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.

Wow, this was garbage. The story scripts were beyond bad. They were totally dumb, boring and had no real comprehensive plot. Scare? LOL, a 7 year old could have written and acted out a better scare towards a friend than this poorly scripted and acted waste of my time to watch. Not even close to the older Scare Tactics program. This show will not last 1 season. If you are going to restart a TV series. You should at least put your best episode as the premier. The first skit was so unbelievable, that whomever wrote it should look for another job. The 2nd skit was equally as out of touch with any comprehensive dialogue.

This reboot show is not as good as the original!

As soon as someone gets scared they just end it and say "no no it's okay, you are on scare tactics" back in the day they would keep it going for so much longer and it also had better story lines.

I loved the original show, it's just so nostalgic. I saw every episode and got so excited when I found out about the reboot coming out but it's definitely a let down. I enjoyed the first episode especially the one about the "fine dining experience". They need to make the scares last way longer and maybe definitely come up with some better scary segments.

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.

I had such high hopes for this series. It seemed like it had high production value, solid financial backing, and the premise of putting unsuspecting people in situations so bizarre and otherworldly and then capturing their visceral, unfiltered reactions all seemed to point to this turning out to be great content.

It couldn't have turned out worse! As others have mentioned, the show will spend time building out a great concept, the actors play their part well, and the target is perfectly primed for a potentially fantastic reaction; yet JUST as the fun begins, the show's team almost immediately reveal it's all fake without letting the climax of the scene play out. The premature reveals are frustrating and make you scratch your head, because of all the effort that was put into the build up.

I also think most of the outros and transitions prior to or between bits are extraneous and poorly executed. They come off as corny, and not in an endearing or fun way. Also, the show's "AI host" is just distracting and adds nothing in terms of substance. Do yourself a favor and skip this, because if you're like me, you'll find yourself getting increasingly frustrated because this really could have been great if well executed. Watch Prank Encounters on Netflix instead, they achieved what this show did not.

1 star!