Bad Trip

An old family photo evokes disturbing feelings for a lonely boy. A strange creature appears, dragging him deeper and deeper into his memories, as he wanders around his cluttered and dirty house. But the real stains are “buried deeper than tattoos”, as he says in a cryptic voice-over—the stains associated with the generation gaps that the house harbors and the unspoken traces of the Communist past.

For this immersive dome experience, produced as a graduation project at the Hungarian art academy MOME, creator Emese Pálovics scanned thousands of photos and 3D images of her grandparents’ house, which are strung together like a collage. They are seamlessly combined using both digital and traditional animation techniques.

The montage style is enhanced by a gritty sound design that places you inside the somber mind of the main character. Hunting the dark creatures that increasingly emerge, he sinks further and further into the dark recesses of this house and his subconscious.