Ever wondered what you'd do if everyone on Earth vanished except for you? Well, it looks like Sunny Moraine has. They've written, narrated and produced this podcast about the last person left behind when the rest of the Earth's population vanishes one night at 12:01 precisely. Unfortunately, our protagonist happened to be asleep at the time and missed whatever happened, meaning that when they wake up in the morning, they're more than a bit confused.
And so they start investigating. And discover more questions than answers, as an increasing number of things start disappearing. It's also a worryingly personal disaster. See, before they married their wife, they wrote a videogame script. And there are hints that they might be living that game. It's a bit of a shame then that they were writing a version of Silent Hill.
As time passes, the night gets longer, the days get shorter, the fog gets thicker, and they see hints of shadowy figures watching them from corners of the room and out in the streets. And every 12:01, the Reset happens. This fixes any changes they've made to the world, and generally tidies up. The tidying up is the best evidence our narrator has that this isn't a natural event, instead being directed by some external agent.
Which makes it a very creepy situation to be listening in on. It's done in the found footage style, with a reasonable justification that making the recordings is keeping our protagonist sane. It's mostly improvised around a skeleton plot outline, which gives it a unique tone. This has the occasional problem with repetition, but does make it feel very wistful, and more than a little intimate, being as it is partly a horror thriller and partly a philosophical consideration of mental illness.
It's the central mystery of this that's going to keep me coming back, as it's a very compelling storyline, and I'm a sucker for a good empty world tale. Comparisons can be drawn with both the ST:TNG episode Remember Me and more appropriately to my recent listen of Alice Isn't Dead, with the missing wife possibly having some knowledge of what might have happened, and it being one person's trail through history and new disasters to discover what on Earth is going on. I'm currently enjoying this more than I did that though.
The one particular grouse I have with it is that between the main episodes (and eventually incorporated into the main episodes) are "interludes", which might include some hints into what is happening, but these are given a very heavy dose of static, such that I'm struggling be absolutely sure what they're attempting to tell me.
It's an interesting tale, and I'm very curious to see where it ends up.
Tagged: Audio fiction Drama Monologue Personal recording Horror Serial