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[Gentleman Caller]

[TheNightmareComplex]

He may have been in whatever hypnotic/trance state that brought him to this new location at the time of this shooting, there's no evidence to suggest he was in full control of his own faculties. The fish-eye lens certainly adds a sense of vertigo and confusion to the overall atmosphere.

Ce Gars has stated time and time again this series isn't about shock-you horror, they even go so far as to call their own series an on-off "Where's Waldo." This series is about atmosphere. And atmosphere needs a setting. This video provides a setting.

[JKatkina]

[Dray]

Everybody keeps throwing around 'filler' for this entry, but I don't feel that way at all.

In fact, I really enjoyed how the entry is paced: the freaky, uncertain beginning lends itself well to the past season. The appearance of 'Entry #27' later on, after Jay begins to set up the exposition, gives a thrill of "AW YEAH IT'S BACK BB~!"

The reveal that he doesn't remember the last seven months puts a twist on what we had all been expecting, (or at least, what many of us had been expecting) and gives solid direction from whence they can move forward, while leaving a lot of things open, and keeping with the spirit of the ambiguous 'ask questions first, then ask more questions later' spirit of the series.

Each shot seems well-considered and helps to set an atmosphere for the next few entries.

We get to see Jay's reaction to this revelation. Exhaustion, uncertainty, inability to really come up with anything that will really fix the bind that he's in, and absolutely, positively, nowhere that he can go to for backup that he can trust... I don't know if you guys aren't seeing it, or if I'm reading too much into what I watched, but everything about how Jay!Actor is acting suggests, "well... fuck. What now. Guess.... guess I'll just lay low until I can figure out where the hell I can even go from here."

Also, I know that they used it already, but I find it pretty cool that they actually went to the trouble to film this in a hotel. That is a step further than a lot of people would go. It's pretty cool.

I know that the Operator is lurking on the fringes, as he's always been; the beginning with the horrid noises and malfunctioning TV hint that shit has gone down, and recently (if the TTA dumps on twitter don't already testify to that!) It's not that we need to be spotting Slendy here. There is more intention in this video than there was in the first few videos of last season.

That intention is not "HEY GUYS LOOK WHAT I FOUND!"

It's more along the lines of, "Gather around and let me tell you a story." Like folks have said, it's an introduction. Re-immersion is important after a long pause. This entry is all about getting us back into the head space of worry and concern and waiting for the next spat of shit to hit the fan. I don't see why it's necessary for it to be any different from that.



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And now to address the newer posts that have come up while I was typing!

[ellocia]

I think the thing he throws at 1:56 might be a cell phone and the phone hits the pill bottle.
http://yfrog.com/mve172

[Leina.]

I wonder when the next update will be...

[Dray]

Safe estimate? Two weeks, give or take.

[Gentleman Caller]

Dray, as a mark towards civility, I would like to point out that I've never held any pretensions that I was being civil towards the creators of Marble Hornets. Rather, I was speaking more of insulting each other, here, on this forum, when that has nothing to do with the issue at hand. You don't see me calling any of you delightful ladies and gents stupid and telling you that your ideas are silly simply because they do not align with mine. I have not once made a remark about the person behind the opinions in this discussion, opting instead to address the opinions themselves. I ask only that that same courtesy be afforded not only to me, but to everyone else on this forum. That, is perhaps civility. I regrettably don't have time at the moment to address the rest of your respectably large post, but will do so at my earliest convenience

[Arison]

For me, Jay's lack of speaking adds to his character. He has plenty of opportunity to speak in the video, but doesn't; this isn't new for him. He has ample opportunity for completely freaking out and yelling in numerous entries, but refrains from doing so. In the segment where Jay gets into the car, sets the camera down, and then just looks at the camera... you can tell he doesn't know what the fuck is going on. The only time he talks when addressing us, as an audience, is in Entry 26 (and that was part of what made that entry so special for me), whereas every other time, he addresses us through text.

This time, he's so shocked he has no words; the text that addresses us is all edited in after the footage was taken. After the fact. When he's just woken up not knowing where he is and with seven months missing from his memory? That's pretty frightening. Other people have said that he's shellshocked, which I think is appropriate. Only after the fact, when he's compiled and is editing footage, can he speak of these events, and only through text.

Then again, maybe I'm just reading too much into character.

[Mitternacht]

Hmmm, I have to admit that I feel sort of the way GC does, though not quite as passionately.

If I may attempt to transcribe the thought, it seems to me as if people are accepting this as setup and build-up. For me, the previous tweets and couple pics were filled with anticipation and build-up. I was sort of expecting that, when they moved to video again, it would capitalize on that. Instead, it felt as if it should have been in place of the anticipation I already had.

I've been reading and feeling for a week or two now that it's going to be a mountain. The basic dialogue here, however, seems to read:

"It's a mountain!"

"But, it's a crappy hill!"

"Chill the fuck out, dude. Mountains are coming!"

Pardon my language - I'm trying to simulate the tone as concisely as possible. Under these circumstances, he is simply a fan who has built this up to be epic, and it's not epic, yet. Is he caustic? Yes, but not to you...so perhaps everyone should calm down a bit.

You say nobody made him watch it, but nobody made you respond. Try not to devalue someone else simply because what they value (and to what extent, in this case) differs from you. Simple sarcasm does not communicate intelligence, even though you possess it.

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What I really did like - that first shot with the hand in front of the flickering monitor. It really took advantage of that blind feeling at the beginning, and was combined well with the sounds. I'm not sure what the clicking was until the text began, but it became a touch annoying. I think it might have been more tastefully employed in a smaller dose, just like the inability to really see at the beginning.

[awakeasaurusrex]

[TokyoVigilanteX]

I'd imagine the major improvement for the next segment/season/cycle/part/portion/slice/whatever of MH will just be an overall improvement of in the writing and pacing. I don't expect fancy camera work and emotional monologues from a low-fi, Youtube based paranormal investigation drama. I expect more emphasis put on the story and more creative ways of relaying that story. If you factor in the gradual improvement of that from Entry #1-#26, the crew admitting that they stretched the original season farther then they intended and promises of no more filler, then we're in for a leaner, better paced, more evenly plotted story.

The presence of the fish-eyed strap-cam, the new setting, and the new circumstances, point at something that will overall be creative, fresh, and unpredictable.

[TheNightmareComplex]

[Coded]

Hey MH fans. I'm new here, but a long time fan of Marble Hornets.

Anyway, I think I'm seeing Slender Man. If you pause at 6:05, it looks like something is standing there beside the balcony, and kind of hidden in the trees.

But maybe it's my eyes playing tricks on me.

[slendercat]

My thoughts on the video, in no particular order:

The setup here reeks of TTA for me. All of it. In our "cold opening" (if we're going to use television terms, then let's do it) we have our strange camera things going on, the pulsing heartbeat sound from the television, the loud noise from the alarm... Very much seems that it's something that TTA would do in one of his videos. But it's more than that. I actually agree with Gentleman Caller that the scenario is straight out of classic television, that it's something that's been used and used and overused. But that, too, seems like something that TTA would do. It reminds me of the way that TTA would dump random footage into the middle of his videos. It makes me feel as if TTA was responsible for the amnesia, though I couldn't prove any of it. Just a feeling.

I felt a little upset at the end of my first viewing, honestly, because I wanted more. It's been seven whole months and I want answers! But saying it like that makes me feel like a little kid demanding a huge bowl of ice cream just because all the vegetables got eaten. Ice cream does not magically become better for you just because of the vegetables. A little bit of ice cream is fine, though, and I feel like that's what I got. I'd rather have it as a surprise anyway.

Subsequent viewings made me a little more excited. I think after so many of the other slenderseries I forgot what Marble Hornets had a different style from the rest of the pack. It was never as immersive as EMH and it didn't aim to be. The characters always reacted... well... without reaction. (Anyone remember when Jay was walking through the house in that loop, and how he didn't say anything the entire time and only started to breathe a little more heavily and move a little faster? Yeah, me too. Or when Alex saw Slendy in entry 26? I'll just leave it at that.) In the context of that style, this is exactly the feeling.

There were a lot of quiet, subtle callbacks to "season one" in this video. We had some really TTA-ish surroundings in the opening. We had the pills, from out of nowhere. Jay making sure the camera is on him at all times, just like he (and Alex) did all through season one, like a reflex. There's the immediate spelling out of the premise, like in the introduction to season one.

I think my favorite part of the whole video was that ending scene though. Jay walks up to a window and films outside, as in entry #1... but instead of night, it's bright and sunny daylight. Instead of nearly giving off the feeling of being filmed in black and white, it's full of bright colors. Instead of just panning in one direction, we scan everywhere... And instead of immediately focusing on Slendy, he's nowhere to be seen, at least not clearly... but we know he could be anywhere...