Let me tell you a story of broken people, beautiful people. The story of a horror series on YouTube known as The Walten Files.
There are only four main episodes out as of right now and two more on the way for season one. There are also three side episodes that, although short, are very interesting and help to clarify and add to information presented in the main episodes.
There is no amount of words that can convey my love for this series. Its story, its eerily uncanny art style and its choice of music are all so well crafted. Throughout each video the animation and the storytelling only get better as the creator, Martin Walls, progressively improves over time.
The series starts off by introducing the viewer to the main/core setting of the series. It’s 1974 and a new animatronic burger joint by the name of Bon’s Burgers is set to open in a couple weeks.
There are a multitude of animatronics at this location such as Bon the bunny, Banny the bunny, Sha the sheep, Boozoo the human and Billy the clown.
The first episode doesn’t contain too much story wise other than two key plot points shown over the course of each episode. The first plot point being the disappearance of Jack Walten, one of the owners of Bon’s Burgers alongside Felix Kranken. Even to this day his whereabouts are still unknown and all we can really do at the moment is theorize where he is and what may have happened to him.
The second plot point being Sophie. It is alluded in the episode that the Bon animatronic is looking for Sophie. At the end of the episode it is shown that Bon is trying to kill Sophie as, during the episode, a worker named Brain Stells is sent to inspect the animatronics at the K-9 Facility, where Bon’s Burgers memorabilia is being stored. He is shortly after chased and killed by the Bon animatronic, believing him to be her.
Following this, episode two is filled with a lot of horrifying imagery that keeps the viewer on edge. From the distorted, elongated face of Bunny Smiles Incorporated’s lead technician, Susan Woodings, inside the Banny animatronic, to the disfigured and bloodied face of Ashley Parks, a Bunny Smiles technician,inside the Billy animatronic, I constantly felt unsettled.
Other than the horrific imagery within this episode there are also several major plot points revealed. Such as the previously mentioned deaths, the death of Rosemary Walten (Jack’s wife) and how she possesses Sha, the reveal of a motif of “beauty” and a list of names.
The previously mentioned motif is shown several times throughout the series. After the death of Rosemary and Ashley, dialogue is given showing that whoever is inside Bon finds the murders they have committed to be beautiful. They seem to have this belief that by killing people and putting them into these new suits for their souls to inhabit, in turn, makes them beautiful.
There is alluded to be something else as well. This is conveyed through the tape found at the end of the episode. When inserted into the tape player in the Billy of animatronic, a list of names were stated. A sound is played alongside each name as if confirming their death, however when it gets to Sophie a sound is played alluding to her being alive still.
This is confirmed in the next episode where we are introduced to Sophie Walten and her girlfriend, Jenny Letterson. During this episode, Sophie plays through Bunny Farm (a game based on the Bon’s Burgers’ cast of characters). Through this episode we witness as Sophie learns of the death of each person inside the suits.
In this episode, more details about Boozoo who is possessed by Charles, but as to how and when he was killed is still unknown and may very well be revealed in the next upcoming episode of this series.
During this episode we are shown probably what I would consider the most terrifying and convincing drunk driving PSA I have ever seen.
In the episode, we are shown that Felix, Jack’s best friend and co-owner of the Bon’s Burgers restaurant, has a drinking problem and his wife left him as a result. Jack did not know of this and had asked Felix to pick up Edd and Molly to a school party as he, Rosemary and Sophie were all busy. When bringing the kids back Felix was heavily drunk and accidentally crashed the car into a forest.
Images begin to flash on screen showing the kids’ disfigured faces and Felix panicking having realized what he has just done. Out of fear, he buried them in the forest. Jack called Felix over 70 times that night asking where his kids were at, but Felix never answered. The kids’ spirits went on to possess a gray rabbit doll named Rocket, made for them by Felix and Jack.
This whole scene was amazing! I mean what happened was horrible but the storytelling was amazing. The use of the flashing imagery, never showing the actual full scene, conveyed the terror of what had happened all the more impactful.
The episode ends with all the animatronics appearing on screen. The Bon animatronic is shown to have a visible reaction to the death of Edd and Molly, as if he is somehow affiliated with the kids.
This is where I leave this off as well. The Walten Files is such a well crafted and amazing horror series that I would definitely suggest giving a watch when given the chance and if you are into horror.
Currently the season finale of the first season is underway with the first part being released in a couple of weeks as of writing this.
As shown with the release of episode four, the animation and horror has vastly improved since the release of three nearly two years ago. From the bottom of my heart, I can’t wait to see what lies in store for the future of this series!