Darkest Night | Conspiracy Horror Audio Drama will have you looking over your shoulder.

 "A.G: According to the retinal terminus theory a dying person's last conscience image is burned into the back of their eyeball much like a photograph. Perhaps there is a clue there. I give you Morton's last image. 

Cpt. J. W. That's A. Man's. Head" - Wild Wild West (1999)

"Welcome to the Darkest Night. Today we are unveiling Project Cyclops. The center's most ambitious venture to date. With Project Cyclops not only are we able to discover the secrets behind a man's death we have developed a method to relive the very last moments of their life/ The Darkest Night will reveal that secrets have become a relic of the past and free will is just an illusion" - Darkest Night Trailer

Darkest Night is a binaural audio drama podcast created by The Paragon Collective. It is narrated by Lee Pace and features the acting talents of Brynn Langford(Katie Reed), Denis O'Hare(Dr. John Kinsler), and Callie Schuttera(Vivian Lobdow) For a full list of Cast and Crew

It's Katie Reed's first day at the Roth-Lobdow Center for Advanced Research working on Project Cyclops. She will be the assistant for one Dr. John Kinsler, a long time member of the center who will be retiring in a couple of months, (well 47 days but who's counting). The work they will be doing however well that's a bit different. First of all, that's a human head and second, the memories that they are uncovering seem to be pointing towards a Center-wide conspiracy involving unethical human testing, a mysterious formula, and a lot, (and I mean a lot), of violent and possible supernatural murders. Are the stories connected? Is Project Cyclops a Placebo and Katie and John the subjects? If everyone signed a NDA why are these sessions being recorded? Besides the narrative aspects, the show is also binaural, (e.g the show is presented in surround sound as if the listener was in the room that the action was occuring in), and features a surprisingly star-studded cast of guest voice actors. 

The show is episodic with each "Chapter" delving into the final moments of the dearly departed. While the majority of the episode deals with this flashback there are short scenes at the beginning and end which help to give background and context to the developing arc. The bridge narrative is at best sparse but manages to flow well as its supplemented by the more abstract worldbuilding of the episodic content. At the same time the show the plot can become a bit complicated, (not like Tanis complicated but y'know), that being said by the finale the stray threads of the conspiracy are ironed into place. Like any anthology series the quality is based on the average. Personally, while I found some episodes to pack a bit less of a punch (namely "The Saber Formulation" and  "Tic-Tac-Toe"), others such as "Camp Bethlehem" and "The Will Reading" bolstered the season and creeped me the fuck out. Regardless each chapter of the first season was a solid sordid tale. DN excels at the conspiracy plot storyline and provides a fantastic episodic experience similar to Season 1 of Paul Bae's The Black Tapes Podcast. 

While it's not hard to find an A-list Celebrity on a podcast, (I mean that's why interview podcasts are a thing), it's less likely to have them appear as a guest star in audio dramas. Besides Lee Pace other notable celebrities include Rupaul, Denis O'Hare,(of AHS fame), and NoSleep's David Cummings, (he plays Clinton Lobdow in the first episode).A show is not made on the back's of the cast pedigree; However the familiar voices in the casting are yet another indicator of the high production quality the show exhibits. Besides the more familiar faces DN employs a slew of fantastic voice actors whose vocal acumen is tested by the intense action of the show. No matter who's at bat, (or croquet mallet rather), in the sound booth the cast delivers with a frighting, gory, and downright satisfying delivery. 

Darkest Night is one of those podcasts that should only be listened to with headphones. With the amount of effort put into its binaural design listening to this production without stated ear cozies would be like watching a 3D movie without a pair of heterochromatic glasses. For the sake of the review, (and a little bit for fun), I listened to a few episodes in the car on my morning commute to see if the effects of the show could be realized with a literal surround sound system. While the panning and effects where accurately transcribed to my cars speakers I felt that the effect of the story was diluted. Darkest Night is a intimate Audio Drama that makes you want to look over your shoulder even through you know there is nothing there. When you listen through headphones your brain can understand the relative location of the sounds through auditory depth perception and the podcast is designed with that focal point in mind. When listening through a mono speaker or through a different type of sound system the focal point is thrown off damaging the vermilitude of the piece. Besides the innovative sound design DN has some of the best produced foley work in the realm of podcasting especially giving the time frame. (DN came out in 2016. For comparison Alice isn't Dead came out the same year which while being well written contained only serviceable foley work. The next podcast I have heard that has matched DN level of immersion would be Gimlet's Sandra which came out 2 years later in 2018). Darkest Night to this day is still one of most immersive and intense audio dramas I have listened to and the ridiculous amount of polish in the sound design is what makes DN such a scary show. 

Darkest Night is a fantastic audio drama that should be the next on the list for anyone who is a fan of horror or conspiracy shows and podcasts. Amazing sound design, a star-studded cast, and a complex but well crafted plot bring together a horror podcast that will stick with you long after you've taken out your earbuds. 

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