Hysteria!

The good old Eighties, when some Christian conservatives attempted to stop kids from listening to wild heavy music supposedly associated with Satan and the likes. This series has playful fun with this basis, via a suburban town of Happy Hollow, where the residents and their teenagers get caught up in some strange going-ons, led by a high school heavy metal band and its wild antics - with the demonic Satan along for the ride.

Bruce Campbell as the chief of police is a bonus and an absolute hoot, as is Julie Bowen, a concerned mother who is flung around by an entity, and even gets to have visions of the evil creature with the horns. Emjay Anthony Is perfect as the son, Dylan, going to great lengths to get that girl, even if it means starting your own satanic cult!

There is plenty going on in this series; school bullying, doing anything to get attention, peer pressure, craving acceptance, and all things associated with teenage angst. Most of all it's about the hysteria parents create to deal with the situation.

It's 1989. Happy Hollow is a small town near Detroit. Star quarterback Ryan Hudson and his secret girlfriend Faith get taken by masked people. Dylan Campbell, Jordy Stanwyck, and Spud are a local high school metal band struggling to get noticed. Dylan goes fake Satanic to gain the attention of school hottie Judith.

I really really wanted to like this, but I really really hate Dylan. It's tough to watch the dumb pathetic teen do dumb pathetic teen stuff. He keeps making the same face, saying the same things, and doing the same idiotic mistake. Sure, Judith is hot and guys have done plenty of dumb things to get some crazy hot. It is still a frustrating watch. I feel like I'm Jordy.

Tracy Whitehead is problematic. She never declares that her daughter Faith went missing. The math doesn't add up for this helicopter mother in the early episodes. Then, there is an explanation, but it still doesn't work... especially for the daughter. Unless Tracy assumes that Faith has amnesia, that part doesn't make sense.

I would be more interested in Chief Dandridge's investigation. This is about a murder in a small town. That is still compelling. The actual hysteria part is somewhat interesting. The possession screws up the mystery part unless somebody solves that. There are too many dumb kids and too many dumb adults. I get it. That's the point. It doesn't make me hate Dylan's whiney voice any less.

I went in to this completely blind, and my first impressions was that it was going to be a dark comedy and satire from the 1980's satanic panic. It turned out to be a teen drama best suited for the likes of MTV. Once again, it's another 80s throwback where most of the cast look like they're out of 2024 cosplaying 80s characters and getting it all wrong. The story lines are all over the place but they do come together for the most part. I binged watched this in one day and it very well much could have been a 2 hr movie. The not so subtle ending really ruined what could have been an amazing wrap up. I can't really recommend the show, but it wasn't bad. It's definitely a one and done with no rewatchability. They really missed the mark on just how funny the satanic panic was in the 80s when we all knew it was bs.

This show captured 1989, the satanic panic, and the style of all those old supernatural horror films to the 'T'. I suspect that when the network saw it, they had them edit out a few minor shots that might give away what was a possible ending, so they could do a second season. At least I hope so. But having lived through that period, I can say they did it very well.

While not a comedy, it did keep me laughing at all the nods to other films of that genre, which in way reminded me of Stranger Things, but they limited jump scares, nudity blood, and ultra violence, and still made a good show. My hat is off to the producers and directors and writers.

PS the cast is all good, and this is Brice Campbell's 2nd best role after Bubba Ho Tep.

Hysteria! Was a really pleasant surprise. Visually it shares a lot with Stranger Things, but on the other hand it has similar elements to Midnight Mass. At the same time it's easy series to watch. All in all the show is a mixture of murder mystery, coming of age story, horror... Again, Stanger Things anyone?

What separates Hysteria from other shows is how it handles the comedy-side of the story. Show doesn't take itself too seriously, but at the same time it avoids most pitfalls. TV mystery on satanic panic could easily be either a serious detective drama or slapstick comedy of goofy metal band. Hysteria! Is able to bake something else from premise, which feels both familiar and fresh.

Additionally, I really like the way how it handles references to pop culture and how the chemistry between actors works.

It's really hard to make anything really satisfying by mixing lots of genres and reusing already well known recipe of "Stranger Things". I would have expected a mediocre show, but had such a thrilling time binging this one. Keeping fingers crossed for upcoming seasons! Thus giving it a solid 8, but if you are really into nostalgia and love teen drama with mystery and horror, it's easy to give even an extra point.