History YMMV / MandelaCatalogue

--->'''Jonah''': "idk what youre so busy doing in there. just come out to the car and lets go get a pizza and then back home. please."

-->'''Thatcher''': "I feel...''different.'' Seeing a perfect copy of you just...''walk away''...back out into the world...? No one's answering...no one's telling me what's going on. I'm gonna kill this thing if it's the last ''fucking'' thing I do. I'm alive...''but part of me doesn't wanna be.''"

-->'''Alternate''': Afraid of your own ''reflection'', Lieutenant? Dead or alive, [[PoliceAreUseless you're no use to these people.]] A man without a purpose, in a world that doesn't need him. A scared ''boy'' with a ''gun''...''[[CallBack sound familiar?]]''

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The first volume of the series resides within the definition of "AnalogHorror". But later volumes, like Volume 2 and Volume 333, introduce voice acting and clips that can't be explained through FoundFootage. Eventually, Volume 4 introduces fully-fledged live-action clips, though still retaining elements of analog. This ArtEvolution was caused by the series's larger budget, but to some, this stylistic change removed what made Volume 1 scary in the first place. Along with other criticisms like {{Narm}}-like voice acting and Vol. 4's controversial live action sequences, in which the [[https://twitter.com/alexkisterr/status/1598569169942872064?s=20 artistic choice]] of having the obvious ChromaKey backgrounds could come off as SpecialEffectFailure rather than UncannyValley.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: Thatcher Davis, who is supposed to be a Police Lieutenant of a small, rural Midwestern town, has a bleached "emo" hairstyle and a nose piercing ring, which makes him look more like a typical 2000's young hooligan than a Policeman.

** The scene in ''Overthrone'' where the Alternate, who is more than likely Satan himself, is behind Josephs window whispering his ominous ultimatum to the man and demanding that Joseph wakes up is either incredibly creepy or incredibly goofy depending who you ask. The former because there’s an abomination delivering its terrible truths, and the latter because [[HeavySleeper Joseph will not wake up from his sleep]] despite Satan trying his damnedest by basically shouting "WAKE UP JOSEPH. [[BrokenRecord WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP]]"... ad nauseam into his ear.

** "You should kill yourself... NOW!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Actually a meme originating from WebVideo/LowTierGod, due to its popularity coinciding with Mandela Catalogue's, the rant has been connected to the series due to its relevant subject matter, leading to [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/902023096926621717/917085019460222976/20211205_092400.jpg image]] [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/902023096926621717/917105221602275388/FFtJ-M_XIAYdku8.png edits]] and even [[https://youtu.be/aUB-ycGn2gQ parodies of the series itself.]][[/labelnote]]

** While it's undoubtedly NightmareFuel as well, Adam's [[HellIsThatNoise screams]] at the end of ''mandela catalyst'' are this as well. He just sounds so utterly ''[[ArcWords distraught and scared]]'' at what he's become, and it's a sobering reminder that, sleeper Alternate or not, he's ultimately just a person who got caught up in something unimaginably horrible.

** Adam's dismissive reaction to the idea [[spoiler:Jonah died]] is rife with this. Is he being genuine when he says Jonah wasn't his friend and that he never cared about him, is he lying to himself out of grief? Was he saying it out of hurt because Jonah actually left at the end of ''Vol. 2'', since the end of ''Vol. 2'' had him ''trying'' to call Jonah back after their fight? Or is it a result of RealLifeWritesThePlot, in that Adam was initially written to consider Jonah a legitimate friend, but was changed following Jonah's actor, Gabriel Linan, being dismissed from the project, in turn causing Adam's feelings about Jonah to be rewritten?

* CryForTheDevil: There's no denying that Adam was a massive {{jerkass}} to everyone around him, even those who genuinely cared about him like Jonah. Everyone can agree though that seeing Adam's state in ''mandela catalyst'' is not only nightmarish, but ''heartbreaking''. At the end of the day, he was ultimately just a teenager desperately trying to find out what happened to his MissingMom, pushing away everyone who got in his way or questioned his methods. Yet now he's [[spoiler:left a shell of his former self, desperately wanting to die but unable to, as he can only scream out in agony upon seeing Thatcher while begging him to kill him before he starts LaughingMad.]]

* HesJustHiding: Due to the lack of concrete evidence to suggest he actually died, a common belief amidst fans was that [[spoiler:Jonah Marshall]] survived at the end of Vol. 2, and was in hiding, citing how a similar case occurred with [[spoiler:Thatcher Davis]] at the end of Vol. 333, and that [[spoiler:Jonah]] lacked the means to commit suicide if he was afflicted with M.A.D. These beliefs all but died after his actor, Gabriel Linan, was cut from the project following HostilityOnTheSet, with Alex Kister [[WordOfGod confirming]] [[spoiler:Jonah]] died at the end of Vol. 2. A subset of fans do believe however that Alex is {{lying|Creator}}, and that [[spoiler:Jonah]] is still alive but will be recast.

** Though to be fair, by the time we see him like this is Vol.4, he has been off duty and in hiding for an extended period of time, and suffering intense depression. Pictures we see of him in uniform, he looks much more presentable.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: Thatcher Davis, which is supposed to be a Police Lieutenant of a small, rural Midwestern town, has a bleached "emo" hair and a nose piercing ring, which makes him look more like a typical 2000's young hooligan than a Policeman.

** Though the latter two have yet to interact with each other in canon, fans often portray Thatcher, Ruth and Dave as a [[ThreeAmigos trio of friends]].

* NightmareRetardent: Sometimes the horror aspects don't exactly work for everybody.

** Sarah's telling Eve that Adam is fine in ''Mandela Catalogue''. Is she genuinely convinced Adam is fine? Is she in denial and would rather just not think about him after the events of Volume 4? Did the Intruder get to her and it's not actually ''Sarah'' that was messaging Eve?

** At the end of ''Exhibition'', an order to destroy every single CRT television and mirror is issued to the citizens of Mandela County, surrounding counties, and presumably the rest of the United States. In the video, it takes a while for it to reveal that monetary compensation [[BaitAndSwitch '''won't''']] be granted.

** While it's undoubtedly NightmareFuel as well, Adam's [[HellIsThatNoise screams]] at the end of ''mandela catalyst'' are this as well. He just sounds so utterly ''[[ArcWords distraught and scared]]'' at what he's become, and it's a sobering reminder that, sleeper Alternate or not, he's ultimately just a kid who got caught up in something unimaginably horrible.

* {{Narm}}: Sometimes the horror aspects don't exactly work for everybody.

* NightmareFuel: Take your pick. The horrific imagery, the eerie VHS tape aesthetic, the very concept of Alternates...now [[NightmareFuel/MandelaCatalogue has its own page!]]

** The "distraught at the sight of her missing infant" scene has been subject to countless memes, sure. But you can't deny the fact that over 3,000 mothers across 4 counties were driven to suicide after missing their children in the only place they thought they were safe is messed up at the very least. Bonus points [[InSpiteOfANail if the children are actually still alive and well]] as it's been theorized.

*** Throughout Volume 2 one could assume that Jonah is trying to save his own ass rather than his friend's, but as the video passes you realize that he's as, if not more, worried about what happens to his friend as what happens to himself. He practically begs him to come back and get to safety at one point.

** Some viewers find the abundance of unnaturally grinning faces to bear a strong resemblance to WebVideo/{{Jerma985}}'s "[[VideoGame/AmongUs when the imposter is sus]]" meme, turning the potential horror into unintentional comedy. The (non-canon) parody made by the creator of the Mandela Catalogue called [[https://youtu.be/C3l2L5vpwJk The Scrimblo Catalogue]] even parodies this itself.
** In "The THINK Principle", examples of telltale Alternate signs include abnormally long limbs, disproportionate head sizes, and... being upside down. Many a commenter have pointed out how humorously mundane the last example is, with some even jokingly asking if this technically means all [[LandDownUnder Australians]] are Alternates.

---> LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}: [[https://youtu.be/F4S2cALnxNg?t=593 Eyy. There's a smiley face!]]
** Additionally, the hooded figure seen at the end of Vol. 1 has been used so often on Website/FourChan's /x/ board and other analog horror works to the point of being a cliché in the genre. Not to mention the fact that he looks like a goddamn dry biscuit, no thanks to [[GoneHorriblyRight the poor quality of the VHS effect in the videos]]. It doesn't help that the figure - dubbed "The Albanian" - was also subject to photoshop parodies on 4chan even ''before'' the series used him.

** The beginning of ''Overthrone'', where the regular narrator gets replaced by a text-to-speech one and the angel's name gets redacted. On one hand, it can be quite unsettling due to the drastic change. On another, the way the angel's name is redacted sounds like one of those videos, where [[CensoredForComedy things get unnecessarily censored.]]
** The [[JumpScare sudden spooky face in]] ''Vol 2.'' that shows up behind Adam is unfortunately yet another example of this. Not only is it something the series already arguably did better by this point but the shot is being recorded in universe by a video camera so the sudden appearance of the Alternate face feels a bit forced.
** Around the end of ''Overthrone'', "Gabriel" talking to the shepherds is creepy... But when the shot switches to the two guys on the ground, his voice is lower, which gives the impression that he's too far away for them to hear him, and that the two shepherds are more confused than scared. The fact that one of them seemingly has a hand up near his ear, as if he's struggling to hear what the angel is saying, doesn't help.

** Some people think that the overly dramatic tone of Adam and Jonah's conversation near the end of Volume 2 breaks the immersion somewhat. For instance, LetsPlay/{{Jacksepticeye}} [[https://youtu.be/swuhr9jWZU8?t=1265 describes]] the actors' tone as "two dudes dubbing an anime".
** The fact that the scarier looking Alternates look the way they do because [[ShapeshiftingFailure they screwed up their disguises]].
** Some viewers have commented that Gabriel's voice in Vol. 4 switching from text-to-speech to actual voice acting has lessened his fear factor, with others adding his PracticallyJoker tone of voice on top of this criticism.

** With ''WebVideo/TheMonumentMythos'', both AnalogHorror series created by an "Alex K", this is even acknowledged by Alex Kister, whose nickname in the Monument Mythos Discord server is "[=AlexKAlternate=]". Infact, the format of the episode "My Movie.mp4" is based off the format some of the Monument Mythos episodes have, down to the comment section lore addition and everything.

** The Hooded Intruder due to his unique appearance and... well, [[MemeticMutation meme status]]. So popular was he among the fandom that a ''[[EverythingsBetterWithPlushies plushie version]]'' of him was made available to buy for a limited time on Makeship and it sold like hotcakes, with about '''4,313 plushies''' being sold.