Analog horror is a sub-genre of a sub-genre, having found its roots in found footage, which gained traction at the turn of the century with films like “The Blair Witch Project”(1999) and “Paranormal Activity”(2007). Analog horror borrows from the distorted images and fuzzy audio from the found footage genre but expands on its voyeuristic nature. It places the viewer at the forefront of what they are watching and invites them to speculate on the cryptic visuals. Often extrapolating on existing forms of media (i.e. emergency broadcasts, news reports, home videos), analog horror preys on our sense of nostalgia.

One of the earliest instances is No Through Road, which documents the disappearance of four teenagers trapped in a spacetime loop where they are threatened by a figure who appears to bend reality. Similar to found footage, the video series uses a shaky camera and fuzzy audio to create a feeling of discomfort. However, it also distorts the video with quick jump cuts to cryptic scenes. The slow twisting of imagery and narrative slowly builds tension, leaving the viewer with more questions than answers. In analog horror, the viewer is often left to helplessly interpret vague meanings.

Another instance of the analog horror aesthetic is Local 58, a video series which is credited with popularising the genre. The series has no clear narrative but presents itself as an authentic newsstation that has consistently been hijacked by surreal broadcasts. Analog horror often acts as a sort of alternate history/reality where real-life media is distorted in a way that lends itself to plausible deniability.
Analog horror is also characterised by its low barrier to entry. The aesthetic came to life online, lying adjacent to Creepypastas, but the visuals rely on existing footage and sound that can be manipulated. With widespread access to royalty-free resources, virtually anybody with access to a computer and video editing software can enter the genre.
Kane Pixel’s Backrooms, however, is a version of analog horror that was created with Blender and Adobe After Effects. This video series expands on the liminal space aesthetic(i.e. Empty or abandoned spaces that seem eerie or surreal).

The first video in the series, The Backrooms (Found Footage), presents itself as a VHS tape taken by a film-maker who no-clips (slips in between the cracks of reality) into the backrooms where he is pursued by a creature that Kane refers to as “the lifeform.” The perspective navigates through a maze of beige walls and drab carpet that resembles a 1980s office building which seemingly has no end.
The use of 20th-century imagery is often used in analog horror, and pairing the outdated aesthetic with online culture gives the audience a sense that the viewer is watching something that has been lost to time. It feels intrusive to be watching this “lost media.” By witnessing something that they were never meant to see, it feels like they have become a part of the story. The viewer gets the sense that they have now become a part of the horrors that they are witnessing.
3 Comments. Leave new
As an enjoyer of Analog Horror, this was delightful to read. I watched No Through Road a long time ago and it stuck with me a lot. I didn’t realize it was made so early on in the history of Analog Horror. I do agree that it has an easy barrier to entry, as I know lots of people found out about it through the Backrooms. I do feel like Analog Horror is so heavily tied to the medium of video that it is difficult to reproduce in other formats.
I love how you mentioned so many aspects related to analog horror: found footage, distorted visuals and audio, royalty-free assets, confusing narrative, surreal scenarios, liminal spaces, etc.. This aesthetic truly feels like a collage that engages with so many different aspects of a viewers experience.
Given that analog horror is so mixed media, I’m curious what extent of mediums it exists in. Are there analog horror books, fashion, or physical art? Or is an early 2000s online viewing experience a cornerstone of the aesthetic?
This post was a pleasure to read! It’s clear, concise, and easy to follow. The links to the Local58 and Backrooms videos were a great touch, as they effectively complement the aesthetic that can be hard to convey through images alone. I don’t have any specific criticisms, but I’m curious—do you think a movie like Super 8 fits within the analog horror aesthetic, or does it need to be entirely in a first person perspective?