History NightmareFuel / TheAngryVideoGameNerd

--->"Alright, Let's flip that shit switch and crank up that diarrhea dial. I got Dark Castle on [[PunctuatedForEmphasis C! D!]] ('cue hellish flames and a very serious DeathGlare.') [[VoiceOfTheLegion IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII]]!!!!"

--->"Alright, Let's flip that shit switch and crank up that diarrhea dial. I got Dark Castle on [[PunctuatedForEmphasis C! D!]] Cue hellish flames and a very serious DeathGlare. [[VoiceOfTheLegion IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII]]!!!!"

--->"Alright, Let's flip that shit switch and crank up that diarrhea dial. I got Dark Castle on [[PunctuatedForEmphasis C! D!]] [[VoiceOfTheLegion IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII]]!!!!" Cue hellish flames and a very serious DeathGlare.

* ''[[Franchise/{{Shrek}} Shrek Fairytale Freakdown]]'' is a pretty unnerving episode, being an homage to Film/TheWickerMan1973. It starts with the Nerd BoundAndGagged in a dark shed with torture equipment and Shrek shrines, being approached by a cultist in a Shrek mask. While he manages to free himself, he quickly gets exposed by the Shrek-cultists. The plan from the Shrek-cult leader is to sacrifice the Nerd in a giant wooden Shrek. [[DownerEnding The episode ends with the Nerd burning alive in the wooden Shrek statue.]] That said, [[LightmareFuel the 3D dancing skeleton at the end takes the edge off.]]

* The subject of [[MilestoneCelebration Episode 150]]: ''VideoGame/{{Polybius}}'' took the horror of the ''Berenstain Bears'' episode to new levels, and takes the cake as the darkest ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' episode. It's similar to a found footage horror film in the likes of ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' or ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''.

** Arguably the worst part is how subtle it is; James clearly has a good understanding of psychological horror, and it shows. The Nerd's descent is very subtle, and doesn't really start to sink in until Day 3. At first, he just describes it as an average, boring arcade game, then gradually his opinion of it improves; all throughout this, he keeps the screen hidden to avoid transmitting any effects to the viewer (though he's highly skeptical that such effects exist and he's only doing it as a precaution, constantly remarking that [[TemptingFate he doesn't feel any side-effects from the game]]). It's not until this line on Day 2 that things begin to take a turn for the worse (keep in mind that, before the cut, the Nerd said he would play one more round and then go home to upload the day's footage):

** Less scary when you take into thought that the supposed SlasherSmile at the end is actually the Nerd {{corpsing}} at the last second.

* Partway through the ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' episode, the Nerd reaches Poo's [[TrainingFromHell Mu Training]] and, somehow, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou begins to]] ''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou personally experience]]'' [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the training himself.]] As the training goes on, the Nerd's ''actual [[AnArmAndALeg legs, arms]], [[EarAche ears]] [[EyeScream and eyes]]'' are torn away from him one by one, with the video's audio cutting out just as he loses his ears. As the training reaches near the end, we get the ''ghastly'' sight of the Nerd's bloodied, eyeless, earless body just silently staring at the camera as the game prepares to take the last thing: his mind. Once that's gone, the video abruptly [[SmashToBlack Smashes to Black]]. A few seconds later, the Nerd returns, fully unharmed but clearly dazed by what happened.

** Day 5 is '''even worse '''. The Nerd receives a subliminal message from the game and uses it to [[HopeSpot break the lock on the door]]. Only to run into ''another'' Polybius which is blocking his way. The Nerd then ''finally'' shows the game and warns the audience to not look at it or it will take them forever. When you finally see the game, it's initially nothing unusual...until the episode abruptly ends with a sudden JumpScare, complete with a close-up of Nerd's face with a twisted SlasherSmile and eyes rolled into the back of his head. This is immediately followed by the screen turning into static before cutting into black.

** In the complete video, the jump scare is followed by a "This video is unavailable" screen, which turns into a ''second'' jump scare as the sad Youtube play button morphs into the demonic-looking Nerd face from the above picture. Then the owner of the warehouse finally shows up to check on the Nerd, but only finds the camera next to the ''Polybius'' cabinet. He is then pulled towards the cabinet as he screams in terror. DEAR. LORD.

* ''[[Franchise/{{Shrek}} Shrek Fairytale Freakdown]]'' is a pretty unnerving episode, being an homage to Film/TheWickerMan. It starts with the Nerd BoundAndGagged in a dark shed with torture equipment and Shrek shrines, being approached by a cultist in a Shrek mask. While he manages to free himself, he quickly gets exposed by the Shrek-cultists. The plan from the Shrek-cult leader is to sacrifice the Nerd in a giant wooden Shrek. [[DownerEnding The episode ends with the Nerd burning alive in the wooden Shrek statue.]] That said, [[LightmareFuel the 3D dancing skeleton at the end takes the edge off.]]

You thought [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd a series of videos about a nerd who rages over video games]] couldn't possibly give you nightmares? [[NightmareFuel Think again]]. When the creator Creator/JamesRolfe is a big fan of the {{horror}} genre, except some horrors to creep up at any moment.

You thought [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd a series of videos about a nerd who rages over video games]] couldn't possibly give you nightmares?

** The intro to ''Robocop NES Games'' briefly recaps what happened in this episode which is followed by the Nerd [[UnwillingRoboticization returning back to his couch]] - as a Franchise/RoboCop. It's subtle but makes you wonder [[NothingIsScarier what exactly happened to him in the warehouse]].
*** Apparently the arcade itself turned him into a robot. Talk about LightmareFuel. This arcade that drives people insane and warps their mind.. just turns them into a robot. And the Nerd acts like nothing happened. The game might as well had just let him go!

* His [[ChristmasEpisode holiday episode]] titled "Lightspan Adventures" has a later portion to one of the sight for sore eyes ladened games in the Lightspan Adventures library called "Welcome to the Quaddle Museum". In light of a couple of the other games that had just as much ugly animation in CGI "Kaz Mania" the Nerd himself admits that the former is just flatout nightmarish due to strong levels of quality drop and just the OffModel [[UncannyValley appearances]] of [[https://youtu.be/KKjodfe0lgE?t=485 P.K the Parrot]]

* Even though ''VideoGame/ChexQuest'' is a surprisingly awesome family-friendly reimagining of ''Doom'', this doesn't stop the Nerd from delivering yet another worst nightmare. The culprit? Made-up ''Brutal Chex'' cereal: along with usual components you would expect in a morning cereal, it has ''shattered glass'', ''rusty nails'', ''shaving razors'', and other sharp objects... ''and Nerd himself clearly shows what's gonna happen if you try to '''eat''' all this.'' The lighthearted tone of ''Chex Quest'' episode suddenly becomes '''fucking unsettling'''.

[-[[caption-width-right:350:One of the few instances where SugarWiki/AwesomeArt can be [[BodyHorror a bad thing]].]]-]

* The 2nd episode where he just sits and rants about ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde''. James said once this is the only episode where he was drinking real Rolling Rock, and was slightly tipsy. Watching him sitting there, eyes widened into the camera, and SuddenlyShouting a couple minutes in, and that SlasherSmile he makes at the end? ''Shudders''

* The title card for the ''Metal Gear'' episode, which features Snake throwing a grenade at the Nerd, which is seen going off, completely obliterating his hands to the point where bone is visible, as well as blowing off most of the lower half of his face (as well as his nose), leaving a bloody, chunky mess. Made even worse when you realize how much [[{{Squick}} detail]] Mike puts into these title cards...

* Partway through the ''Earthbound'' episode, the Nerd reaches Poo's [[TrainingFromHell Mu Training]] and, somehow, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou begins to]] ''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou personally experience]]'' [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the training himself.]] As the training goes on, the Nerd's ''actual legs, arms, ears and eyes'' are torn away from him one by one, with the video's audio cutting out just as he loses his ears. As the training reaches near the end, we get the ''ghastly'' sight of the Nerd's bloodied, eyeless, earless body just silently staring at the camera as the game prepares to take the last thing: his mind. Once that's gone, the video abruptly [[SmashToBlack Smashes to Black]]. A few seconds later, the Nerd returns, fully unharmed but clearly dazed by what happened.

** Day 5 is '''even worse '''. The Nerd receives a subliminal message from the game and uses it to break the lock on the door. Only to run into ''another'' Polybius which is blocking his way. The Nerd then ''finally'' shows the game and warns the audience to not look at it or it will take them forever. When you finally see the game, it's initially nothing unusual...until the episode abruptly ends with a sudden JumpScare, complete with a close-up of Nerd's face with a twisted SlasherSmile and eyes rolled into the back of his head. This is immediately followed by the screen turning into static before cutting into black.

*** Apparently the arcade itself turned him into a robot. Talk about LightmareFuel. This arcade that drives people insane and warps there mind.. just turns them into a robot. And the Nerd acts like nothing happened. The game might as well had just let him go!

* The jumpscares during the Friday the 13th videos were genuinely startling. Even with the comedic context, James does a great job at building suspense throughout the review, with the music, long pauses, acting from the nerd, and overall tone giving off a tense atmosphere where Jason's presence is always felt.
* The Nerd trying to hide from Freddy in the Nightmare on Elm Street review is genuinely creepy, especially when Freddy pops up after a lot of buildup, and he has the Nerd's face!

* Much like Friday the 13th, James uses atmosphere expertly during the Halloween review. Michaels presence is tense for different reasons. While the Nerd is fully aware of Jason and is afraid of whenever he will strike, he is completely unaware of Michaels presence until the end, making the build up quite nail biting. The jumpscare during the basement scene is startling and the overall intensity during the climax felt genuine even with the goofy antics and shit flying everywhere.