Although I was too young to play it at the time, I remember seeing countless ads for Nightmare (or Atmosfear as it’s also known), a horror-themed board game that invited players to immerse themselves in the experience through an accompanying VHS. On your telly would appear The Gatekeeper, who would act as the “host” of the game, keeping time and regularly returning to the screen to direct the game, or just to mess with or otherwise unnerve the players in the room. Rules and mechanics were built around “fears” and the player-driven nature of these made the game a new experience each time, despite the pre-recorded nature of the VHS (or eventually DVD, or eventually app).
One person who does seem to remember experiencing this series, and clearly has some deep-seated trauma as a result, is one-third of comedy group Aunty Donna‘s population and four-thirds of its problems, Mark Samuel Bonanno. Just about five years ago to the day, Mark introduced us to a character named Shädowmän through an episode of Grouse House’s Hug The Sun – a pitch-black figure with distinctive, long fingers and fecal kleptomania. Now, said demon returns to host his own take on Nightmare, and we’re all invited to turn the lights out, gather on the living room floor and immerse ourselves in the darkness of a thousand shadows.
I have watched the full hour of The Shadowman’s Nightmare, and while I would challenge any group of six in their lucid minds to actually play it in any sense, fans of the character and Bonanno’s Boosh/Darkplace-tinged humour will instead find an “entertaining” parody of Nightmare starring his iconic character. It all starts off as you’d expect, on-screen game timer and all, but Shädowmän’s hostly duties of barking orders at his chosen Ass quickly devolve into madness.
There’s a Play School-esque, potentially introspective song about an ADHD-addled man named Grum Dumble Dingle Dong whose forgetfulness finds him violently indebted to a quarter of German brothers. Real-world footage of a concerning nature appears at intervals, as if taped over the game cassette. At one point a player gets the Shadowman pregnant, and we later witness him deep in the throes of labour while yet endeavouring to control the game. Through all of this, The Shadowman’s Nightmare reveals itself to be less a board game and more an experimental, found footage film with ARG elements including an accompanying web game full of obtuse tile puzzles. See if you can make sense of those here.
If, at this point, you are still interested in experiencing what Mark has concocted here – take some time to reflect on your values, maybe call a friend or loved one, and crack a window or two. But before that, go ahead and watch/play/endure The Shadowman’s Nightmare with a Grouse House subscription right here, right now. Don’t worry, there’s a lot of other stuff you can catch on there that won’t induce side effects such as mouth balls and stolen poo.
Oh, and there’s also a whole goddamned website pulled from the most insidious corners of the internet circa 1995, adding a whole other ARG-inspired dimension to this project. You’ll need to watch the film for a clue on where to find it, and even then – good luck getting in. But once you do, you’ll be rewarded with at least a full work day’s worth of figuring out what in Oxtos’ sweet light is going on in there. Thanks, Mark.
Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.