Ahead of its appearance at Gamescom, Eurogamer was given the chance to watch a pre-prepared keynote on The Devil In Me, the next instalment and first season finale of Supermassive Games’ The Dark Pictures Anthology. The preview, hosted by director Tom Heaton, included footage from one of the episode’s later scenes, and a look at its various gameplay improvements.
This early look began by introducing the story and main characters of The Devil In Me, and setting up its stakes. Supermassive’s latest horror chapter centres on Lonnit Entertainment, a small TV production company developing a documentary series on famous serial killers, and a gentleman named Granthem Du’Met, who inherited a hotel with reproductions of rooms from HH Holmes’ infamous “Murder Castle”. Once the team arrives to meet Du’Met, however, it’s clear the hotel is a much more accurate reproduction than they previously realised.
Kate Wilder, played by Jessie Buckley, stars as the show’s presenter. In our preview she was described as introverted and lacking self-confidence, but with a fierce determination to do the right thing. Heaton later told me that Wilder was “quite damaged” when I asked more about the character. “She’s carrying this secret most of the people on the crew don’t know about at all,” he said, and added that she could sometimes snap at people while attempting to process issues from the past.
Buckley is an accomplished actress, with roles in recent TV series such as Fargo and Chernobyl, and a number of accolades and nominations. Heaton said he jumped at the chance of asking Buckley to play Kate, because she was how he always imagined Kate would be. Kate is a complex and prickly character, Heaton said, citing Buckley’s performances in recent films The Lost Daughter and Men as examples of why she fitted the role.
The remaining protagonists that fill the main cast include Lonnit Entertainment owner and TV director Charlie Lonnit, who is described as caring only about getting the content he needs for the documentary. The crew’s cameraman is Mark Nestor, who also happens to be Kate’s ex-boyfriend. This situation can cause tensions between two, or players can try and rekindle their relationship. Jamie Teirgan is the crew’s grip, handling lighting and electricals, and is opinionated, always happy to offer some sarcasm. Completing the cast is Erin Keenan, an intern in charge of audio production, though Charlie apparently takes advantage of her kindness to make her run errands and complete the company’s accounts.
This time around, Heaton said Supermassive took inspiration from horror movies such as Saw, The Shining and Psycho – and as we’ve seen in earlier trailers, the Saw influences are obvious. In the footage I saw, Mark and Jamie fall through a hidden trapdoor in the floor, separating them from Kate, leaving them to encounter a number of tableaus set up using mannequins. At one point we saw a mannequin lying on the floor, reaching towards Jamie, before it gets dragged away as someone’s screams play over the hotel’s tannoy. Another later set-up showed two mannequins chained onto opposite sides of a spinning saw that stops rotating when one of them gets beheaded. The climax of the scene results in Kate and Erin being locked in separate containment rooms with increasing pressure, with Mark and Jamie being forced to decide who to help. Later, outside the hotel, a lingering shadowy figure, presumably Du’Met, followed the protagonists as they tried to escape. Just as a character looks away, the figure stalked across the shot, reminiscent of Michael Myers from the Halloween series.
Du’Met’s backstory and the history of his hotel form a key part of the mystery in The Devil In Me, Heaton promised. The character was “inspired” by HH Holmes’ technique and ambition, Heaton continued, and now wanted to beat Holmes’ kill count. (The name Granthem Du’Met is even an anagram of Holmes’ birth name, Herman Mudgett.) Such a close link to an actual murderer is unusual for The Dark Pictures, and Heaton acknowledged the character is the most “solid” real world inspiration it has used thus far.