Haunting Melissa is an episodic ghost story app from the Producer of Mulholland Drive and The Ring Neal Edelstein. It’s written by best-selling author Andrew Klavan and unfolds the events surrounding the disappearance of a girl named Melissa and the mysterious room her mother died in.
The app’s most interesting feature its innovative approach to releasing content. It takes the episodic video concept and takes it a step further with some unique features. Just as stories change in new ways when they are told again, downloaded videos may play back differently when watched another time. If you revisit past chapters you may notice subtle changes, added details, or new paths that have opened up which enhances the experience and rewards you for exploring. Like a good book, the app is designed to be intimate but also shared. It’s best experienced with your own device, sound turned up and lights turned low, with a friend doing the same only a text away.
The app has a push notification feature with built in delay that adds an unpredictability factor that builds anticipation as you never know when the next tidbit will arrive. If you hover over the mailbox when you’re expecting a package or fret nervously for people to call you back, then get ready for some nail biting. The feature is designed to force you not to brute churn through the content, instead making you dwell on what pieces you have seen, and increasing the likelihood of users to connect with others to discuss and share. On the flip side, because you don’t know when the next chapter will come you can be left with downtime, which for some can act as more of a cooling off period and simply mean moving on to other things.
Haunting Melissa is not hugely interactive, using the app aspect more as a platform where action happens passively. There is no tie in content or babysitter to hold your hand while you wait, no immediate gratification, and no quick relief from the mysteries it lays out. You sign up and relinquish control of where the ride will take you.
One place the app really shines is the focus on higher level production and bringing in quality talent. The first person found footage nature of the content and the small screen devices it’s presented on undermines this slightly, but you can tell they went the extra mile. The app has great atmosphere and a real attention to detail, right down to the chapter menus. Higher budget pro mini stories that are designed specifically for handheld devices that can support real time updates, as a concept model the idea is bold and could have interesting potential applications beyond the Haunting Melissa world. Neal Edelstein’s involvement and expertise as a proven film producer that has track record of successfully pulling off distinctly nontraditional movies seems like a key puzzle piece in making this work.
“As a film producer, I’m always looking at new avenues to tell stories.” Says Edelstein, “I was inspired the first time I turned on my iPad. As viewers move further into Melissa’s world, they will understand why this new app technology will change distribution forever.”
Right now the app is only available on iSO devices. The first chapter is free when you download the app, and if you share on Facebook with a friend you get the second chapter free as well. After that you can choose to pay by the chapter or sign up for a season subscription.
Check out the trailer here:
