BRIGHT FALLS
The Alan Wake Live Action Prequel
Trailer for Bright Falls
Bright Falls is a mysterious six part mini-series set in the quiet Pacific Northwest town of the same name. When a reporter enters the town as an outsider, he quickly discovers there is something disturbing under the surface. You can watch all six episodes of Bright Falls in order here.
The Alan Wake Novel I wrote about a few months back has made it’s way into the digital era.
The novel is now available on Apple’s iBook store. You’ll be able to read it on any Mac, iPad, or iPhone.
If you’ll remember, this was the adaptation that was written by Rick Burroughs and published by Tor Books. The digital copy is $10, just like the physical, and was a great way for non-gamers to discover more about Bright Falls via Alan Wake. A year after the game’s release, this is an excellent time for fans of the game to relive the experience as well.
Need a little more Bright Falls chat in your life?
Double Feature is a weekly podcast (like a free internet radio show) that puts two films back to back and discusses just what makes the films so awesome. I (Eric Thirteen) host the show along with Michael Koester. We’ve bent the rules a bit this week to include Bright Falls on the show, despite the fact it’s not exactly a film. We’re pairing it up with Kubrick’s The Shining. Continue reading Bright Falls Analysis on Double Feature
Less than a week ago some live action Alan Wake footage hit the web. We now know that the footage was part of the new Poets of the Fall video for their song War. You can now view the full video!
Ilkka Villi, who played Alan Wake in Bright Falls, reprises the role in the video. Even knowing that he was the model for Alan Wake in the video game of the same name, it’s a still pretty amazing seeing him standing there on the road. You can’t believe what you’re looking at. Continue reading Alan Wake Music Video
A mysterious new Alan Wake video has just shown up on YouTube.
We see Alan Wake and a woman who may or may not be his wife (looks like her hair is pretty long!). You get the iconic flare, the manuscript pages, and Alan lying around in the dirt. Is that the infamous clicker in his hand? Continue reading New Alan Wake Live Action Teaser
The time has come.
Since I started this site, the most common email I get is “Can you tell me what’s going on in Bright Falls? I’m frightened and confused.” After nearly one billion re-watches of the entire Bright Falls series, I’m going to lay down what I think happens.
What follows in an explanation of Bright Falls. If you haven’t seen the series, this is probably the worst place on the internet to be right now. Bright Falls is a magical series full of amazement and horror. You’d be doing yourself a serious injustice to ruin the plot twists without ever seeing it. You can watch it for free on this very site. Make sure you go in order, starting with “Oh Deer” and ending with “Clearcut.” Continue reading Bright Falls Explained
That grand theory post is coming! There’s a draft of it sitting right here, it should only be a few more days. I’ve been busy this week securing some very cool stuff for this site – more on that later. As you may have guessed, I’ve also been distracted playing Alan Wake!
For those of you who love Bright Falls but aren’t into gaming, there’s now a way for you to enjoy the story of Alan Wake without picking up a controller.
Tor Books has published an Alan Wake Novel. It’s written by Rick Burroughs, and covers the story of the Alan Wake game. At 320 pages and only $10, there’s really no reason not to check it out. I haven’t gotten my hands on one yet (they just came out today!) but I can say the video game’s story is pretty incredible.
In a previous post on Gaming and Art I wrote about an ongoing debate on whether gaming can be considered a valid art form. Personally I think dismissing gaming (in the way Roger Ebert famously did) only shows an ignorance regarding how far the medium has come. Continue reading Alan Wake Novel
It’s been several days since the Bright Falls series finale finally went up (you can view all the episodes now). As I continue to prepare an upcoming post on the mysteries of Bright Falls, I have another way for everyone to get their fix: The Bright Falls Atmospheres Montage!
This all new footage can be found on director Phillip Van’s Vimeo page. It’s presumably a complication of location footage they shot before the actual series to help narrow down the feel they were looking for – although it’s also possible that it’s extra footage taken during filming. Some of the best parts of the series were the setting and cinematography, so it’s pretty exciting that an additional feature like this exists. Continue reading Phillip Van Bright Falls Atmosphere Video
The Double Feature page for the Bright Falls episode now includes high resolution cover art!
Last year the film podcast did a lengthy analysis of Bright Falls for their The Shining + Bright Falls episode. They just put up a new website, and one of the features is full-on 1000 x 1500 pixel movie cover art. Every single episode has downloadable poster art, and that includes the cover art for Bright Falls!
The image looks like it’s a slightly altered version of the teaser movie-poster mockup that has been featured on the IMDB page as well as IGN.com. It’s a real clean version, without all the text and whatnot on the bottom.
This would be perfect for your own version of the Bright Falls DVD you’ll never be able to buy at retail. Head over to the site to get the full resolution image. It’s about half way down the page.
The Xbox 360 game Alan Wake (on which Bright Falls is based) was finally released today!
The Bright Falls series isn’t currently available on DVD – and unfortunately it may never be. Purchasing Alan Wake is currently the best (and really only) way to tell Remedy and company that Bright Falls was a great idea. If Alan Wake sells well, they will measure their advertising as a success. This is the only hope we have of getting more content like Bright Falls, so click that link and buy a copy of the game.
At the above link you will find two versions. One is the standard game – instructions, disc, the bare essentials. BORING. But hold on-
There’s an option at that link to buy the Limited Edition. This version is fully loaded. You’ve got the game and manual of course, but there’s also limited edition artwork, in-game audio commentary, the official soundtrack and score, a book (which I’ll get to in a second), and an xbox live bonus disc. The bonus disc contains: Continue reading Alan Wake Released!
The sixth and very last episode of Bright Falls called “Clearcut.”
Episode six is the last episode. Before you watch episode it, make sure you’ve seen the previous episodes.
1. Oh Deer | 2. Time Flies | 3. Lights Out | 4. Local Flavor | 5. Off the Record
The time for curiosity, exploration, and mystery solving is over. Self preservation has kicked in, getting out is all that matters anymore.
Previously I expressed a fear that Bright Falls would fail to live up to the promise it first showed. As I watched episodes one and two, I remember thinking “there’s no way it will stay this good.” Sometimes as you watch a great film, you can’t help but wonder how they’re going to mess it up. The sense of excitement, the fresh atmosphere, the new and mysterious characters…most times progressing through sadly diminishes these attributes.
I’m happy to say Bright Falls is even better at the end than the beginning. Everything I loved about it from the first episode remained true to the last. Each new turn showed off another great side, a trick I wasn’t expecting it to pull. Now that the series is over, we can all breathe a sign of relief. Way to not screw it up, Bright Falls. We can chalk this up to ways you’ve outdone your predecessors. Continue reading Bright Falls Episode 6: Clearcut
