Valladares is positioning this as a natural evolution for a filmmaker who has mastered analog horror aesthetics. By embracing 16mm imperfection and interactive storytelling simultaneously, he's creating something that feels genuinely new—a haunted artifact disguised as entertainment.
Insiders note Valladares has never worked in interactive media before, and FMV games have a notoriously spotty track record. The fact that casting hasn't been announced yet suggests production is still in early stages with plenty of room for delays or creative pivots—or disaster.
The game will be approximately 2-3 hours long with multiple endings and branching paths, shot entirely on 16mm Bolex H16 cameras. Valladares co-wrote the project with Barry Keating (whose credits include games 'Steep' and 'Sifu'), and the duo previously collaborated on 2023's found-footage horror pic 'Invoking Yell.'
Valladares is gambling that analog warmth plus interactive terror equals something audiences haven't seen before. Whether this fusion captivates or confuses remains to be seen—but in a crowded horror landscape, bold misfires are more interesting than safe hits.
Patricio Valladares has spent years perfecting the art of found-footage dread on Shudder and the festival circuit. Now the Chilean filmmaker is betting that everything he knows about analog horror can translate into something players can actually control—and he's not easing into it. Valladares' debut in interactive media comes via an untitled FMV horror title currently in development through Vallastudio Films, Variety reports exclusively.
The project merges analog filmmaking with branching gameplay mechanics, shooting entirely on 16mm using Bolex H16 cameras to capture what the director calls "something that feels physically haunted." Rather than adapting an existing film, the game is being conceived natively as an interactive experience—a significant creative distinction that suggests Valladares isn't just padding his portfolio. The game follows a mute masked killer trapped in an endless cycle of death, resurrection and ritualistic horror.
Players navigate from the killer's perspective, with each repeated loop revealing alternate outcomes, hidden supernatural connections and new layers of the nightmare. At approximately two to three hours in length with multiple endings and branching narrative paths, it's positioned as "Happy Death Day" meets first-person interactive terror—using repetition as both storytelling device and gameplay mechanic. Collaborating with Barry Keating—a game writer whose credits include "Steep" and "Sifu," the latter currently being adapted for Netflix by T.S.
Nowlin—Valladares brings his established creative partnership into new territory. The duo previously teamed on 2023's found-footage horror pic "Invoking Yell" (currently streaming on Shudder and AMC Networks) and its recently completed sequel "Invoking Scream," set to launch on the festival circuit later this year. The production embraces analog aesthetics and what Valladares describes as "false nostalgia," incorporating 16mm film imperfections—grain, flicker, instability, texture—as core elements of the game's visual identity rather than obstacles to overcome.
For a medium still fighting for legitimacy in mainstream entertainment, shooting on vintage equipment could be either a bold artistic statement or an expensive liability that limits distribution potential. Casting remains unannounced as development continues with Chilean and U.K.-based creative teams from the video game industry. The English-language title is targeting Steam and app-based release platforms. Whether Valladares can successfully translate his cinematic horror sensibilities into player-driven experiences without losing the intimate dread that defines his film work will determine whether this ambitious fusion becomes a genre milestone or another footnote in FMV's complicated history.
