Stranger In Need Re-released

[Ross Scott]

 

Well this should have happened a long time ago, but the story of my life seems to be "better late than never." Here is the re-released version of Stranger In Need, the first and probably last video I'll do in Source Filmmaker. The original version of this video was just barely done in time for a deadline and I had to cut a few corners on it that I wanted to spend a little bit longer fixing. This version has the main fixes I wanted to have the first time around. It mainly consists of slightly improved animations, adding a few effects I meant to have the first time, a more polished sound mix, etc. This the closest thing I get to a "patch" for my videos. I promise I didn't go George Lucas on this though, all the changes are very subtle, you may not even notice the difference.

 

 

Blip.tv

 

Download (110MB H.264 MKV)

 

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I was hoping to have more news for August, but it's looking like that's not going to happen. That just means there's more news and videos coming for September though!

[BTGBullseye]

Yay for direct download link!

[Otto]

I concur!

 

 

 

My only regret is not being able to transition the mob scene personally.

Edited August 30, 2013 by Guest (see edit history)

[GordonFreeman]

So did "Stranger" drive away first?

[ROFLOLBBQ111]

I can't believe I hadn't seen this before now. If this was originally posted in December, I should've seen the blog post. Regardless, I absolutely loved this. My one issue is that the big twist comes after the credits. When the credits started, I moved straight to the comments section and had the scene spoiled before I even knew it existed. I'm sure there are plenty of people who will close the window and never end find out about the final scene. Orrrr I could just be nitpicking. I still really loved this thing. I love anything that successfully combines dark comedy and psychological horror.

 

Edit: So you did post about it. Where the hell was I?

[Otto]

Just bad luck, I suppose. You could check the 'Movies' section to make sure there's nothing else you've missed.

 

So did "Stranger" drive away first?

Yeah, it seems he was "caught" by some villager in the town and "converted" to the town itself.

Must have been how some of the other pedestrians got there. Poor old 'Stranger' may live the rest of his days staring across the road.

[BTGBullseye]

Poor old 'Stranger' may live the rest of his days staring across the road.

I'd guess that he'd get promoted to be one of the mob at some point, or maybe even one of the laughing couple...

[Erasmus Roterodamnsus]

Let's play detective, and see if we can gather all of the suspicious clues to see if we can't figure out what happened here.

 

1. Pedestrian walking in the dead of night for unknown reasons, staring at car as it drives away.

2. Road has huge chunk missing, without any sort of warnings or construction signs.

3. Another night-walking pedestrian, an eccentric, displays bizarre behavior and fails to follow social cues, such as RUNNING AFTER A CAR, YELLING to follow his directions.

4. A large mob, carrying dangerous tools, gathered in the middle of the road in the woods at night. This is not a place to meet, there are no lights here. They approach the stranger threateningly. Were they waiting specifically the stranger? The obvious threat is them pulling him from his car and beating him to death.

5. A man, in a catatonic state, unblinking, standing still on the side of the road, suggests driving to the south road—even without hearing the stranger's request.

6. The catatonic man's instructions lead to a fiery pileup of cars, no drivers, corpses, or causes of fire to be seen in the middle of these woods.

7. A couple, seemingly normal-ish, sitting on a bench (but still in the dead of night) laugh monotonously and in-sync at the stranger's request for gas.

8. On departing the town, an unknown man in the back of the car who somehow got in the stranger's car casually provides directions to the him, frightening him.

9. After being frightened by the man in the backseat, the stranger too becomes catatonic, and to the next stranger in town looking for gas suggests the south road.

 

So what happened? Is Midwich just a town full of mass hysteria? Did the stranger fall into that? It's not impossible, but he showed a great deal of  resistance to the town's influence. After each person gives directions to a gas station, the stranger faces an inexplicable misfortune: A missing road, an angry mob, a fiery pileup, and finally being taken like in the Shining. Whatever happened to him did not happen willingly. He wanted to get gas and get the hell out. That did not happen. He was drawn into the town, possessed by it, and the cycle continues, with him in that same trance directing a new stranger to that very same fate. It implies each stranger is... attacked, or... conditioned or something until they're taken into being a part of the town's madness. Was his mind broken? Lobotomized? Hypnotized? How does something like this happen? And for what? To continue the cycle of scooping up lone wanderers one by one? Which begs the question: How did this start? Where did it come from? And why? What is its ultimate goal? To scoop up the entire world? As a sacrifice to a ghost or demon? Alien mind control?

 

The conspiring townsfolk misdirect the gas station directions to keep him to stay longer, but they lead him to danger each time. So do they want to kill him? Because he isn't ultimately killed, he's stolen. The camel's back is broken when he leaves and says he'll find another town, leading to the man in the backseat to give his directions (what was the plan, make the stranger follow them? Did he think that would work? The mystery is what happened between that and the stranger's new indoctrination into the Midwich Madness)