On the 28th of August 1984, an eighteen year old girl — Elizabeth Fritzl — was knocked unconscious by her father, Josef Fritzl. She was then interred in a makeshift prison chamber in the basement — where, for the next 24 years, she would be kept and repeatedly assaulted. Her only source of food was her father, who would bring her meals on a daily basis before violently raping her.
His daughter would give birth to seven children while she was held captive. One of the children died shortly after birth, three were brought out of the chamber and kept by Fritzl and his wife; the other three were kept in the cell with his daughter, where the four of them would be coerced to excavate soil from the room with their bare hands.
After the eldest of the children fell ill, Fritzl agreed to seek medical attention. Josef would then visit them in the hospital. When justifying his visit to medical staff, he claimed that the child’s mother had left him a note detailing the child’s condition.
Sensing something wrong with Josef’s story, medical staff alerted the police. After Elizabeth successfully convinced Fritzl to take her to the hospital along with several of her children, the group was detained and made to inform the authorities of the atrocities committed against them.¹
Josef Fritzl is an abhorrent piece of shit who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole — when, in reality — there is no fate that would have been too cruel for him.
My Eyes Deceive is a game originally created on Roblox, then later released on Steam. In the game, you play as a little girl who is left in a basement by her father to — in his words — protect you from the apocalypse going on outside. Horror is almost absent from the picture until you reach the ending.
Your daily routine consists of taking your ‘medication’, washing yourself, eating food that your father has brought you, and then waiting for him at the entrance to the basement before you go to sleep. While you are waiting, the main activity is a game where you kite red squares as a pink square — which is clearly the developer’s true passion as you spend the majority of the game doing it.
You may have put together there is no apocalypse going on, and your father is keeping you captive. This is the ‘twist’ of the game and seemingly the meaning ofthe title. It is what the game builds its horror around — your perception deceiving you.
Unfortunately — despite the developer’s efforts — the reality of the scenario is glaringly obvious from the first few minutes of the game, even without knowing the ending or having any background on the Fritzl case — which may or may not be the true story this game is based on.
Aside from this revelation, there are a few dream sequences — which are intended to be scary, but do not stand out from other horror games where you wander around and suddenly get jumpscared.
The general vibe while you follow your routine in the basement is unsettling, mainly due to the CRT aesthetic and the out of tune music in the background. Despite all my criticism, I will say that the anticipation of waiting for papa was unsettling. Though it would be a stretch to call it truly scary.
Yes, the main horror of the game sets in when you reach one of either endings. At this point, the game will either show you the text, “What is that glowing ball up there?” (in reference to the sun) or “Why is my belly so round and big?”
The former is a reference to a completely ineffective horror story posted on the r/twosentencehorror subreddit. The latter tells us the only detail about the situation that we could not put together on our own, which is that we were being sexually abused.
We were not able to put together that detail before the ending is because it is shock content. Rape is a frequently used subject matter for uncreative artists seeking to elicit an audience reaction. It is cheap, lazy and does not treat the subject or the audience with the respect it deserves.
With many horror tropes — gore, uncanny features, a chase — they are things that are viscerally horrifying. Rape is scary in a different way, and that should be treated with respect. Nine times out of ten, it does not upset the audience through artistic portrayal — it disturbs them because it was included at all.
It so commonly used not only because the mere mention of it is disturbing — but because audiences have become desensitized, on some level, towards violent content. Which would be another (less insensitive) way to easily shock an audience. However — because it is so commonly used — it requires extra effort to make frightening. Effort which many people cannot be bothered to put in.
This is not to say, of course, that sexual assault cannot be used in media to bring attention to it as an issue, or in a way that victims find relatable. It can be done, in a way where the punchline is not “rape exists and I bet you thought I was better than to throw it in there.” Portrayals such as this do just that and can strongly upset people who have been victimized.
The discretion warning at the beginning of the game gives a blanket statement that the game contains ‘disturbing content’. This is unhelpful and almost as ineffective as the game’s horror. It does not show realistic expectations of the consumer — there are many people who are triggered by one thing in particular but still enjoy media with dark themes.
I understand not wanting to spoil your creation by telling the audience what’s going to happen beforehand, but it isn’t hard to provide optional information to those who think that they might need it.
This game is an extremely ineffective work of horror because — aside from the use of a distressing topic — all of its attempts to scare the audience fall completely flat. It commits the worst sin a work of horror can — it is boring.
There is no deep meaning to be explained. You were put in a disturbing situation and not told until the ending. Where you were surprised with a topic that you were not expecting.
At the same time, I am definitely not saying that games like this should be censored. Censorship is a scourge upon the arts and should never be entertained. I also do not condone any harassment to the developer.
[1] Connolly, K. 2009. Josef Fritzl trial: ‘She spent the first five years entirely alone. He hardly ever spoke to her’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/19/josef-fritzl-austria
Leave a comment