74 replies to this topic

[stretchess]

I couldn't find a topic for this new show from the CW that aired tonight. Fear is Real

Thirteen people compete to "stay alive" as they face their deepest fears in an all-out elimination competition and scare-fest. Pitted against each other in situations straight from the horror movies, the 13 will face shocking surprises, psychological scares and lots of "beware of the dark" moments, all designed by a "mastermind" of terror. In addition to frightening them, he'll also entice individuals to work in concert with him and against the others, creating a situation in which the 13 will not only look over their shoulders but will also never be certain who is real before them.

Each week, one unlucky victim will be "killed off" via frightening challenges and game-playing until only one person is left to win the grand prize of - fittingly - $66,666.

Did anyone watch this? I have to say I found it quite good. I lived in New Orleans for 7 years and there is no way in all the world you could drag me to spend multiple nights in the bayou, much less under circumstances where if I walk outside in the pitch black I could get "taken" by random guys in black and tied to chairs, blindfolded. No way, no how. Even though it's just a reality show, the bayou has nutria, alligators, rats, roaches, voodoo, and crazy hillbillies who hang the confederate flag with pride, and I would certainly not spend one second out there at night time. This isn't like some "haunted" mansion that doesn't really have ghosts. The bayou actually is packed with real life creepy stuff.

When that Leah chick said she couldn't imagine anything worse than "this", I thought to myself "you mean, besides the cold sore on your lip?" -yes I'm mean and evil.

[Valkyerie]

LOL! My girlfriend and I were riffing on her cold sore too!

This show is a good idea that is spoiled by the stupidity of the players. I also don't particularly care for the editing. It reminds me a lot of Murder in Small Town X but I liked the execution of that show much better.

[niklj]

I found this show really, really, really boring. Murder in Small Town X was waaay better. Even MTV's Fear was better. The whole time I was thinking how staged this show is. And how boring the contestants were.

Dang. I can't believe how...excited I was for this show.

[BenG]

I only made it through 20 minutes before switching channels. The editing was cheesy and the contestants dull as bricks. I liked the dude with the mohawk who seemed like he thought the whole thing was a laugh but other than that I couldn't find anything to like about it. Please the blatant Saw rip-off was distracting.

[niklj]

Please the blatant Saw rip-off was distracting.

True dat. They could've made him sound like the Cryptkeeper, or something equally as creepy. Or they could've just cut that whole stupid "Master" whatever thing.

I thought it was cool that Show or whoever had kids. I'm tired of seeing pretty (*cough*) twentysomethings.

[JustSayNo]

Atrocious. Yet I couldn't stop watching. I just kept thinking it has to get better, and it didn't. The one contestant (Steffanie?) is such a non-entity that no one noticed she disappeared for God knows how long to steal the box? And stand there like an idiot? And then hide it? Then disappeared again after everyone knew someone took it to...put it back in the cage? And still no one noticed? Wow. And she isn't even the dumbest one in the game.

The editors tried too hard to be clever with those blindfold perspective shots. I'm also absolutely convinced that they are on a sound stage because those plants looked fake and kept repeating themselves. There's this bizarre, artistic horror film from the 80's called The Company of Wolves, where the director was given such a low budget he had to film seven or eight trees and a handful of bushes in every possible combination with every gel available to make it look like a forest. This felt like that, only with the off-season clearance rack of fake plants from a craft store held by PAs.

The only joy I got was watching the idiots constantly hurt themselves (like cold sore getting her hair caught in a tree - brilliant!) and laughing at how awful the production values were. Yes, burying someone alive is so edgy and different that to really sell it you need to show the PAs alternately holding nails above the coffin and hitting the wood; they would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for the pesky overhead shot that showed absolutely no nails in the lid.

It's not even worth tearing apart. I could be making jokes about bondage, the average IQ of a horror survivor, the average IQ of the contestants (the cute blond one dies first? I thought that was the one who gets stripped down to her bra and panties and received the best chase scene in horror films. Sweet, simple minded model girl with no clue), and the overreaction to "blood" or "something in the woods (it's called paint and a camera, kids - get used to it).

[drtofu66]

I only made it through 20 minutes before switching channels.

Then you missed the best part. The next day the group found a locked cage, shackled to a tree, with a "Death Box" inside and a recorded message from the Mastermind. Whichever player in the group who would steal the box in secret would "do the Mastermind's dirty work for him" and be responsible for killing 3 players. However, if the killer were to be discovered, he/she would automatically be sent to the execution round. [I'm not sure why only 3 players, but we'll see I suppose.]


They actually showed the asian chick opening the cage and stashing the box in the woods without opening it. I thought that she wanted to take it out of play or something, but she was planning on doing the Mastermind's dirty work and didn't want to get caught with it. I also found it weird that they showed her taking it. Turns out she got cold feet and put it back in the cage, which was probably a good move. She was acting suspicious when the group found that the box was gone but she wasn't caught (they showed some players mentioning her name as a possibility when they were in small groups-- sounds like they had it narrowed down to 3 people and she was amongst the 3). But the box was gone by the end of the episode and they didn't show who took it that time.


The Death Box was a nice addition. Tension in the group was definitely amped up when it came into play. If the show was a straight-up MTV Fear rip-off-- yes, it wouldn't be anything new. But it's not and I'm looking foreward to seeing it next week. If you're a Mole fan like me you might like it.

[Cherry Wire]

They really needed to make the "buried alive" challenge a little more scary. Maybe pump the coffin full of giant flying roaches?

There was kind of a staged feeling about the whole thing...when that one girl left the cabin at night "by herself", it was hard to forget she was accompanied by a cameraperson. I liked "The Blair Witch Project" but this reminded me more of the lame sequel.

[niklj]

If you're a Mole fan like me you might like it.

I looove(d?) the Mole and I didn't like it. Because The Mole had several things that this show doesn't:

-Better production values
-Smart-ish contestants of all ages and creeds
-Intentional hilarity
-Smart and interesting challenges
-Actual, non-forced intrigue

But this is the CW. What am I expecting?

[ButterflyBandit]

I loved this show. It reminded me of Murder In Small Town X (I miss you - why won't you come back, show?), too. Is it the greatest show on television, of course not. But, the horror nut in me can't help but love it.

I loved Jason X, too, though - so, my taste is clearly questionable.

[funkgasm]

Embarrassed that I watched it but glad I did also. I loved the announcement for next week! "One of the contestants' will have their FACE eaten off by RATS." The whole thing was so completely faked and staged... I loved it. When the girl broke through the "trap door" in the coffin and just emerged from the ground... I loved it. Stephinie sneaking away not once, but TWICE to steal the death box and not getting caught either time... priceless. In short, I can't believe I watched it and I can't believe I liked it.

[pottie-mouth]

The best part of this show for me was watching that guy's horrible dirty mohawk slowly collapse.

I am starting to think I must be part of the target demo for this show because I was also one of the 400 or so people who actually watched (and enjoyed) "Murder in Small Town X."

[gaPeach]

I am starting to think I must be part of the target demo for this show because I was also one of the 400 or so people who actually watched (and enjoyed) "Murder in Small Town X."

Ok count me in on that group. I loved Murder in Small Town X too.

And seriously how did she get to the box twice without being seen? Really. It wasn't that far from the cabin. Broad daylight? Um yeah.

And when Cold Sore girl (don't know names yet) decided to get up and go pee in the middle of the night where the hell was the can? Did you see how far she was from the cabin when she turned into a blubbering pile of whimpiness. Its hard to believe they are really freaked out or scared when there is a camera guy right there filming them with a BRIGHT light. The blindfolding and being tied to a chair in the middle of the woods........now that was scary. Ew just think something could have dropped on you from a tree or climbed up you leg and you couldn't have done anything about it. It looked like they actually left them there alone while their partners went looking for them.

Yeah, I will be watching it again next week. Got see what happens to mohawk dude's hair by the third day out there.

[Pixel]

I love the concept of this show, but so far I'm disappointed in the execution. It's impossible to believe they're terrified when they have a camera crew around them. Hell, I'm scared of spiders and the dark, but if I had a sound guy and a cameraman with me I bet I wouldn't give a rat's ass. I'd have liked it a lot better if they'd shot it like MTV's Fear, with bodysuit cameras and infrared so that you could see that the contestants were actually alone in their searching, or being tied to chairs, or whatever. Then I could at least buy that they'd freaked themselves out.

[ratic]

This was rather bad and I'm going to watch and enjoy every episode. The setting is fantastic, and being tied up in the woods would be legitimately scary. Even with a camera crew. Do they blindfold the camera for the blindfold perspective shots?

I was hoping they would have more fun with it, like when they got off the bus the contestants would run into an old guy who tells them they are all doomed. I can settle for Leah freaking out over everything. I hope she wins.

Did anyone but Leah look at the empty death box cage the first time? Because when it reappeared it would have been nice if someone had accused her of being delusional.

[pottie-mouth]

I was hoping they would have more fun with it, like when they got off the bus the contestants would run into an old guy who tells them they are all doomed.

The huge white elephant here is that this show would actually work if they cast/hired people under the premise that they'd be competing in a regular reality show and then went all "Blair Witch Project" on them (having them run into scary people who share misc lore about the doomed woods, messing with their stuff late at night, etc. - all the while the producers deny all intent/involvement and act generally concerned). As it stands, having them sign a release takes all the fun out of burying someone alive.

[ratic]

The huge white elephant here is that this show would actually work if they cast/hired people under the premise that they'd be competing in a regular reality show and then went all "Blair Witch Project" on them (having them run into scary people who share misc lore about the doomed woods, messing with their stuff late at night, etc. - all the while the producers deny all intent/involvement and act generally concerned).

Oh that would be fun! Strange noises at night, plant bones for them to find, and have a contestant disappear with no explanation. It would keep half the contestants from looking bored, and save me from speeches about overcoming fear too.

I don't know if anything can take all the fun aout of burying someone alive. I was still uneasy until I realised how little dirt was used to cover them.

[Stinger97]

Is this some awesome new reality show that everyone should be watching? No. Is this a new reality show that's a complete train wreck that I'll probably watch every week? Yes. As much as I know it sucks, I can't help myself. Seeing poorly defined characters bumbling around the bayou while some disembodied voice orders them around is television gold. Cody's hair is also a big draw for me. That shit is ridiculous. As is his nose piercing, which makes him look more like Bebop from the TMNT animated series than a ghosthunter. Actually, Bebop had a mohawk, too. So yea, this dude is Bebop.

Leah screaming for the entirety of this first episode was more than a bit tiring. We get you're scared. But then why the hell were you getting up in the middle of the night to go pee in the woods by yourself? Either hold it until morning or drag your new BFF, Lauren, along with you. I thought all women went to the bathroom together, be it in a fancy restaurant or the bayou. It's like your thing. You probably should have slathered on some Abreva to take care of the cold sore, btw. That thing was seriously unattractive. Every time someone went in for a hug to comfort her, all I could think of was, "God, do not touch her lip! Just don't do it." That scared me more than any producer interference/manipulation.

Stef (whose whole name I refuse to type out because it uses entirely too many letters to spell) was infuriating. You slink off to get the Death Box and hide it, then piss yourself because you're in possession of the Death Box, then slink back to replace the Death Box, then can't find it. I just didn't see the point. And the thing is, I do like her because she seems to be one of only a few "guests" who are down to earth and relatable. But she's also an idiot, which, judging by everyone else, is just par for the course with the show.

And on a completely shallow note, I'd love to see a lot more of Rodney and Ryan. Like naked. And making out or something. Can you make that happen, Mastermind (aka, producer)?

[Forn]

When the girl broke through the "trap door" in the coffin and just emerged from the ground

What was up with that anyway? She kicked out the bottom and slid out easily, like there was an empty chamber there. Then they show her clawing up through the dirt. Obviously it would be too dangerous to actually bury someone alive, but that whole sequence was really weird.

[SusannahDean]

It was cheesy but Im probably still going to watch it because I still miss MTV's Fear. Murder in Small Town X sounds pretty interesting. I wish Id watched that.

[seltzer4]

You know, if I was one of the two girls who were going to be eliminated, I would take the box. The only punishment of getting caught is being placed in the elimination round. Lauren or Kelly could just grab the box in front of everyone and say "well I can take 3 other people with me".

Speaking about getting caught. What are the rules for catching someone?

[evilandproud]

It was cheesy but Im probably still going to watch it because I still miss MTV's Fear.

Word. Fear was a little less fake than this show, but I think this show is still pretty entertaining. I wish they would have brought back Fear instead though. It would be way cheaper to produce too.

I feel kind of bad for ColdSore. She is horrified all the time AND everyone that is watching this show (all six of us) is wondering if she has herpes.

[Stinger97]

What was up with that anyway? She kicked out the bottom and slid out easily, like there was an empty chamber there. Then they show her clawing up through the dirt. Obviously it would be too dangerous to actually bury someone alive, but that whole sequence was really weird.

That was the point of the challenge, I guess. The Mastermind told them that the first to escape the coffin would survive. I think the producers wanted the girls to think they needed to claw their way out of the coffin in the conventional way (of however conventional clawing your way out of a coffin can be), but the secret was that the side panel of the coffin could be kicked out and that it led to an escape tunnel. Lauren never figured that out.

I do wonder what's fake and what's real about this show. If the producers tried to play it off as though these kids were being filmed using strategically placed surveillance cameras, that might make things a bit more scary. But as others have mentioned, I find it hard to buy Leah freaking the hell out while out in the woods when we're all well aware that there's a cameraman standing right next to her, taping her breakdown. The same thing could be said for no one noticing Stef (and her trusty cameraman) grabbing the Death Box. It just doesn't make any logical sense. Ignoring all that though, I find the show pretty enjoyable.

[BK1978]

Wow I thought I was the only one who thought this was very much like Murder In Small Town X. Anyway, like everyone else said before me; yes I know this show is crap and I love this show for being such crap. Did anyone figure out who the killer is? I assume that if I bothered to learn the names of these people I would be able to figure it out (as I think that it was a first name scrambled). That being said I do not remember any of their names besides Stef and Nasser.

[Ben Stilwell]

The name appeared to me to be several names overlapping each other rather then scrambled.

[JustSayNo]

All of the contestants names seemed to be stacked together and fuzzed out a bit.

I think, from the first killer confessional, the killer is Leah. The nose looked similar in the first confessional when the killer kept leaning forward and the ears seemed to match. She also wears her hair back a lot which would create the gender ambiguity. The second confessional wasn't nearly as clear because they had the killer sitting further away from the camera.

The second episode was a little better than the first, though I can't get past how nothing is really happening on the show. I also still want to slap them until they recognize that this stuff isn't real. Yes, there were real (harmless, not poisonous killer) snakes in the tanks, and real (trained) rats in the cages, but that's it. I, too, have a horrible fear of snakes, so I get some of the freakouts. However, do they really think that a reality show is going to place potentially dangerous, lethal snakes in a tank that they have to interact with?

I see how people could find this similar to Murder in Small Town X. I was a huge fan of that show and I don't think this even comes close. The murderer dynamic could be interesting, but the contestants don't quite seem to get it. Erica's made the smartest move in the entire game by staying back and looking for clues; too bad she was looking for a weapon and not the actual death box.

[Fuzubanu]

Leah is such a terrible actress. I kind of felt embarrassed for Steffinie for having to share a boat with a girl who really doesn't understand the proper way to lose your shit.

"OH MY GOD THIS IS A BOAT I DON'T WANNA BE HERE IS THAT A FLASHLIGHT FUCK NO GET IT AWAY FROM ME HOLY CRAP THERE'S AN ASIAN GIRL IN THE BOAT I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS"

I was kind of hoping that blond guy would have turned to the elminated girl as he was running out of the shed and told her that he is the killer. Nasser (?) had already raced off so it would have been a great moment.

[JBravoEcho09]

The best part of this show for me was watching that guy's horrible dirty mohawk slowly collapse.

I am starting to think I must be part of the target demo for this show because I was also one of the 400 or so people who actually watched (and enjoyed) "Murder in Small Town X."

Double Word! That thing puts dirty faux-hippie dreads next to godliness. It looks like one of the rats in the elimination cages died on his head.

Also I did watch Murder in Small Town X. It's become something of an in-joke between me and my sister. We went to a neighbor's house and turned off all the lights and played tag and called it Murder in Small Town [Insert Neighbor's Last Name]. We were in junior high but seriously that show was amazing. I love trying to explain the show to anyone willing to listen.

I'm a big horror fan and have faith in Raimi to keep making it better with every episode. First episode was ok. Second was much better. Yes there's no way you can die but people have been seriously injured on Survivor and other shows. It may not be in the shows design but things could always get out of hand. (Btw, first movie I thought of when I saw the cabin was Evil Dead.)

I also like the 10 Little Indians aspect of it. It's very The Thing. The punishment for suspicion was amazing. Also I think I like that the other contestants have nothing to lose. If they all agree and the contestant has the deathbox then they win, and if the contestant doesn't have the deathbox, the accuser loses. It's win-win for everyone else. I think I like that. It increases the chance of an all-out witch hunt. It unfortunately would cut down on discussions that could get interesting as the show goes on.

I'm also for the Blair Witch aspect. Too late now but they could always start freaking the contestants out more. Hiding weird things and whatnot. Having creepy guys outside the cabin always just out of reach (like the one that ran past while Erica and Nasser were looking for the "weapon"). Or having the boxes (filled with snakes, totally called it) move before they were opened. Moving personal belongings when people aren't looking. Just little stuff can really start playing tricks on you. Especially if you aren't sleeping well already. It can cause arguments, increase paranoia. You basically have to make them believe that anything can happen.

[funkgasm]

I loved the dialogue when they first got in those boats:

"I can't wait to find out what's in this box."
"What's in the box?!"
"This box is making me so nervous."
"God, what is in this box?"

We KNOW that you don't know what's in the box, that's the whole POINT.

I did like the drama surrounding the DEATH BOX and all the paranoia that ensued. But they really need to cut it with the voice overdubs. When the girl who got her face eaten by rats (Lauren?) was asking blonde dude to help her out it was so obvious that her pleas and his replies were dubbed as all hell.

At first I thought the killer was Nasser because it looked like the scrambled name on the screen was "ERASER" but then I realized the letters don't quite add up. Duh.

[xander874]

The killer's name was lots of names. I definitely saw Erica on top and Nasser underneath. Maybe as people "die", they'll remove the name from the jumble.

I like this show (and count me as one of the Murder in Small Town X fans), but I want more to happen. There is too much sitting around. I want more suspense and well, fear throughout, not just in the challenge.

I do like the "Jason Vorhees" shots through the leaves and what-not. And when they show someone in shadows walking by the contestants.