I Thought Of This Last Night But Forgot To Say It So I'll Just Type It Now Before I Forget Again:

I thought of this last night but forgot to say it so I'll just type it now before I forget again:

I had a little idea for a SM-style thumbnail for Echoed Shrieks: the Tree Banshee is in the background front and center, and there are tall trees at her sides behind the kids

Jaune is on the far left aiming at something with her slingshot, John is far right nervously looking at something off camera, and Frank is center with Lila and Shawn next to him, all three looking at a filled candy bucket Frank is holding. Lila and Shawn are surprised/in awe while Frank is smugly satisfied

I can see it really vividly!

You did a great job of capturing the SM thumbnail vibe!

Maybe we could commission it to promote ES.

As if Mimzy wasn't already one of my ideal women, in both appearance and personality,

She has a Mammon tattoo.

Either Mam is the one she borrowed money from, or she's a fangirl. Whatever's the right answer, I adore her.

Ramses Recommends : The monsters of Rodrigo Sousa's "Playground" trailer

This is gonna be the first of a new bred of post around here called Ramses Recommends, where I give a brief, spoiler free argument on why a piece of media deserves more attention before doing a deep dive into a particularly notable aspect of it for those who are cool with spoilers.

Our first subject is a proof of concept video on you tube titled "Playground I trailer", meant as a way for the short's France based creator to pitch the setting for a potential series or film and possibly a video game in the future, which, I'm happy to say, has worked.

Sousa's been contacted by a group willing to produce an animated.... something in the Playground world. The full project is still in early stages, but Rodrigo has confirmed he'll show more as soon as he can.

Spoiler-free Synopsis: We get several peeks into the struggle of kids in a monster filled ecosystem in a massive, liminal, jungle-gym like structure.

If what you've read so far peaks your interest, check the short here. And going further, the behind the scenes can be found here.

SPOLIER SEGMENT AHEAD

Now, for those who came back, or just decided to read on, let's get into the real meat and taters of this thing, the monsters populating this world.

I'll give my 2 cents on each design and give them a name, for convenience in discussion, if for nothing else.

Scuttleface

Off to a fairly typical start, two siblings (who we follow for most of the short) are hiding in a large dragon(?) statue and as one looks out the mouth/balcony, this critter comes by and open his main peepers.

Not much to say about this thing, among the more tame designs.

Stoplight Man

As the thumbnail, this guy is somewhat of the de facto mascot of Playground.

Stalking a tunnel maze, this ghoul spins his face in his skull to reveal a glowing grinning grimace. Any kid caught in the light best not move until the face spins again. Otherwise...

...Yeah

Blanket Eel

The kids hide under a "sea floor" of blankets while this blushing fish listlessly glides over them.

Nothing special, but I like it's little nose and scraggy hair, they add some character.

Pool Noodle

What else was I supposed to call this guy?

The same siblings who seemingly escaped the eel are now on a freaky duck floaty boat and starring down this lovely fellow.

Noodle doesn't actually move, but his intestine like namesakes slink through the waters of his tiled domain.

Also, his face vaguely looks like a dick tip and I can't tell if that's a "peeing in the pool" joke.

The Ballpit Babies

This sole shot is all we get of these eggs, but they're clustering together evokes a ballpit and reminds me of Muncher Marathon from DKCR, which is a good thing for any horror media.

Night Lights

The siblings get a moment's rest as they watch this precession of cutesy crittters.

My absolute favorite is the little shrink-wrapped lizard. Does it grow in water, I wonder?

Blanky Banshee

This madam wanders an extra decrepit party place. The glow in the dark stickers littering the place fitting her eye motif.

Weirdly, her abdomen seems to be made of exposed guts and her nose resembles the Blanket Eel. I can't help but ponder the possible connection.

And a brief moment of silence for the kid who shined a flashlight on this thing.

Big Bad Baby-Bat-Barfing Bug-Bat Beast

The least uncanny/liminal monster, not that that's much comfort.

The siblings barrel towards this thing in a fish shaped minecart, as the older kid bats bats out of the air with a mallet.

This particular domain seems to be the most foreign to the rest, meaning that I'm really excited to see more of it in the full Plaground.

Jim Jungle and his Shape Pals

This isn't actually how we meet Jim, but I love his spidery behavior matches his monkey bar abode.

When we see him chase the siblings, he unleashes the three shapes on his stomach as smaller arachnophobia generators to catch them.

I'd say he ties with Stoplight Man for iconographic value.

Cuddly

Still brandishing the mallet, the older sibling jumps off a trampoline towards this creepily baby like kraken.

And we get this:

RIP

The Monster Under The Bed

We don't see anymore of this little doofus than this shot, but it feels oddly... Friendly.

It doesn't feel righ to imagine this guy to be one of the boogimen here, despite his complexion.

And lastly,

Uncle Krampus

Even though his lore probably doesn't exist yet, I NEED IT!

Despite being dragged away by him, the younger sibling doesn't seem be wiling to put up much of a fight. Is he just a strict but still benevolent presence, one that keeps kids save here?

His fanny pack, bells and realistic, relatively unassuming pitchfork create the impression of a knowledgeable guide through this strange place.

Definitely the monster I want to see more of the most.

So there you have it, the first Ramses Recommends. I hope you loved it and loved it's subject, until next time, play safe ;)

The Bob Guy Death Pose

Oh yea I forgot to say this earlier:

I think it'd be funny if Fat Thief had his own "Barry Moment" and was surprisingly clever for a couple minutes

Either that, or Keith has the other kind of Barry moment where he shows that he's surprisingly capable of violence more than Burton.

Love the idea either way!

My boy!

More like Precious, am I right?

A snake damned humanity.

And a snake gave humanity it’s best shot at redemption.