The trailer for HBO’s The Last of Us revealed a significant hurdle the creators may face.
Based on a 2013 video game, The Last of Us tells a horror-filled post-pandemic story where zombie-like monsters have taken over the planet. It is up to the last few humans to try and survive this hellhole and rebuild it from scratch.
Like all other creatives adapted from video games, The Last of Us can also fall prey to some patent pitfalls of this ordeal.
One major problem is the notoriously dark setting of the game which can create problems if adapted into the series. While obscure interiors create a general horror ambiance, too much twilight can make the scene difficult to understand.
The dim visuals look great in a video game where the obscurity creates the dopamine rush needed to keep one hooked. But having to alter the screen’s brightness to understand what’s going on in a scene doesn’t sound good, does it?
That doesn’t mean that the creators can switch the scene time from night to day. In narratives like this, a dark ambiance adds to the tension and creates a sense of anxiety in the audience’s minds. This is what holds the series together
For example, the show needs these dark visuals to highlight the features of the zombies, which will be all the more terrifying when revealed from the nadirs of darkness. All these necessities make it clear that The Last of Us needs darkness to make sense.
It is a familiar caveat, though. Creatives like Batman, Harry Potter, and the Half-Blood Prince, and Game of Thrones season 8 have all suffered from the same problem where the dim visuals have made it difficult to comprehend many essential scenes.
So, the creators need to tap into this atavistic fear of humans without overdoing it. Fortunately, the trailer makes us believe that they have been able to pull that off.
Watch the trailer here:
Most of the scenes in the trailer have dim lighting, but it never gets visually monotonous. The dark scenes are well contrasted by daylight without hampering the general mood of the trailer.
Moreover, the clip has also used powerful background lighting when depicting pitch-black environments. The lights seep into the foreground and create an eerie atmosphere.
A very good depiction of this is the above scene. The dazzling fire in the background perfectly compensates for the dark aura. The silhouette of the approaching zombie against the fire creates a setting worth watching twice!
These scenes suggest that the show is well aware of this hurdle and has ensured that we don’t have to adjust our screen brightness every now and then!
The cat-and-mouse game between light and darkness makes for a great horror series. While dim lighting is paramount for creating tension, it must also be sprinkled with contrasting, brighter elements to keep the scenes visually appealing.
Hopefully, HBO has addressed this issue, and we will see some bombastic zombie action next year!
About The Last Of Us
The Last of Us is an HBO TV series adaptation of the award-winning video game of the same name originally developed by Naughty Dog.
It is set in 2033, as a fungal infestation plagues humans, turning them feral and blind before finally finishing them off. The series follows Joel’s journey to escort an immune 14-year-old Ellie to the Fireflies, who hope to study her to procure a vaccine.
The cast comprises Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, both famed for their roles in Games of Thrones, along with Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, and Nico Parker. The show was renewed for season 2.
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