Jordan Peele’s Horror-Prank Reboot Sounds Like a Real Nightmare
Jordan Peele has proven himself to be the master of two genres. There’s comedy, as evidenced by his hilarious sketches on Key & Peele. Then there’s horror, with his Oscar-winning work on movies such as Get Out.
So I guess it’s a natural that Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions are producing a reboot of Scare Tactics, a “hidden-camera horror comedy show” that ran for five anonymous (at least to me) seasons on SyFy. The show was first hosted by the late Shannen Doherty, then Stephen Baldwin and then Tracy Morgan, or three members of what would be the weirdest dinner party of all time.
The reboot’s premise, which picks up where the original left off, “turns unsuspecting individuals into the main characters of their very own horror movies. Set up by their friends and family, these unwitting participants are put in twisted scenarios with fully immersive stories that blur the lines of reality, horror and comedy as they navigate one unreal decision after another.”
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Am I the only one who thinks terrifying people for fun sounds like a terrible idea? Prank shows in general are pretty cruel, tricking unsuspecting people by putting them in ridiculous situations. The results are usually embarrassing, confusing or infuriating, but at least they’re (probably) not going to require years of therapy in the aftermath.
But what happens when you put a skilled horror master like Peele in charge of the psychologically twisted scenarios? “As one of the most visionary creators of the day, there is nothing Jordan Peele can’t do,” says an NBCUniversal executive with a longwinded title. And that’s the problem — based on his film work, I believe Peele is capable of real damage!
It’s one thing to pay money to see a Peele horror movie when you know exactly what you’re getting into. But being inserted into a Peele horror movie without your knowledge or your consent? “Jump scare” is the best-case scenario. The show’s producers seem to get the inherent dangers in its concept, soft-peddling the possible consequences. All the italics in this press release quote are mine: “It’s cathartic and hilarious to watch people get a little scared, and the scenarios we cooked up for this season are really wild. We can’t wait to share a little light-hearted schadenfreude with audiences soon.”
“A little scared.” “Light-hearted schadenfreude.” Sure, sure, it’s all a romp in the park while being chased by a serial killer. As long as you’re not the one “set up by friends and family” to be plunged into a living nightmare, it’s knee-slapping hilarity.
Okay, deep breath here. Peele likely will have little to do with Scare Tactics beyond a producer credit and a paycheck. But still, why would a guy with his pedigree be the creative force behind a rebooted reality show on the USA Network (a cable channel I wasn’t aware still existed)? So let’s hope that I’m right, and that Peele will be pretty tangential to a show airing between Race to Survive: New Zealand and Mud, Sweat & Beards.
Either way, I’ll wait for Peele’s untitled fourth film instead. If I’m going to get scared out of my pants, I want to know about it ahead of time.
