This is a part of the Physical Exorcism Series and a prequel to Physical Exorcism: Case 01, showing Brucie and Jadrienne as university students studying for finals with their friend, James. There's an urban legend floating around about a cannibal who will target those who heard a version of the legend, but neglects to pass it on to someone else. James and Jade insist on sharing these stories to pass the time, but then Jade tells a horror story that seems to involve both her and Brucie, along with two of their old classmates, Hans and Grete.
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This work contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: In one version of the Cannibal Boy's story, the boy's father turned abusive after his wife left. Since the boy looked a lot like his mother, the father forced him to eat lots of meat to become more manly. When the sister defended him, she got abused too, to the point of implied rape. This is implied to be Hans and Grete's father.
- Big Sister Instinct: Deconstructed. Grete faced enormous psychological pressure from martyring herself to protect Hans from both bullies and their abusive father. After Jade reveals to her that Hans is in a relationship with her crush, Brucie, Grete snaps.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to Case 01, this work is much darker, with Brucie and Jade's implied villainy from the previous game being revealed in more detail, especially the parts where Brucie, the protagonist, eats his friends.
- Downer Ending: After Jade tells a story based on Bruce's cannibalism, Bruce decides to create a real horror story by eating James. Cue credits.
- Dramatic Irony: This takes place before Case 01, so Bruce has no idea that Jade has telepathic powers, which is why he's surprised that she knows his interactions with Hans and Grete in fine detail.
- Episode Zero: The Beginning: A prequel to Physical Exorcism: Case 01
- Evolving Title Screen: The title screen starts off with a silhouette of Hans or Gretel. After beating the game, the title screen will have a silhouette of Brucie instead.
- Fairytale Motifs: Hans and Grete are based on Hansel and Gretel. The cannibalism aspect of the story comes into play when Grete kills Hans and feeds him to Brucie.
- Freudian Excuse: Discussed by Jade, who states that she prefers villains who are evil without any tragic backstories or gray areas, since it makes it easier to make them shoulder all the blame.
- Multiple-Choice Past: There are multiple retellings of the Cannibal Boy's past. As a twist, it's implied both versions of the story are based on Hans and Grete, as well as Brucie.
- James's version has him being forced to eat meat by his abusive father. His sister defended him from both their father and bullies, but the stress resulted in her committing murder-suicide with their father. This causes the boy to become an Ax-Crazy Knight Templar who blames everything on evil spirits and seeks to free people from evil spirits by eating them.
- Jade's version is simpler, with the boy always locked out onto the balcony. This causes him to become an evil spirit who knocks on other people's windows, only to eat them once the window is open. This is one of the ways Hans's father would abuse him.
- "Number of Objects" Title: Cast 00, as Episode Zero: The Beginning. A prequel to Physical Exorcism: Case 01.
