Bringing it way back here, but was anyone else as pleasantly surprised by The Darkness as I was? If so, don’t play the sequel.
Anyway, The Darkness was a game developed by Vin Diesel’s video game company (I kid you not), and was based off a comic book of the same name. It was about a young man named Jackie Estacado, who, long story short, gets possessed by a demon and goes on a killing spree to avenge his girlfriend, Jenny, who his mob boss uncle executed in front of him.
The key element that makes this scene work is, in an odd twist, there is a moment when you sit and watch a movie with Jenny earlier in the game, and there is just something so realistic about it. It feels like a moment you would spend with your significant other, watching an old movie, curled up the couch (and on a funny side note, if you stay there and watch it long enough in real time with her, you get an achievement). So you bond with this character.
And then your fat pig on an uncle (who I like to call Uncle F**ker), blows her brains out right in front of you, and you can’t do anything to stop him.
I know there are PLENTY of scenes in popular fiction where major characters die, but somehow, this felt different. What is great is her death sets up the second half of the game, when you have all your powers, and you feel GENUINE rage as you rip all these people apart, trying to get to your uncle and destroy him for what he took from you.
But still, that single moment, when he leans her against the glass and blows her brains everywhere, it is an emotionally manipulative, gut-wrenching moment, but it is one that sort of always stays with you. And outside of Michael Haneke, very few directors are willing to “go there” when it comes to pulling a move like this, but as this and the last game on the list proves, not all the scenes need to be giant water cooler moments for them to surpass Hollywood. In this case, it just human emotion that wins out.
Inevitably, some of you may think my choices suck, but that is the beauty of an opinion piece, it is just an opinion. Take to the comments and let me know what moments beat movies for you.