Layers Of Fear (2023)contains countless references to iconic art, always related to the character being played. In the Actor’s Story, this manifests as callbacks to iconic films from throughout the history of cinema. Whether you’re collecting signed posters or discovering details in the environment, these references make the game a treat for movie fans.
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We’ve listed every nod to the silver screen in the game below - how many did you notice? Perhaps more importantly, how many of these must-see films have you had the pleasure of experiencing? Maybe you’ll get some ideas for your next movie night!
9Double Indemnity (1944)
The movie set in the first chapter contains a poster for a movie called “Double Shadows.” The office setting and the name of the poster point directly toDouble Indemnity, arguably the masterpiece of the film noir genre.
Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck) seduces insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) and the two conspire to arrange a fatal accident for her husband, hoping to get a large life insurance payout.
8The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)
The poster for “The Night Fiend” referencesThe Phantom Of The Opera, one of the classic Universal horror films. Lurking in the tunnels beneath the Paris Opera, a brilliant but disfigured musician known only as the Phantom (Lon Chaney) becomes obsessed with the up-and-coming star Christine Daae (Mary Philbin).
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The Phantom of the Opera has been remade several times, and is itself anadaptation of a novel by Gaston Leroux.The most famous version of the story today is thestage musical, which was thelongest-running show in Broadway history, opening at New York City’s Majestic Theater in 1988 and closing there in 2023 after almost fourteen thousand performances.
7Ringu (1998)
In Chapter Two, players find a room with acrumbling stone well.You can briefly see the shape of a young girl emerge from the well as you approach. This is a reference toRingu, the best-known Japanese horror film in the world.
Adapted in the West asThe Ring, Ringu tells the story of a cursed videotape that kills anyone who watches it within seven days. Sadako (Rie Ino’o), the long-haired ghost responsible for the curse, has become synonymous with Japanese horror and makes an appearance as a playable Killer inDead By Daylight.
6Metropolis (1927)
The engine room in Chapter Two feels like a scene pulled straight fromMetropolis, a stylized sci-fi movie about a futuristic city with a deep class divide. If you have any doubts that this is intentional, a poster for a fictional film called “Megapolis” can be found shortly afterward.
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Living a life of privilege above the city of Metropolis, Freder (Gustav Frohlich) follows a woman named Maria (Brigitte Helm) to the lower parts fo the city where the workers live. Afterwitnessing an explosionthat kills several workers, and seeing the indifference of the city’s leaders to the deaths, Freder resolves to improve the lives of the workers.
Metropolis’visual style and effectshad a profound impact, showing what kinds of stories and sights could be created with the still-new medium.
5Fight Club (1999)
At the end of Chapter Two, there is a hidden area that players can access bydropping through a venton the right side of a hallway. At the bottom, they can activate a switch thatdetonates a model city. This scene is almost identical to the ending ofFight Club.
Pushed by the charismatic Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) to reclaim his masculinity, an unnamed protagonist (Edward Norton)forms an underground fighting ring.The Fight Club turns into a movement called Project Mayhem that grows increasingly violent, escalating to terrorist bombings as the protagonist tries to undo what he’s started.
4The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
In Chapter Three, the Actor finds a set that resembles theapproach to the Emerald CityinThe Wizard Of Oz, one of the most iconic and beloved films of all time. Shortly after, they find a poster for The Wondrous Voyage, Oz’s in-universe equivalent.
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Longing to escape her dull life on a Kansas farm, Dorothy (Judy Garland) is carried away by a tornado to the magical land of Oz. There, she befriends a talking Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a man made of tin (Jack Haley) and an anthropomorphic lion (Bert Lahr). The four go in search of the Wizard Of Oz (Frank Morgan), who is believed to have the power to grant their deepest wishes.
3A Trip To The Moon (1902)
The rocket-ship sequence in Chapter Three references one of the earliest examples of sci-fi film and special effects,A Trip To The Moon.The rocket even lodges itself in the Man In The Moon’s eye at the end, mimicking the movie’s most famous shot.
In this short silent film, a group of blundering scientistsfire themselves into spacevia a giant cannon. They land on the moon, where theywreak havoc on the Selenites, the alien civilization living there. After a chase by the Selenite guards, during which they kill the Selenite King, the scientistsescape back to Earth, where they show a captive alien to the public.
2The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928)
The poster for “The Trial Of A Martyr” depicts Joan Of Arc, a young woman in medieval France wholed a war against the Englishand was burned for witchcraft, eventually beingdeclared a saintby the Catholic Church. Joan’s story has been retold many times on film, but the poster most resembles that of the first major movie about her life, 1928’sThe Passion Of Joan Of Arcstarring Maria Falconetti.
Joan of Arc has also been portrayed on screen by Ingrid Bergman (Joan Of Arc, 1948), Mila Jovovich (The Messenger, 1999), and recently in French by Lise Leplat Prudhomme (Jeanne, 2019)
1Psycho (1960)
As things take a turn for the dark, players can find a poster for a film called “Shizo.” The red tint and screaming face are straight out of Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological horror filmPsycho.To drive the point home, a violent moment in the game shortly after usessame musical stingsas the movie’s infamous shower scene.
After stealing a large sum of money from ther employer to pay off her boyfriend’s debts, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) stops at aremote motelduring her getaway. She is welcomed by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), the shy and charming - but oddly unsettling - son of the motel’s owner.
Despite its badly-outdated portrayals of mental illness (including the title), the movie remains a perfect example of pacing and narrative tension, and was one of the most shocking films of its time.
