There have been some wonderful animated movies for virtual reality (VR) audiences over the last few years, from the now defunct Oculus Story Studio with Dear Angelica or Penrose Studios’ Allumette, to Bonfire and Invasion! by Baobab Studios. Last year Gloomy Eyes made its first appearance at several film festivals including Sundance, winning plenty of awards in the process. It has just been announced that the VR animation will soon be publicly available for a range of headsets.
Gloomy Eyes is a three-part poetic love story between a zombie boy and a human girl in a sunless town.
“When the sun grew tired of humanity, it hid, never by to rise again. This darkness awoke the dead from their graves. In the midst of chaos, a zombie kid named Gloomy and a mortal girl, Nena, fall in love and form a deep connection that not even the most powerful man in town can destroy. Together, the star‐crossed lovers from different planes of existence may hold the key to bring light to the endless night,” explains the synopsis.
Created by ARTE in collaboration with French co‐producer Atlas V and Fernando Maldonado and Jorge Tereso (writers and directors, 3DAR) and Santiago Amigorena (co‐writer), Gloomy Eyes is narrated by Colin Farrell (English version) Tahar Rahim (French version), Max Riemelt (German version) or Jorge Drexler (Spanish version).
Inspired by Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Gloomy Eyes will be available for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest from 14th February 2020, retailing for $14.99 USD. If you happen to be a Viveport Infinity subscriber then you’ll already find the animated series on the service. ARTE Cinema’s official YouTube channel will also host an official 360-degree version for free.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Gloomy Eyes and all the latest VR animation offerings, reporting back with further announcements.