Image Source: Gemini Home Entertainment’s “Shifting Tendons”
“Gemini Home Entertainment” is a 19-episode horror series created on the YouTube channel of the same name, with the first episode being uploaded back on November 17, 2019. The series sets us in the 20th Century and features bodily, cosmic, and analog horror. “Gemini Home Entertainment” tells of the arrival of an eye-shaped sentient planet named “The Iris”, and the extraterrestrial invasion it launches on Earth, sending parasitic creatures and diseases across our solar system. This series’ episodes start with varying subjects, some being educational, advertisements, or random home videos, and while their core subjects are vastly different, they all wrap together to document the impending end of the world.
“Gemini Home Entertainment” excels at creating a complex narrative that gives enough information for the audience to understand the plot and foreshadowing while not making the series too predictable. The creators display an understanding of unnerving themes, and while the series isn’t scary in the traditional sense, it is undoubtedly disturbing and unsettling. Seeing human bodies get mutated and mutilated beyond recognition pokes a certain part in the brain as it forces us to sympathize with the creatures that were once human.
Throughout “Gemini Home Entertainment”, we are introduced to the many types of aliens the “Iris” sent to Earth, namely “The Root”, “Fake People”, and “Woodcrawlers”. “The Root” is a strand-like parasite that starts as a bulb on the host’s skin before extending its roots into the host’s bones, eventually assimilating and immobilizing the victim. The victim’s body then begins to mutate, rendering it into a vaguely humanoid mass of nerves, tendons, and veins, all the while keeping the host alive and aware throughout the process. The host becomes a “Nature’s Mockery” before breaking apart and releasing another creature from their insides. While currently unknown, these creatures are suspected to be “Woodcrawlers”, organisms that burrow under family homes before attacking and converting their victims into “Fake People”, stiff humanoid husks that scream for help to attract more humans, and in turn, victims.
Starting in 2019, “Gemini Home Entertainment” was something new, but it only really gained popularity during and after the pandemic when people had more time to themselves. The series started rough around the edges but was quickly refined as it gained a reputation, allowing the creators to explore more creative outlooks and strategies, improving their production and editing quality.
Overall, “Gemini Home Entertainment” is a classic analog horror series that has withstood the test of time, becoming bigger and better as the years passed. The complex narrative and use of foreshadowing engage the viewer and encourage them to find the truth for themselves while still keeping the necessary sense of mystery. The sickening sounds, videos, and images this series presents unnerve every sense of the body, and combined with the creators’ in-depth understanding of worldbuilding, “Gemini Home Entertainment” sets its reputation in stone.
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