Emesis Blue

Plenty of mystery and intriguing ideas. It's subtle horror with few jumpscares because the focus is on the story and being eerie instead of bombastic. There's plenty of influence from other movies like "The shining" "Interstellar" and even "Pulp Fiction" but the references never overtake the story. And what's really impressive is that the entire movie seems to be made in SFM, an old animation tool with a steep learning curve and this movie goes above and beyond the limitations of the tool. It's safe to say that it's one of the best horror movies I've seen in years which is crazy because it's not even an official movie, it's just something made by passionate people and posted onto YouTube.

The premise of the movie is downright comical - a serious horror film about team fortress 2 characters, the same ones who use literal rockets for jumping around and say quirky one liners after manslaughter. Not only is it extremely true to the original canon, it incorporates it perfectly into the psychological horror narrative and is terrifying. The graphics, despite mainly using models from 2007, look good and have spectacular animation and lightning. The voice acting and sound design is on point and sounds professional. The story, while intentionally confusing and fractured, is extremely engaging and will leave you thinking about it even after the movie ends.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into Emesis Blue, but I have to say, it's beyond incredible. In the past, I've considered Spy's Disguise to be my favorite SFM movie and a standout in quality and production value, yet this blows it out of the water.

The animation is realistic, with characters having a real depth to them. Ludwig and Doe are excellent protagonists, with badass moments and moments of human vulnerability. Even the side characters have hints at their own stories, with their distinct models and personalities helping them stand out in their own right. While the movie clearly has its basis in canon Team Fortress 2 lore, it also has plenty of its own twists and additions, with cool and memorable characters that you won't forget.

As a surreal horror/mystery thriller, Emesis Blue performs extremely well. The imagery is haunting, in no small part thanks to the cinematic look and feel of the whole movie. Every frame's a poster (in fact, Fortress Films did actually release hundreds of 4K posters on their Patreon). The voice acting is superb, much better than you'd expect from a fan project like this (calling it that feels like a disservice at this point).

I'm able to follow the main gist of the story, yet there's still a great deal left to interpretation. Some people feel that the story is too confusing - I'd say that you're really not supposed to understand everything on your first watch. That would defeat the point of the mystery, no? What's important is that you understand the premise, and you can follow the basic plot as it progresses. You don't need a Ph. D. to tell that some messed up stuff is happening in the Slaughterhouse.

This movie is free to watch on YouTube, but if I had to buy an actual ticket to watch it at a theatre, I would've done it in a heartbeat.

Such an amazing atmosphere with beautiful and disturbing imagery. I can't get it out of my mind even though I saw it yesterday. I love the mystery, the ambiguity. The use of music and the sounds. It's honestly one of the creepiest things I've ever seen and it's a goddamn SFM movie about funny TF2 characters. Seriously, you do NOT need to be a TF2 fan to enjoy it. It's crazy that something like this could work, given how goofy and comedic TF2 is. It contains some very, very, VERY disturbing imagery. Everything about it is just perfect, and it's available for free on YouTube! Fortress Films are a blessing.

Using Source Film Maker to make a feature length film is incredible enough on it's own. But due to the fantastic editing, acting, pacing, cinematography and sound design, it soars above any horror film released in recent years. It blew me away, and I can't believe it's even real. The premise on it's own is interesting enough, but you get elements from Fritz Lang's "M", and ideas similar to Interstellar, Resident Evil, Inception, and many more. The fact that when I watch it, looking at these TF2 characters, I'm not even thinking about the original game. I'm sucked into this world that is so intriguing that it hurts. I highly recommend checking it out if you love weird conceptual horror as much as I do.