There's a kind of horror that doesn't require monsters to appear right in front of you. You just need to look in the rearview mirror and realize the person who just boarded the jeepney doesn't have a normal passenger reflection. JEEP HORROR exploits that very moment to turn a seemingly familiar jeepney ride into an all-night nerve-wracking test.
Everything starts off very ordinarily. The jeepney travels along deserted roads, passengers board one by one, pay, and state their destination. The driver has to collect the right fare, give accurate change, watch gasoline and continue on the route. Nothing extraordinary till somebody begins acting weird.
In JEEP HORROR, Your Job Is to Watch
With the game, the ability to spot abnormalities is more important than the pace of the driving. You can only see the rear passenger compartment at a limited angle, and you must use the rearview mirror to inspect each passenger.
You might see a familiar face in the rear seat. A passenger could act strange. A reflection can show you something the naked eye would not instantly see. These little elements make the player look rather than just focus on the road ahead.
If you successfully spot an imposter, you need to get them off at the right stop, before it gets deadly. But the game also asks a question: are you sure you have the proper person?
Fear Is Just Behind You
JEEP HORROR makes effective use of the driver's special position. Here is a dark road. Here is a passenger compartment behind which you cannot see everything at once. The engine noise, the low light, the rapid shifts of the cabin all contribute to a persistent sensation of anxiety.
The pathways also lead from the cities to rural woodland paths. The farther you stray from familiar neighbourhoods, the more disturbing your encounters with beings from Philippine legend become.
When Horror Meets Philippines Culture
The game references Philippine culture and urban stories directly, rather than placing itself in a generic horror scenario. Jeepneys are not chosen at random, either. They are part of Philippine transportation, therefore having a jeepney driver on a midnight shift makes the situation more believable.
But you still have to do the most mundane things like checking fuel, picking up passengers and completing your journey. The usual chores create the setting for the mysterious occurrences.
That’s the fascination of JEEP HORROR, the juxtaposition between the mundane career and the creeping abnormality of the world. Every passenger that gets on the bus might just be a passerby, but it could also be a clue that tonight’s shift won’t finish the way it’s supposed to.
