When it comes to being frightened by board games, we’re perfectly content reserving our terror for accidentally touching the metal edges in Operation or of being trapped in a never-ending round of Monopoly with our aunts and uncles during the holidays. What we certainly don’t need is to play a game that literally sucks out our souls and condemns us to eternal damnation.

So needless to say that after watching this retro* commercial for the ’90s VHS-interactive board game Beyond the Gates, we’re definitely going to pass on playing it, though it did sell us on tuning in to IFC‘s new horror film of the same name.

This viral ad is really a commercial for the network’s upcoming throwback horror movie, which sees two estranged brothers enter the Devil’s version of Jumanji in an effort to save their seemingly lost father from evil. This parody ad is an homage to that brief time in American history when VHS board games seemed like a thing that could stick around. (They did not turn out to be a thing that stuck around, just like actual VHS tapes.)

Scary movie fanatics out there probably don’t need to be told this, but this clever ad features horror movie stars Alexandra Essoe (Starry Eyes) and Samantha Robinson (The Love Witch), and of course the genre’s legendary Barbara Crampton, who stars in the film as the board game’s VHS guide. You can watch the movie’s trailer here.

Is this what happened to all of those Blockbuster employees? Did those stores disappear because all of the workers got lost playing an evil board game they found in the back? And if so, can we stop feeling bad about that copy of White Men Can’t Jump we forgot to return?

For those of you that are too young to remember these cheesy VHS games, believe us when we say this parody is right on the money. This commercial looks exactly like an actual game called Nightmare that was released in the early ’90s. I should know, I owned and played it, and (I wish I were joking about this) it scared the hel out of me.

In addition to Crampton, Beyond the Gates stars Chase Williamson and Graham Skipper as the two brothers who find the game in their father’s video store office, as well as Brea Grant andMatt Mercer (no NOT that one of Critical Role fame). The film comes out December 9th in select theaters and on VOD

So no, we are not interested in playing a board game that combines the realistic destruction of Zathura with the eternal suffering of Hellraiser, but that certainly sounds like a great premise for a horror movie we’d be into.

But what did you think of this viral ad? Do you remember the game Nightmare? We’d like you to play around in our comments section below and share your thoughts with us.

*Yes, the ’90s are now officially and without quest “retro,” fellow newly old people.

Images: IFC

Watch below as we deep dive into a horror favorite, Halloween