RunningFromSatan
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
Aspiring Director
If you haven't seen this show "Fear", you are REALLY missing out. This is one of the best shows I have ever watched. It's a show about a group of people who go to a haunted building (on the premiere it was a haunted prison) and give each of the members Dares to do. They have a camera attached to them, and throughout the prison there are infrared cameras that are watching what they do. On some dares they'll go with another person, on others they have to go alone. These dares seem to get progressively worse and worse, and throughout these tests some team members are too afraid and are forced to give up because they can't complete the task. But, for the remaining team members there is a box full of hundred dollar bills as the payoff at the end.One unique part of the show is how, while these people are going to the parts of the building for their dares, there are interviews with people that tell what actually happened in these rooms. That way you get the real feel of where they are going. For example, there was a room in the prison called the "Sugar Shack" where people were hacked apart in the prison. This information gives the audience even more of a horror of where these people are going..all by themselves..than if the show wouldn't have this footage.The element of this show that scares most people the most is that, these places are really said to be haunted. Not only are you, the viewer, thinking how terrible it would be to be alone in the dark in that building, but your adding in this element of the unknown. Throughout these dares, the members would often hear footsteps coming toward them...see shadowy figures moving in front of them..or feel a 'cold spot' as they walk down the corridors. I suppose all these can be fabricated, but you wouldn't think so with all the infrared and night vision cameras that could easily pick up a hoax. You can't have a guy walking around trying to scare people..shooting cold air on them..or running around in front of them while there are cameras from all angles on him. But anyway, I'm sure there are still people that feel it's all a big hoax and I respect that, because I personally don't know what to think. But you have to admit..even for the most dedicated un-believer..when you see a guy having to sit in the supposed most haunted room in the prison all alone for 15 minutes, him having to shut his flashlight off and hold a electromagnetic detector while a score of noises and footsteps are all around him..you do question your beliefs in the paranormal.I think this is one of the best shows to come on television..really...ever. I am NOT a sitcom person, and frankly, watch very little TV. I will often laugh at the terrible ideas that people come up with to make into a show..but..every once in a while they'll throw in a show like this that really is something unique. This show is so scary because it's REAL..real people...real emotions..real fear. No special effects, make up or 'stickmen'. You may believe all the 'ghosts' are fake..but weather they are or not, the people in here are real people, just like you and me, and I'm sure when your entering that electric chair chamber..the Hole..or the Sugar Shack, you begin to question all your disbelief.
