I love to be scared, as millions do. I heard many people talk about this show at school, so I asked what it was about. Unfortunately, someone spoiled the whole thing for me when it was first aired, so that may have lowered the scare value for me a little bit. The other day, though, I was looking through the MTV site and saw an encore presentation of the premiere would be airing last Friday. Anyway, sitting down to watch this show, I knew what to expect, but I didn't know how it would be laid out. Let me tell you, it was very scary, especially at 9 PM!
A group of high school / college-age students go to, in the first episode, a supposedly haunted prison in where they have to complete dares. The first dare is the team members have to spend 15 minutes, complete silence, in a "hot spot", or where psychics and experts in the paranormal have picked out the most active supernatural sites. The only means of communication on their journeys is by radio, which is prohibited during their 15 minutes of silence. In later dares, they must go back there with EMF (electro-magnetic field) detectors and night-vision goggles to detect any strange going-ons that the human senses could otherwise not pick out. In the end, if all dares are completed, they are paid $3,000 each. If someone turns back or does not complete their dare, that person is paid nothing and need to leave the next day.
**MINOR SPOILERS BELOW**
That was the basics, but looking into the actual show, it gets pretty scary. In the navigation room, there are videos of interviews with former inmates, psychics, and supernatural experts that give horrifying backstories. These, I think, add to at least half the fear. For example, the scariest place is a small cell called "The Hole", where an inmate would stay, naked, in darkness, with limited amounts of food, and they would go insane. The character who gets faced with this dare, Derek, is probably the character that gets put through the most. I will not tell how, but I felt his pain throughout his experience, as well as others. The most memorable moment is Ryan in the cell with the tarp over the chair. I would've freaked out in that way, and screamed like that, as well. And don't think it stops there, because all the other places are equally scary, as well. :P
**END SPOILERS**
The other scary thing about it is that, a la BWP, it's not what you see directly, it's what your imagination places in the spot of the unknown. What's creating that sound? What's making that stupid EMF detector go crazy? What's creating the wind? People with imagination will get a great ride.
I also do feel that this was authenic, as well. As one reviewer mentioned, setting up most of these things would have to be perfect in almost every sense, because all events are being captured by sound, video, EMF detectors, night-vision goggles, and most important of all, the actual people. I think the people would have noticed if someone were to do these things to them and said something about it. A lot of people think this is a hoax like BWP, but look how many people believed it was real even after the actors and news reports confirmed it was fake! But this is not the case with this show, because I think it is totally authentic.
In the wake of the actors' strike that may halt shows like ER, Friends, and the box office, reality shows will take over. I see a great future for this show if that does happen, and I can't wait for the next team to get scared in St. Agnes Hospital on October 27. 10/10
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