The television horror anthology series “Creepshow” featured an episode titled “Night of the Living Late Show” that showcased a fascinating and disturbing portrayal of immersive virtual reality technology. The episode centers around the Immersopod, a unique VR system that allows users to enter and interact with the world of any movie they choose.
The Immersopod’s hardware setup is reminiscent of a tanning bed, with the user lying down while wearing a VR headset. A joystick is provided for interaction within the virtual environment. It’s unclear if the joystick controls all movement or serves as an escape mechanism/off switch. A rack server is sitting next to the device, I suppose to indicate computational power required for an AI to dynamically insert you into existing 2D movies.
Interestingly, the Immersopod’s 2D user interface strongly resembles that of the popular streaming service Netflix. This familiarity is a smart design choice, as it taps into users’ existing mental models and expectations, making the experience feel more intuitive and accessible despite the novel technology being a 3D world.
What sets the Immersopod apart from current real-world VR systems is the extreme level of immersion it provides. Users don’t just visually and audibly experience the movie world, but can physically interact with and even form relationships with the characters. Most shockingly, injuries sustained within the virtual environment carry over to the user’s physical body in the real world. This raises questions about the level of neurological and sensory connection between the user and the virtual environment, and highlights the potential ethical and safety concerns around a VR system that can cause real physical harm.
The idea of being able to enter and participate in classic movies is undeniably appealing, and the Immersopod takes this concept to its logical extreme. However, the episode also plays on common anxieties and tropes around VR technology. When the protagonist becomes trapped inside the system, unable to exit or escape, it echoes numerous other cautionary tales about the dangers of immersive virtual worlds. Not super original.
“Night of the Living Late Show” offers a thought-provoking exploration of the potential dark side of highly immersive VR. While the Immersopod itself is a fictional creation, it extrapolates from current trends in VR technology to imagine a future where the lines between the virtual and the real are blurred to a disturbing degree. As VR continues to advance and become more sophisticated, the questions raised by this “Creepshow” episode around safety, ethics, and the psychological impacts of immersion are well worth considering.
