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POLYBIUS: A Horror Play
On a rainy summer night, retired video-game developer Michael Arbruester calls a new acquaintance and an old friend to his storage space in South Los Angeles. An avid game collector, Michael has discovered something very special, a mysterious arcade cabinet long thought to be an urban legend. Things go poorly. Drawing inspiration from internet urban legends, Jean-Paul Sartre, Sarah Kane, Ira Levin and HP Lovecraft, "Polybius" is a different kind of horror story, one where the most frightening monsters live inside our emotions, and gazing into a screen can unleash our worst selves.
103 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2020
6 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Max Landis
54 books78 followersMax Landis is a Hollywood screenwriter and Eisner Award nominee. Featured as one of Forbes 30 under 30 two consecutive years, Max Landis is an outspoken rising star in the screenwriting world. Having sold over fifteen projects in the last five years, Landis' first produced feature, Chronicle, did well at the box office and led to more sales.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 9, 2022
POLYBIUS je Landisov pozorišni komad čiji mi život na sceni nije sasvim poznat, iako sam video neke najave za neku postavku. Reč je o pozorišnom komadu arhaične forme, jednoj prilično dugoj jednočinki, u kojoj se vidi da je Landis upoznat sa radom nekih pisaca kao što je Sarah Kane, ali ne zna da je taj smer drama "krvi i sperme" u međuvremenu prevaziđen, kao i da se iz teksta nameće čest utisak scenariste koji potcenjivački prilazi pisanju pozorišnog teksta.
Landis nema jasnu teatarsku ideju, nema tu vrstu imaginacije i njegova jednočinka ima jedinstvo mesta, vremena i radnje, to je praktično jedna jako duga dijaloška scena u kojoj se neke stvari dese, kako kroz sukob tako i kroz verbalna prisećanja.
U tom pogledu, tekst nije previše ideativan iako nudi neke zanimljive koncepte, ali bi sam tekst morao da se bitno rediteljski unapredi kako bi iz ovoga moglo da proistekne zanimljivo pozorište koje nudi prostor za više čitanja.
Landis je uvek zanimljiv, pa je i ovog puta zanimljiv za čitanje. Isto važi i za potencijalno izvođenje, ovaj komad jeste održiv i mogu da ga zamislim kako se pristojno drži na sceni u nekoj ipak manje značajnoj predstavi, ako bi bio u potpunosti očuvan.
Mnogi aspekti koje sama forma nudi kod Landisa ostaju neistraženi. Ne poigrava se jezikom, značenjski slojevi su uglavnom izrečeni i ono što postoji u dijalogu, to je to. Nema nekog podteksta, i izraženije sceničnosti.
No, ovo jeste horor žanr, i ovo jeste književnost, samo dramska. I u tom pogledu ovo nije jedini primer žanra ali jeste popularno jer je Landis poznat pisac koji svoj cancel prevazilazi samizdatom.
Landis nema jasnu teatarsku ideju, nema tu vrstu imaginacije i njegova jednočinka ima jedinstvo mesta, vremena i radnje, to je praktično jedna jako duga dijaloška scena u kojoj se neke stvari dese, kako kroz sukob tako i kroz verbalna prisećanja.
U tom pogledu, tekst nije previše ideativan iako nudi neke zanimljive koncepte, ali bi sam tekst morao da se bitno rediteljski unapredi kako bi iz ovoga moglo da proistekne zanimljivo pozorište koje nudi prostor za više čitanja.
Landis je uvek zanimljiv, pa je i ovog puta zanimljiv za čitanje. Isto važi i za potencijalno izvođenje, ovaj komad jeste održiv i mogu da ga zamislim kako se pristojno drži na sceni u nekoj ipak manje značajnoj predstavi, ako bi bio u potpunosti očuvan.
Mnogi aspekti koje sama forma nudi kod Landisa ostaju neistraženi. Ne poigrava se jezikom, značenjski slojevi su uglavnom izrečeni i ono što postoji u dijalogu, to je to. Nema nekog podteksta, i izraženije sceničnosti.
No, ovo jeste horor žanr, i ovo jeste književnost, samo dramska. I u tom pogledu ovo nije jedini primer žanra ali jeste popularno jer je Landis poznat pisac koji svoj cancel prevazilazi samizdatom.
June 17, 2020
I've been a fan of Max Landis for a long time; most of his works ending up on my Top 10 Lists with ease. I am always ready to absorb whatever he produces into the world, so when I saw he was self-publishing a play script I didn't even hesitate to hit "buy."
Having spent the better part of a night and then a good portion of my morning reading this, I can honestly say Max Landis has written a deeply disturbed, mind blowing, treasure of a horror story. From start to finish I could easily picture the events of the story unfolding, my heart beating faster whenever tentions started rising and the horror started unfurling.
The dialogue of this story is absolutely fascinating, definitely my favorite of any story, as the characters are forced to face their worst fears and their psychological scars - all while trapped in a room with each other and a mysterious video game cabinet that is rumored to kill people. The depth of the dialogue is astounding, as these characters dwell in their traumas and express their pain amidst psychological breaks in witty, scathing anecdotes.
I cannot recommend this enough. If you are or have ever been a fan of any of Landis' works, then you MUST pick this up.
Having spent the better part of a night and then a good portion of my morning reading this, I can honestly say Max Landis has written a deeply disturbed, mind blowing, treasure of a horror story. From start to finish I could easily picture the events of the story unfolding, my heart beating faster whenever tentions started rising and the horror started unfurling.
The dialogue of this story is absolutely fascinating, definitely my favorite of any story, as the characters are forced to face their worst fears and their psychological scars - all while trapped in a room with each other and a mysterious video game cabinet that is rumored to kill people. The depth of the dialogue is astounding, as these characters dwell in their traumas and express their pain amidst psychological breaks in witty, scathing anecdotes.
I cannot recommend this enough. If you are or have ever been a fan of any of Landis' works, then you MUST pick this up.
August 15, 2021
Easy one sitting read. Would love to see a stage production of it.
Genuinely creepy at times. The ebb and flow of the tension is perfect. Things escalate, almost coming to a head, before someone diffuses it with a fun/strange/light-hearted/tangential observation/joke/non-sequitur and things circle around before personalities clash again. We circle this drain from all these different directions, watching the id of this cast of multi-dimensional characters boil over until everything implodes. It's great.
Dialogue is what Max does best and he straight up murders it here. Believable, witty, punchy dialogue is the core of everything he does, and really what elevates him as a writer.
It does feel a bit thin though. Like this should be the middle third of a bigger piece of work. Or the title piece in a collection of stories that all examine this techno-horror character-study theme from different angles.
Either way. Super worth the read. Wish he'd learn to write prose (or team up with someone skilled at it (S. Craig Zahler and Landis would be my fucking dream collab)) and write a novel already.
Genuinely creepy at times. The ebb and flow of the tension is perfect. Things escalate, almost coming to a head, before someone diffuses it with a fun/strange/light-hearted/tangential observation/joke/non-sequitur and things circle around before personalities clash again. We circle this drain from all these different directions, watching the id of this cast of multi-dimensional characters boil over until everything implodes. It's great.
Dialogue is what Max does best and he straight up murders it here. Believable, witty, punchy dialogue is the core of everything he does, and really what elevates him as a writer.
It does feel a bit thin though. Like this should be the middle third of a bigger piece of work. Or the title piece in a collection of stories that all examine this techno-horror character-study theme from different angles.
Either way. Super worth the read. Wish he'd learn to write prose (or team up with someone skilled at it (S. Craig Zahler and Landis would be my fucking dream collab)) and write a novel already.
November 27, 2025
Avid Max Landis reader, from the bottom of the sea to the plane in the clouds, Ive read more Landis scripts than I can remember. There's a charm and tone I love with Max, however this must not have been for me. I've always been on the ride with his writing, there's always moments in his work where the script picks up and multiple characters are on their best displays and it's electric. This play/book had those moments but they always felt flat and the characters didn't keep me on the ride. Still love Max tho.
June 16, 2020
What a ride!!
A pretty intense horror love letter to gaming and time spent longing to fix mistakes. Some wonderful monologues and backstories for all three characters that have equal time to shine.
Would need a strong directorial vision to pull off- but it would be well worth it for the unique theatrical result!
A pretty intense horror love letter to gaming and time spent longing to fix mistakes. Some wonderful monologues and backstories for all three characters that have equal time to shine.
Would need a strong directorial vision to pull off- but it would be well worth it for the unique theatrical result!
July 1, 2020
Holy Shhhhh!!!!!!!!t!
That. Was. Intense.
Turn off the lights. Sit in the corner. Read this without stopping. Get freaked the Ef out!
That. Was. Intense.
Turn off the lights. Sit in the corner. Read this without stopping. Get freaked the Ef out!
May 2, 2024
Based on an urban legend and felt like if Evil Dead was about a video game instead of a cabin.
"We killed ourselves and it only cost a quarter."
"We killed ourselves and it only cost a quarter."
October 18, 2025
Crazy play indeed. I would have loved to have seen this on stage. So much movement and confusion (in a good way). Was hesitant at first, but worth reading through.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews