How David Fincher and Zach Cregger shaped Netflix’s ‘Unhinged’ game
On today’s episode of the ‘Daily Variety’ podcast: VarietyJennifer Maas explains how notable directors David Fincher and Zach Cregger helped shape Netflix’s ambitious new property ‘Unhinged,’ a video game that plays like a TV series and uses your smartphone as the controller.
“Unhinged” marks a level up for Netflix in the creative ambition for its line of video games. It was produced by the Night School game studio that Netflix acquired in 2021 as it ramped up its gaming activity. Maas explains that Netflix wants to keep players engaged with their big TV screens for as long as possible and that ‘Unhinged’ is a design that serves as a hybrid between a game and a TV series.
“They’ve mainly been experimenting with mobile games. And just this past month they launched a FIFA World Cup game – that was their first big thing that you could play on a TV,” says Maas. “And then came ‘Unhinged’. Very different genre, completely, of a FIFA game. But both are connected in the sense that Netflix wants you to play on the TV or on your computer, but with your phone as a controller. So you don’t have a traditional game controller, but you also don’t play a mobile game.”
And in fact, the phone’s functions are involved as part of the gameplay.
“One of the cool things they can do is you use your phone like a phone during this game. You take fake calls on it, you see text messages on it, and it’s still your remote that helps you find your way,” says Maas. “They make it really easy for you to just get into the game and not have to worry about everything you need to know to play a traditional video game. They want to make it really easy for you to play their games with your phone.”
Fincher, who launched Netflix into the original content game in 2013 with the drama series “House of Cards,” and Cregger kept their involvement in the game secret until Maas’ reported on their involvement. Otherwise, things become subdued in the end credits of “Unhinged,” where the two receive a thank you at the end. The title also features notable stars Zoë Kravitz and Sadie Sink in voice roles.
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