| “ | There you are — it seems our story has yet more secrets to reveal.
|
” |
The Curator is a supporting character appearing in each installment of The Dark Pictures Anthology. He is an omniscient and mysterious voyeur of the player's stories, recording them in a strange place, which he calls his repository. The Curator is voiced and motion captured by Pip Torrens. His likeness was taken from Tony Pankhurst, who also portrayed him in the live-action launch trailer of House of Ashes.
Appearance[]
The Curator looks like a middle-aged man with a white and wrinkled skin. He has pale blue, icy piercing eyes and brown short hair, some of which is gray. The Curator's hairstyle is undercut, which has a slicked back and shaved sides.
The Curator has a sophisticated look of an english gentleman. His attire consist of a bespoke three-piece suit and brown derby shoes with decorative perforation.
- (Promotional materials) A green dinner jacket. It's single breasted and has structured shoulders, peak lapels, surgeon cuff, flap pockets and dual vents.
- A white collared shirt, adorned with cuffs and a two-tone waistcoat. The front of the vest is green, it also has three pockets, one on the chest and two on the sides. The brown back of the vest is covered with light yellow octagonal details and tied on the waist.
- A pair of green trousers.
The Curator's clean-cut appearance is completed with various accessories:
- An olive tie with paisley pattern and a collar pin.
- Gray cufflinks adorned with white brilliant cut gemstones.
- Gray metal sleeve garters at the elbows.
- A pocket watch in the left vest pocket with a chain.
Outside the Repository, the Curator wears a brown trench coat and a gray bowler hat. He also completes his look with an olive scarf with paisley pattern and a pair of brown leather gloves. The Curator also has a compass in the right pocket of his coat, which he uses in the intro.
Personality[]
See also: The Curator's involvement in the Anthology, List of the Curator's quotes
| “ | The Curator is timeless, recording stories of life and death in his own small section of a vast repository containing every story ever told. He's been doing it for thousands of years, he supposes, but he can't remember when he started, or whether there was ever a beginning to what he does. But now, for reasons that he can't quite understand, he's been given the opportunity to talk to somebody. The Player. He knows that there are "rules". He's not supposed to interfere, but he's excited, and can get a little carried away. He has seen things that the player has probably missed. Important things. But he's not permitted to tell them what these things are… directly. So, he drops hints where he feels he can, in the hope that the player will recognize his brilliance in hindsight. But don't expect him to be straightforward. His hints can be somewhat cryptic.
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” |
Having no interlocutor to talk to and being on his own for a very long time, the Curator is excited to see the player and enjoys their company at every meeting. He possesses a calm and polite demeanor, being sophisticated yet confusing in his speech. The Curator has a dark side to his personality, which he sometimes seems to make no attempt to hide. Discussing the concept of death, he says that an unwillingness to face a premature end isn't unnatural for humans; he shows delight in someone's painful death and becomes slightly disappointed if no one is dead. The Curator also likes to make sarcastic and witty comments with a touch of black humor, caustically mocking player's bad decisions.
The Curator is fond of the British style, as evident from his typical accent, clothing style, and the interior of the Repository. He is a great connoisseur of art as well, as can be seen in the large number of paintings, literary and theatrical works by many popular authors, and classical music often played in the library. The Curator likes to put art into his work, offering the player clues in the form of quotes from various works. All of this gives him an aristocratic persona.
As the Curator of the Stories, he claims that he cannot interfere in the progress of the player, with his work only observing and recording significant events. Despite this claim, the Curator tends to break the rules (even giving obvious hints without asking for the player's permission at all) and sometimes subtly implies that he would prefer to have a larger advisory role to the player. However, starting from House of Ashes, the Curator began to take his job much more seriously, which changed his character dramatically. He began to interact with the player purely on business, holding meetings only when necessary and following all the rules set for him. In his conversations, the Curator acts coldly and strictly, though sometimes he allows himself to have black humor.
Biography[]
See also: The Curator's True Nature
The Curator's past is shrouded in mystery. All that is known about him is that for several thousand years, the Curator has been recording the stories of life and death in his small section of the repository. Moreover, he has been doing his work for so long that he cannot remember when he began, or if there ever was a beginning. Everything would have remained the same until, for reasons unknown to the Curator, he met the player. Although the Curator is not involved in any of the stories, he records the player's journey, sometimes giving cryptic hints to them.
Trivia[]
Anthology[]
- The Curator is the only character that appears in all of the Anthology's installments.
- In the tradition of Supermassive's horror titles, the Curator is the narrator of the story in the anthology, along with Dr. Hill from Until Dawn and Eliza from The Quarry.
- The Curator's original concept was based on the archetypal horror show host, like the Crypt Keeper, Orson Welles, and Rod Serling. Unlike them however, he is a part of the overarching narrative and his own story evolves throughout the anthology.[2]
- The Curator has a unique face model, which is never reused, like the main stars of the Anthology.
- During the intro sequence of The Dark Pictures Anthology's entries, The Curator uses a compass to find the entrance to his repository, referring to the anthology theme of the moral compass.
Spin-offs[]
- Although the Curator appears in Switchback VR, he never speaks to the player. Pip Torrens also isn't listed in the credits, because he neither voiced him nor did motion capture for him.
Special and bonus content[]
- Man of Medan's Special Feature #1 — The History of Anthological Horror — is narrated by The Curator.
- Man of Medan's Special Feature #3 — Creating the Curator — is dedicated to the creation and development of The Curator and the repository.
- Some trophies of Man of Medan and Little Hope are named after The Curator's quotes.
Collectibles[]
- The Curator has his own diorama, which was available on Bandai Namco Store.[3][4] The diorama is represented as the part of the Repository, where the Curator sits behind the desk with four books possibly depicting the games from Season Two.
- The Curator has his own stuffed toy, which was available for crowdfunding.[5][6] The toy was designed by Makeship with Supermassive Games collaboration.
Localization[]
In-game translation of the Curator's name[]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| English | Curator |
| Russian (Русский) | Хранитель |
| German (Deutsch) | Kurator |
| French (Français) | Conservateur |
| Italian (Italiano) | Curatore |
| Spanish Spain (Español) | Conservador |
| Spanish Latin America (Español Neutro) | Curador |
| Portuguese Brazil (Português do Brasil) | Curador |
| Arabic (اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ) | الأمين |
| Japanese (日本語) | キュレーター |
| Korean (한국어) | 해설자 |
| Traditional Chinese (繁體中文) | 管理員 |
| Simplified Chinese (简体中文) | 管理员 |
Voice dubbing[]
| Language | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Russian (Русский) | Александр Груздев |
| German (Deutsch) | Matthias Klie |
| French (Français) | Benoît Allemane |
| Italian (Italiano) | Massimiliano Lotti |
| Spanish (Español) | Luis Mas |
Gallery
Videos[]
References[]
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| Supporting Characters | The Curator • Minor Characters | ||||||