Since its release in March, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become something of an online phenomenon, with players doing everything from creating a wedding ceremony (to get around COVID lockdown restrictions) to Hong Kong residents using the game to share messages of protest. Now YouTube user OOstin has taken the game, usually cute and cheerful, into much darker territory by creating a horror movie from in-game action.
Entitled "A Sea Bass For All Seasons," the three and a half minute movie took OOstin and his girlfriend 200 hours, and over two months, to complete. It follows the story of a fisherman with a vendetta against Sea Bass, and the consequences that follow, all made using in-game footage from Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
In typical horror fashion, we start with the fisherman striving to catch every Sea Bass he can, but gradually we see the Sea Bass looking to take their revenge. Although there have been a number of darker creations made previously using Animal Crossing: New Horizons (including hosting the show Survivor, and building a creepy location called "Horror Island"), "A Sea Bass For All Seasons" is one of the first attempts to create an actual horror story, following a trailer made by YouTuber Evil Imp in May.
Unlike much of the popular Animal Crossing: New Horizons fan content, "A Sea Bass For All Seasons" isn't just using the empty space of the deserted island to recreate a location or TV show (Popular examples include the National Park Town from Pokemon Gold, Silver, & Crystal, Onett from the Mother series, and even the quiz show Deal or No Deal), it creates and shares something completely new.
As with all fan made content, the movie is built within the limitations of what can be achieved in the (albeit very creatively flexible) game - but in that regard, "A Sea Bass For All Seasons" does a great job of utilizing the game to build an atmosphere of tension. Featuring smart editing and a well-thought-out approach to the visuals, including a lovely montage of the seasons passing by as the fisherman follows his Sea Bass vendetta. Indeed, many viewers on Reddit and YouTube are already asking OOstin to make a sequel, which, being a horror movie, is inevitable.
Of course, fan content such as this isn't for everyone - but the positive reaction so far, suggests that Animal Crossing: New Horizons players (and other gamers) are enjoying seeing such creativity stem from the game. If creators can keep the content at the same level as "A Sea Bass For All Seasons", then it's unlikely that fans will lose interest any time soon.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out now for Nintendo Switch.