A clever ode to slasher flicks and the fans who love them
Writer/Director: Phillip Hughes
Starring: Jenn Daugherty, Scott Bryan, Jason Witter, Kate Costello, Ryan Jason Cook
Pilot episode: run time 10 minutes
Future episodes' air dates TBA
Starring: Jenn Daugherty, Scott Bryan, Jason Witter, Kate Costello, Ryan Jason Cook
Pilot episode: run time 10 minutes
Future episodes' air dates TBA
I suppose the best compliment I could give to new horror-comedy The Scare Game is this: I'm not just going to recommend that you see the pilot episode of the series; I'm going to recommend that you see it twice.
In TSG, a group of horror movie fans are roused from watching a slasher flick when the power goes out. What has happened? Have they stumbled into a horror movie scenario of their own? I can't give away too much without spoiling the fun, but the payoff at the end is well done. If you're lucky enough to get to go into the episode unspoiled, you may have some questions about the characters' strange actions, wardrobe, and goofy dialogue as they're getting chased by an apparent madman. When you get to the end, it'll all make perfect sense, and it'll make a second viewing fun as you get to see the cleverness behind it.
Since the characters are horror movie fans, all of their behavior is dictated by having seen all these movies and knowing what to do and what not to do - like, don't go by yourself to check out the weird noise coming from the darkness. It makes The Scare Game a smart take on the densely populated horror genre, constantly giving a knowing wink to the audience. Note also that I'm not referencing any character names in this post. It's the show's intent; the characters are all playing types that are an homage to the stock characters of horror films.
TSG gets additional praise for the fact that it's made in Albuquerque, which adds to its indie cred. I always root for a show made outside of the L.A. bubble. I mean, rooting for the little guy is part of the appeal of web series in general, right?
The Scare Game isn't perfect. The soundtrack could definitely be tweaked - they've got some good original music over the end credits and the final few seconds of episode one, which only serves to reinforce that the music earlier in the episode was lacking. In the chase scenes, you may expect some pulse-pounding, chill-inducing tones on the soundtrack, and they're just not there.
For a show that bills itself as a horror-comedy, TSG isn't really going to make you go LOL-ing yourself. It's cool and clever more so than side-splittingly funny. The pilot episode is so predicated on the twist ending that outwardly big humor earlier on might have spoiled it. But it's the twist ending inside the twist ending that will give the show life going forward beyond a simple well-made short.
In TSG, a group of horror movie fans are roused from watching a slasher flick when the power goes out. What has happened? Have they stumbled into a horror movie scenario of their own? I can't give away too much without spoiling the fun, but the payoff at the end is well done. If you're lucky enough to get to go into the episode unspoiled, you may have some questions about the characters' strange actions, wardrobe, and goofy dialogue as they're getting chased by an apparent madman. When you get to the end, it'll all make perfect sense, and it'll make a second viewing fun as you get to see the cleverness behind it.
Since the characters are horror movie fans, all of their behavior is dictated by having seen all these movies and knowing what to do and what not to do - like, don't go by yourself to check out the weird noise coming from the darkness. It makes The Scare Game a smart take on the densely populated horror genre, constantly giving a knowing wink to the audience. Note also that I'm not referencing any character names in this post. It's the show's intent; the characters are all playing types that are an homage to the stock characters of horror films.
TSG gets additional praise for the fact that it's made in Albuquerque, which adds to its indie cred. I always root for a show made outside of the L.A. bubble. I mean, rooting for the little guy is part of the appeal of web series in general, right?
The Scare Game isn't perfect. The soundtrack could definitely be tweaked - they've got some good original music over the end credits and the final few seconds of episode one, which only serves to reinforce that the music earlier in the episode was lacking. In the chase scenes, you may expect some pulse-pounding, chill-inducing tones on the soundtrack, and they're just not there.
For a show that bills itself as a horror-comedy, TSG isn't really going to make you go LOL-ing yourself. It's cool and clever more so than side-splittingly funny. The pilot episode is so predicated on the twist ending that outwardly big humor earlier on might have spoiled it. But it's the twist ending inside the twist ending that will give the show life going forward beyond a simple well-made short.
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