Few directors are as inventive at virtual reality (VR) storytelling as Ethan Shaftel, whose newest film, “Gargoyle Doyle,” arrived in the Meta Quest VR Store yesterday, just in time for Halloween. Shaftel’s work uniquely balances humor and depth, a combination that makes his VR films memorable. In contrast to better-known, serious VR films like “The Morning You Wake to the End of the World” and “The Changing Same,” Shaftel’s films inject a light, zany, old-fashioned toon energy into VR. It’s pleasing fun family entertainment that never takes itself too seriously.
“Gargoyle Doyle” premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. It used mixed reality, something native to the Vision Pro and Quest 3, to transport audiences into a world of stone creatures and unexpected revelations in a faux museum setting, where we intermittently join Doyle, a cantankerous gargoyle voiced by Jason Isaacs, as he watches centuries of history unfold from a neglected alcove on a French cathedral. Damaged during installation, Doyle has been banished to an obscure corner of the cathedral with Chet, a perpetually cheerful rain gutter voiced by Haley Joel Osment. Together, they ponder their purpose as the cathedral ages and the surrounding world changes. Then the pidgeons move in.
Critics laud “Gargoyle Doyle” for its successful mix of humor, depth, and technological innovation. Upload VR praised the film as “an intriguing experience crossing mixed reality museums with VR storytelling.” For this new Quest release, Schaftel has cleverly adapted “Doyle” to the small confines Quest users may be in.
The storytelling in “Gargoyle Doyle” is further elevated by Shaftel’s use of well-known actors to voice the characters. Jason Isaacs brings gruff humor and gravitas to Doyle’s character, while Haley Joel Osment’s optimistic portrayal of Chet balances the film’s tone. “It’s a good old-fashioned, character-based story using the latest VR tech. The promise of a different experience in the cinema has been around for a while and finally all the elements have come together,” Isaacs remarked.
Shaftel’s previous VR comedy “Ajax All Powerful” (2020), also in the Quest store, was similarly celebrated for its originality. In “Ajax,” Henry Winkler voices a duplicitous genie, obsessed with tricking people into trading their souls for wishes. Shaftel’s humor shines through as the genie’s latest master—a young girl—hires a lawyer (voiced by Chris Parnell) to craft an ironclad contract to outwit the Genie. The film’s interactive environment expands as the story progresses, combining whimsy with dynamic visuals.
In 2019, Shaftel premiered “Kaiju Confidential,” a satirical VR short featuring giant monsters with surprisingly mundane problems. With Blake Anderson and Paul F. Tompkins lending their voices, “Kaiju Confidential” was among the first VR productions to use celebrity voices, although today we see them frequently in games and in VR. Rosario Dawson voiced the lead character in the superb “Battlescar” (2018); Alicia Vikander was the star of Penrose’s VR Film “Arden’s Wake, Tides Fall” (2019); and John Legend was in Baobab’s “Crow: The Legend” that same year. As the audience continues its inevitable movement to new screens, talent is going with them.
