Many thanks to Trademark Films for providing us early access to The Grim and the Dark for review.
Do you want your mom to understand why you paint little dudes with their intestines hanging out? Maybe she should watch this documentary.
The Grim and the Dark follows Jon Heder – best known for his role as Napoleon Dynamite – on a journey to understand the who and the why behind the aesthetic. Along the way, Heder checks out one of the coolest grimdark narrative events, chats with variety of creators / designers / authors in the space, meets with John Blanche, and plays the rad indie game 1490 Doom.
The movie opens with a dramatic retelling of Heder asking @magos_buer to recommend a tabletop game to play with his son. The two head to Asgard Games in Houston, which is in the midst of hosting the Vastarian Open Invitational. The minis, terrain, and conversations with the players catch his interest. From there, he dives headfirst into a who’s who of the grimdark scene.
Jon Heder is a pretty unlikely protagonist for a documentary about grimdark gaming. Ever since I first saw a teaser, I couldn’t get the notion of “Napoleon Dynamite gets into Warhammer” out of my head. In the end, I really enjoyed his outsider perspective. He frequently asked some manner of very direct, “Why do you do this?” question that got to the motivation for the whole endeavor. Are we trying to recreate the playsets and toys we miss? Are we confronting the futility of life by making a little world that we control? Is it just cool to kitbash a bunch of gross dudes?
There are occasional bits that feel incongruous; like a straight-up commercial for 1490 Doom in the middle of the movie, and a few over-long beats in interviews. My wife wanted to see more minis, in better lighting. If you don’t have at least some interest in the subject matter, it may not work for you as a documentary on its own. On the flip side, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and the cinematography is consistently great.
As someone who is into weirdo games, The Grim and The Dark was an incredibly validating watch. The artists, game-makers, writers, sculptors, event organizers, and the ever-expanding community come together to make something really amazing. I could happily listen to Matty Knuckles or Ana Polanšćak talk about inspiration and process for 90 minutes. Even 40k fans who haven’t dug deeper into the odd corners of the hobby will find plenty to enjoy here – exploring the DNA of early Games Workshop and the origin of the setting’s atmosphere.
Watching Jon Heder’s reaction to getting repeatedly diced is worth the price of admission alone.
You can purchase streaming access to the movie at the Trademark Films website. They plan to make it available on VOD at a later date.
If the weirdo, grimdark kitbash game sort of thing catches your eye, get involved! Find someone at your club that plays Necropolis 28. Attend an event like Under the Dice Fest / New England Mordheim Open, Arcanecon, Logan Squares hangs in the Chicago area… or join the In Rust We Trust discord, and look for a local group of sickos.
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