i really do love the style of the podcast and i think that the tape recorder stuff is very creative and works incredibly well for the start of the podcast especially, as it really fits that early vibe where there’s still the fear of the unknowing and that’s emphasised by just the sheer amount of setting that the listener just does not know, and it’s fun to piece together all the statements and there’s just that general like exciting detective vibe.

that being said, i think it’s also a reason why some of the character writing feels less appealing to me, as we only hear snippets of the worst parts of their lives and whatever small details happen to be caught on a tape that’s focused on something bigger.

i can’t exactly tell how much of this is intentional, but, to be fair, it’s especially interesting with Sasha, as while she’s a tragic concept, it feels less devastating as she is so defined by tragedy in all that we hear from or about her - she’s so defined by the absence of humanity that it makes it more difficult to think of her as a full character, and rather just a symbol of the horror and the supernatural that can exist in this universe, as the not!them is genuinely a chilling concept. the media used works so well with Sasha as we don’t know anything about her, and we’re not meant to. but i still do wonder if the concept would be more effective if we did know her a little more, and therefore if we could feel the loss like the characters could, rather than just seeing the fallout and with her turning into more of a forgotten cautionary tale.

it feels a little less effective and a little less deliberate with some of the other characters, when the excuses for the tape recorder being there during character interactions feels flimsy (because like why would The Web want to hear coworker gossip?) and it can just feel like we’re being handed random information, especially when we get statements about character backgrounds that don’t really even apply to the fears at all. like no hate to martin specifically but dude i don’t want to hear about your issues with your mum i came here for a supernatural horror podcast this doesn’t creep me out at all 🥀