Escape the Night

It works fairly well as a YouTube Red show. It has a lot of star power, and there is some character arc for some of the characters, such as the sorceress in the second season. The deaths can range anywhere from meh to downright terrifying. However while it has star power, I feel it does lack some complexity. Whodunnit, which seems to be a heavy influence on this show, had a lot of complex murders, even though it did lack star power. The budget does seem to increase every season, and I do like giving them personas. I do wish, however, their personas factored into the show a bit more. If you're a fan of shows like "Whodunnit," I suggest giving this one a look. Both of them are fairly similar.

I know 9/10 is a strange rating but I have my reasons. A lot of the reviews are calling it out for 'bad acting' except the entire show is unscripted. Minus the side characters and a few planned deaths, they winged everything. Joey didn't choose people based on their ability to act, he chose people who he knew would have great reactions to the things taking place. Also, to y'all saying they're 'breaking character'... they don't have characters. The roles are just meant to sort of enhance the experience. The reason they talk about being YouTubers all the time is because they are and the little character acting they're doing isn't to pretend they aren't.

When I initially watched every season after the first, I was skeptical. The characters in future seasons seem to grow more and more problematic. Despite this, I regretfully say that the show actually made me like some of the people I hate when they're actually on YouTube. It had pretty wicked monster design as well as intense challenges that I would definitely be surprised about if I hadn't been a baby and looked up the deaths beforehand.

The number one example of problematic, 'problematic', or just plain annoying characters is in season 3. I initially hated the inclusion of Nikita Dragun, Roi (a.k.a guavajuice), and Manny MUA, but since watching the season, I've grown a new appreciation for Manny. I like Nikita's character at times, even though she can be a bit much, but I still don't like her IRL. Not to mention the inclusion of some of my favorites. Tyler Oakley in season two and MatPat, Rosanna Pansino, Safiya Nygaard, and Colleen Ballinger in season three.

I'm trying not to include spoilers so that for those of y'all who want to see the reviews before watching can know these pretty simple details. I didn't like a lot of the seasons for the first episode but now I'm absolutely hooked. Especially on season 3 which has some pretty amazing reactions from Colleen who is an absolute queen.

Don't worry about Joey being 'biased' because he helped create the game. He stayed completely out of the puzzle making process and left it up to his awesome producers (shoutout to one of the executive producers Adam Lawson, that dude's the best). He tried to stay as out-of-it as he could so that he could actually be in the show himself. Definitely turned out really great in that aspect. Joey really brings in this element of mystery. Is he evil? Is he not? I don't actually know and it hasn't been revealed.

If you're going into this series completely blind. Keep an open mind and remember that this is an elaborate escape room game with a bunch of influencers who stayed up late to be able to film at midnight.

What can I say about this apart from, "this is why youtubers should never be able to make a TV show. EVER." The costumes, furniture, landscape, and accents ruin the theme, not to mention that all the characters are based on stereotypes, and I find them all horribly annoying. (note that I've only watched one episode, but felt I needed to write this)

Here's the thing: I've only seen one episode, because I saw it was 1920s-themed and I absolutely 1920s-themed things, and it's kind of a murder mystery, so that seemed fun. But. This isn't really a show I would continue watching. If it was scripted, had a reasonable plot, and the actors all stayed in character, this would be sooooo much more fun to watch. I mean, come on - the period fashion, the house, it could all be remarkably well-done if each character was scripted with lines that resembled the lingo they used in the 20s. But in the first episode, one of the "actors" says, "we're YouTubers, not mathematicians," and that was where I kind of lost the joy of watching it. Ditch the whole "we traveled back in time from 2016" theme, give them all a script, add a plot, make sure they stay in character, and you've got yourself a show I would watch in a heartbeat.

Extremely cringe worthy.

While some would argue that the nature of unscripted shows is to give the actors more creative freedom and genuine reactions often times it comes across as larping being taken too seriously. Furthermore, the roles that were given to each character (acknowledging the fact that it was simply done for comedic purposes) do not match characters. This becomes more apparent when specific actors will take their roles very seriously and with a combination of clunky dialogue it leaves a terrible taste in your mouth. The whole time I watched it, I cringed. Fans of the creators may like it but, its not my cup of tea.