage of time, and turning it into a horrifying creature.
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