Steven Nguyen Scaife
polygon.com
Columbus, OH, United States
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Past articles by Steven:
Metal Gear Solid 5 mashes up with Spelunky for one of 2023’s most rewarding roguelikes
Mr. Sun’s Hatbox lets you manage a rogue paramilitary operation, AKA a delivery system for a company called “Amazin” that must retrieve stolen packages. It combines the goofy air balloon recruitment mechanic from Metal Gear Solid 5 and the daring 2D platforming of Spelunky. → Read More
Phantom Brigade can’t convey the nuances of its own subversive mech combat
The hybrid tactics game on PC, which was released on Feb. 28, features intricate combat between hulking robots. But it struggles to explain its own systems. → Read More
The Harbinger finally gives us a COVID horror movie worth watching
The best horror movies about isolation and fear of disease are more than just reflections of ordinary fears, and The Harbinger shows why — like so many COVID-era movies, it draws on anxiety about disease, but the imagery goes deeper. In theaters and on VOD and digital Dec. 2. → Read More
There’s fascinating drama underneath Nanny’s obligatory Blumhouse scares
Anna Diop and Michelle Monaghan star in Nanny, a compelling immigrant story full of horror-movie visions and racial tension in the spirit of Get Out and His House. Debuts in theaters Nov. 23; streaming on Amazon Video Dec. 16. → Read More
'Pentiment' Review: A Murder Mystery for History Buffs
Where 'Pentiment' departs from so many other mystery games is in how close the protagonist is to the action. → Read More
'My Father’s Dragon' Review: A Kid-Friendly Softball
The hot streak for Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon cools with director Nora Twomey’s 'My Father’s Dragon.' → Read More
With Something in the Dirt, The Endless’ directors deconstruct themselves to death
Moon Knight, Synchronic, and Netflix’s Archive 81 directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead disappear into a meta conspiracy theory in Something in the Dirt, an amiable hangout movie and meta conspiracy theory that floats away on its own gas. In theaters on Nov. 4, and available on VOD on Nov. 20. → Read More
Terrifier 2’s viral villain Art the Clown is the exact opposite of ‘elevated horror’
Terrifier 2 started as a small release, but it’s gradually gaining infamy and expanding into more theaters on the strength of David Howard Thornton’s performance as killer mime Art the Clown. Here’s why the exploitative Terrifier movies and shorts have such an impact in the “elevated horror” era. → Read More
Xbox’s horror exclusive Scorn can’t transcend its Giger-inspired visuals
Scorn, the first-person survival-horror game on Xbox Game Pass, has grotesque visuals in its H.R. Giger-inspired world, but its gameplay gradually loses momentum → Read More
‘Entergalactic’ Review: Kid Cudi's Dispiritingly Earthbound World
Rather than feeling grounded in its everyday struggles, ‘Entergalactic’ comes across more like a black hole of imagination. Read our review. → Read More
In Season Two, Undone Expands Its Scope and Loses Its Air of Ambiguity
Nuanced dilemmas quickly fade into the background as Undone adopts a more straightforward format in its second season. → Read More
That Dirty Black Bag Review: A Spaghetti Western with a Sluggish Narrative Pulse
That Dirty Black Bag sets the stage for an explosion of conflict, but it’s easy to wish that it took less time to pick up steam. → Read More
What the best found-footage stories all have in common that Archive 81 misses
By Archive 81’s ending, it has all but abandoned the found footage horror that defined the early episodes. Here’s what the best found-footage horror movies look like, and what kind of tradition they’re trying to uphold. → Read More
Review: Chucky Is a Gruesome, Surprisingly Insightful Coming-of-Age Story
‘Chucky’ walks a fascinating tonal tightrope as a funny, absurd series that engenders sympathy as well as shock. Read our review. → Read More
Review: Season Two of Tuca & Bertie Easily Flips Between the Topical and the Surreal
The series alternates between internal reflection and bizarre comedy, one impossible to imagine without the other. → Read More
Can The Witcher and The Mandalorian survive streaming culture?
The two episodic-but-not series challenge old and new traditions → Read More
Undone follows a rich tradition of deliberate rotoscope animation
Rotoscope animation is often seen as a reluctant but necessary tool in animation. But things like Undone showcase the medium’s full aesthetic potential. With video games like The Last Express and movies like A Scanner Darkly setting a standard for rotoscoping in animation. → Read More
What every anthology series can learn from the wild anime, Space Dandy
Shinichiro Watanabe’s unpredictable space opera lacks a unifying brand, allowing it to highlight collaborator’s voices and cover immense thematic ground in 26 episodes. → Read More
Review: HBO’s O.G. Mistakes Ambiguity for Profundity
The HBO film’s ostensible authenticity does little to add dramatic heft to its stock character moments. → Read More
True Detective: Season Three
True Detective: Season Three TV Review by Steven Scaife → Read More