Hello, one and all!
Aug. 4th, 2025 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452++ Critical Role posted official announcement the other day regarding developments for its upcoming fourth campaign, which features quite a shakeup. Among the news that Brennan Lee Mulligan will be the main DM for the campaign itself (which he further confirms in an interview), Matthew Mercer will be featured as a player at the table along with some familiar faces and newer faces as well, and that this will be a brand new world to explore.
There isn't much details since this was a mere teaser and an announcement for what's to come and I'm sure we'll get a bit more when we get closer to the time it'll be released, but I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by this. In hindsight it makes sense, considering how they had Brennan DM mini-campaigns tying into the third campaign and rotating guests at the table, which seemed like it was experimenting with the notion along with getting us prepped for the possibility of there being such a change to happen.
I do think the cast needs a breather, they've been constantly busy with not just Critical Role consistently for ten years but also other projects and their own lives outside of that as well, so the threat of burnout is quite real. Especially in regards towards Matt who hasn't really taken a break from being in the DM chair since the show started, so taking a DM backseat will most likely take a lot of pressure and stress off his shoulders. While some have speculated that Critical Role could just take a year long break with some mini campaigns in between, something I'm not opposed to and it's what we've been seeing lately, I think this move could also work. Brennan is a great DM, and although he's more used to shorter campaign runs than longer ones like Critical Role I think he'll do fine if it's planned out right. It's quite a a shift in direction, but one that I'm actually excited about.
++ There is going to be a Hostel television series in development at Peacock, a bizarre choice given the subject matter of the incredibly violent and often polarizing horror franchise, however, I think if they play their cards right it could actually work.
Hostel is a horror franchise that is known for being considered straight up "torture porn", which isn't necessarily something that I would expect a service like Peacock to choose.
With that being said, as someone who has seen the Hostel movies, much like with Saw on the surface it does seem to be more or less just torture and misery porn, although I'd argue that unlike Saw they don't offer much beyond the concept and don't challenge the issues that stem from what seems to be an interesting background. Which is why I think a television series would probably do better to explore more of the lore and story behind the Elite Hunting Club, how it got started, how long it's been operating, how it has expanded its reach globally, and how it might've evolved since the last we saw of it and adapt to our current time, etc. If done well, it could actually add more depth than the movies did.
Hostel (and Saw) were a series of films that explored the human brutality and it originated as a cultural response to the War On Terror era of the Bush administration; a lot of horror movies around that time had that dark, gritty and grimy look and feel, nothing looked polished and everything felt dirty and horrific in the aesthetic. If this is to be done with the intention of being a commentary of the continued cultural influence of politics today, I think focusing on the powerful corporation elements and the millionaires and billionaires who run and join such an organization as the Elite Hunting Club. Hell, in Hostel 2 we see a victim actually joining the organization as a means of personal survival, that could also be worth exploring as well, such as people who reluctantly join or are coerced to join as a means of saving their own lives, and the lives of their loved ones.
Of course, this is just my interpretation of how I would like this to be done. Knowing our current television and media climate these days, not many services are going to be risk-takers on something like Hostel, so in order to sell it they have to make it work so that it doesn't alienate the newer and broader audiences while also attempting to keep to the core element of what the franchise is about for those fans familiar with it. Which means don't make it boring. Simply put, if the story is structured well enough it can work.
As a fan of horror, I know that not everything is going to be an easy sell for the larger broader audiences, and it's not usually a genre most want to watch on television unless it's of the right target demographic and the story and tone is interesting (see: Hannibal). It makes me wonder how they'll market this Hostel series to begin with, because even if one hasn't watched those films many know of them and their reputation.
There isn't much details since this was a mere teaser and an announcement for what's to come and I'm sure we'll get a bit more when we get closer to the time it'll be released, but I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by this. In hindsight it makes sense, considering how they had Brennan DM mini-campaigns tying into the third campaign and rotating guests at the table, which seemed like it was experimenting with the notion along with getting us prepped for the possibility of there being such a change to happen.
I do think the cast needs a breather, they've been constantly busy with not just Critical Role consistently for ten years but also other projects and their own lives outside of that as well, so the threat of burnout is quite real. Especially in regards towards Matt who hasn't really taken a break from being in the DM chair since the show started, so taking a DM backseat will most likely take a lot of pressure and stress off his shoulders. While some have speculated that Critical Role could just take a year long break with some mini campaigns in between, something I'm not opposed to and it's what we've been seeing lately, I think this move could also work. Brennan is a great DM, and although he's more used to shorter campaign runs than longer ones like Critical Role I think he'll do fine if it's planned out right. It's quite a a shift in direction, but one that I'm actually excited about.
++ There is going to be a Hostel television series in development at Peacock, a bizarre choice given the subject matter of the incredibly violent and often polarizing horror franchise, however, I think if they play their cards right it could actually work.
Hostel is a horror franchise that is known for being considered straight up "torture porn", which isn't necessarily something that I would expect a service like Peacock to choose.
With that being said, as someone who has seen the Hostel movies, much like with Saw on the surface it does seem to be more or less just torture and misery porn, although I'd argue that unlike Saw they don't offer much beyond the concept and don't challenge the issues that stem from what seems to be an interesting background. Which is why I think a television series would probably do better to explore more of the lore and story behind the Elite Hunting Club, how it got started, how long it's been operating, how it has expanded its reach globally, and how it might've evolved since the last we saw of it and adapt to our current time, etc. If done well, it could actually add more depth than the movies did.
Hostel (and Saw) were a series of films that explored the human brutality and it originated as a cultural response to the War On Terror era of the Bush administration; a lot of horror movies around that time had that dark, gritty and grimy look and feel, nothing looked polished and everything felt dirty and horrific in the aesthetic. If this is to be done with the intention of being a commentary of the continued cultural influence of politics today, I think focusing on the powerful corporation elements and the millionaires and billionaires who run and join such an organization as the Elite Hunting Club. Hell, in Hostel 2 we see a victim actually joining the organization as a means of personal survival, that could also be worth exploring as well, such as people who reluctantly join or are coerced to join as a means of saving their own lives, and the lives of their loved ones.
Of course, this is just my interpretation of how I would like this to be done. Knowing our current television and media climate these days, not many services are going to be risk-takers on something like Hostel, so in order to sell it they have to make it work so that it doesn't alienate the newer and broader audiences while also attempting to keep to the core element of what the franchise is about for those fans familiar with it. Which means don't make it boring. Simply put, if the story is structured well enough it can work.
As a fan of horror, I know that not everything is going to be an easy sell for the larger broader audiences, and it's not usually a genre most want to watch on television unless it's of the right target demographic and the story and tone is interesting (see: Hannibal). It makes me wonder how they'll market this Hostel series to begin with, because even if one hasn't watched those films many know of them and their reputation.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-05 02:48 am (UTC)I think I'm going to sit out on the Hostel TV series. I can do slashers, but I can't do torture-porn. The reviews alone of Hostel kept me away. Saw was also a hard sell. I adored Hannibal, though--but I'm a sucker for fictional serial killers who turn the bodies of their victims into art. 🤌🏻
I do have a fear that even horror productions are going to be playing it safe, though, because the economy is a wreck, so streaming and box-office flops are going to hurt.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-05 06:55 am (UTC)That's understandable, Hostel clearly isn't for everyone, which is why it's interesting how this was picked up to go into development as a television series. I'm bewildered, though curious, and a bit apprehensive for all the reasons I described.
I do have a fear that even horror productions are going to be playing it safe, though, because the economy is a wreck, so streaming and box-office flops are going to hurt.
Oh yeah, these are my concerns, as well.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-09 05:07 am (UTC)I had no idea that Hostel is going to be a series. That sounds kinda weird to be honest, especially with that "kind of plot".