20 years ago, SyFy (which was then known as the SciFi Channel) launched a hidden camera prank show called “ Scaremongering. The series’ premise was to place real people in frightening, often paranormal or bizarre situations and then watch them react. I loved the series when I was younger. And I’m so happy this Halloween season Scaremongering is back with a seemingly bigger budget and helmed by horror master Jordan Peele.
This new season of Scaremongering makes some changes to the format. This time the show will be hosted by Flip and not a random celebrity like Shanon Doherty or Tracy Morgan. Flip is described as a “ghostly teenager obsessed with horror movies and fascinated by human fear.” I’m not sure Flip really works, with its giant TV head and other brand’s Crypt Keeper vibes, but that doesn’t matter . Scaremongering has gone through several host changes and various visual rebrands over the past two decades, and that has never diminished the true fun of the show: watching random people get into terrible and scary situations and seeing what happens. And fortunately, this new version of Scaremongering doesn’t bother this aspect of the formula at all.
The first episode of Scaremongeringwhich is now available (along with the second episode) on YouTube is a perfect return to the new series, as it shows that this version of the show nails both the wild paranormal pranks and the more tense, slow-paced pranks.
In the first prank, a man witnesses a wedding between a heavily pregnant woman and her husband. But it slowly becomes clear that these people are probably part of a devil-worshipping cult and that their baby is not human. The other prank in the first episode of Scaremongering shows a man invited to a fancy dinner with exotic food. Eventually the meal takes a turn and he is served what he believes to be human flesh. The suspense of whether or not he will eat it, like the actors tricking him, is wonderful.
Here’s the second episode of the show featuring some WWE superstars and a creepy doll that leads someone to a deadly clown.
Of course, every prank ends with someone revealing the truth to the victim, leaving them to relax and laugh about what just happened. It’s always fun to see how people instantly change once their brain realizes that they’re not in danger, they’re actually just in a prank show. The mix of anger, relief and joy always makes me giggle.
Scaremongering is a perfect show to watch Halloween (The Old pranks are also available on YouTube) because it’s like a collection of horror anthology films from different genres, but starring real people who react authentically and differently to the terrible events around them.
Scaremongering is a perfect show to watch with friends as a break between films in a horror movie marathon. It will have you laughing and arguing about who in your group would be most afraid of a particular prank. It’s like Honest camerabut with more devil babies and blood. And I’m so glad it’s back just in time for Halloween.
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