Scare Tactics

I've always loved Scare Tactics. Over the years the show has gone through a lot of different hosts, networks, etc. But it has always kept the same premise. A sadistic person puts their unsuspecting friend in a frightening situation with actors and sets/props and production scares the living stuffing out of them.

The newest version (2024) seems to be a complete revival with a big name like Jordan Peele attached to it. I'm unsure how much he's actually involved, my guess is minimal at best. While this current rendition sticks to the formula, there feels like something is lacking.

After watching the first two episodes, I'm not sure this show hits the same as the older ones. The easiest way I can express this is that the actual scary moments happen so suddenly and end so quickly that you are left wondering, is that it? I'm not sure why the scary moments are so abrupt, maybe there's worry about safety or something who knows. But they pretty much get one shock moment and then immediately stop, "you're on Scare Tactics!"

I'll keep watching the show to see if anything changes, but so far all I want to do is go back and rewatch the old ones. Even the Netflix show Prank Encounters was better than this. At least they dragged on the scary moments and got more juice out of each scenario. Unfortunately I don't think this new one will last, because it's just not memorable enough.

Not what you're used to seeing you'd be better off going to YouTube I really wish they would have mirrored the original and made some good quality content however this is pretty horrible and time wasting. I love the original and I like the idea but this appears to be made by a 10-year-old without vision. The original version and Fear Factor and a lot of similar shows turned out well and were properly done sadly this is not the case for this series and I really wanted it to be because there's not a lot of shows like this I'm kind of sad to see Rick Castle's daughter playing a role in it after her Stellar performance in Castle.

They had the opportunity to do a great remake but failed in some areas. The pranks have potential and are good ideas but the delivery falls way short. The climax is over too quick. They scare the victim and then reveal they're on a show before they can even get the victim fully scared. If they'd allow the victim more time to be scared and have a genuine reaction it may be enjoyable. Even if I hadn't watched the original I'd feel the same way with this remake.

The pre-setup videos are not relevant to the story. The lead up to the scare is mediocre but does ok in getting the victim nervous. The scare happens and within seconds it's revealed they're on a show. Hopefully they will read the reviews and do better next season.

Hope they make many more seasons to come, I'd absolutely love to put someone on the show to prank them. This genre has been gone for way too long and I'm so glad it's back. Some of the pranks I feel like cut off too short after the apex of it all and by too short I mean like seconds after sometimes. But overall the set ups are fun and creative. I noticed they use a lot of the same cast to set up the pranks which could give it away for the one getting pranked as more of the public watch the show. I also noticed the group is usually wearing some sort of v.i.p. Vest which could also affect the believability for the person getting pranked. However I thought the writing was good and there's a pretty good variety of situations throughout an episode.

People are judging this show too harshly based on their nostalgia for the old show, which I've never seen, but there are definitely some issues.

1. The "Flip" character is a pointless waste of time probably just being used to stretch a small amount of content into a longer episode.

2. The scenes without the actual 'victims' in them are also a pointless waste of time.

Remove those two things, and throw in another scare or two so there's at least 3 scares per episode and it'll be more worth watching.

Although people complained about some of the scares not being scary or believable enough I don't think that really matters, I even think a long setup is good provided its all content of the actual victim being recorded and their reactions. Where it is now there's like 6 minutes total of victim footage in a 30 (24) minute episode which is far too little.