This town ain’t big enough for the both of us
I’m Probably Going To Die review
Rating – 
You will probably recall me waxing lyrical about a unique sounding podcast called Sparks. Even more so if you hang around the various podcast subreddits, because I will always recommend it. I heard about this show on Reddit. It was just a name in a list, but it stood out to me, so I got on the case of writing a review pretty much as soon as episode 2 had finished.
The mention of David McCool’s masterpiece will become apparent as the review goes on. I’m not trying to shoehorn a show into reviews just for the hell of it!
So what’s it about?
I’m Probably Going To Die is an audio diary. It follows the life of an ordinary man who is haunted. I mean really haunted. There is something in his house that is so terrifying that he doesn’t dare turn around and look at it. He is plagued by strange dreams and visions and is being followed by odd looking, vaguely humanoid “stalkers”.
The host (that’s all we know him as) makes no bones about the title of the show and how it reflects his impending mortality. He seems resigned to the fact that this story is only going to end one way, but he’s not going to go easily. His backstory reveals a tenacious personality forged by a very hard childhood, and this is just one more challenge in his (ever shortening) life.
A series of chance discoveries sets him on a labyrinthine puzzle that swings from viral videos to toxic masculinity, right wing cults to Norse mythology. This sounds rather confusing, and it is. The host is there to take us through, and what could easily be dismissed as paranoia, starts to sound ever more convincing.
Is it any good?
The episodes are understated in the extreme. It’s just a guy sitting in what sounds like his kitchen, telling his story. Occasionally he’s out hiking and recording voice notes on his phone. There is occasional background music, and a synthwave style intro that is reminiscent of Modes Of Thought In Anterran Literature.
The story is delivered in a believable fashion, and as you’ll know, I’m a real fan of minimal “confessional” style shows. I can’t help but compare this series to Sparks, although IPGTD does slightly predate Sparks, and its style is the only similarity. The story isn’t the same at all. If you’re a fan of this kind of show, then you’re in for a treat.
There are some genuinely scary moments in the story, and the fact that they aren’t constant, only gives them more impact. I’m not going to spoil the ending, but it is very well done, and again, ratchets the tension up nicely. The bleak atmosphere seeps into all aspects of the tale, and the enormity of the host’s situation is always there. There really is no escape.
There are some nitpicky things with the sound design that some of you may dislike. There is a noise gate being used in the early episodes that cuts out any background noise when the host is speaking, but cuts off when he stops. Therefore, every pause in his speech leaves a short rich of white noise. Also, the host seems to be reading off a computer screen. You can hear his mouse clicking (to turn a page?) This isn’t a problem when he’s reading actual sources of information from his computer, but is somewhat annoying when he’s supposedly telling his own story.
Final thoughts
If you were a fan of Sparks (and I really hope you are), then you’ll love this show. Likewise, if you’re a fan of shows like The Magnus Archives or Modes Of Thought In Anterran Literature then this is the show for you.
You can get I’m Probably Going To Die here:
https://www.greatpods.co/podcasts/im-probably-going-to-die-a-true-horror-story-7058957
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods