I Am Not My Brother's Keeper

The things I do for you lucky people. Like gathering together my favorite interweb videos, to like share.

WHAT'S SCARE TACTICS?!

Scare Tactics was a great prank show. Using practical effects, and horror/sci-fi tropes, to bring something unique to the prank genre...

The best ones have the victim reacting REALLY STRONGLY like this Bigfoot one. In many of them, the mark seems genuinely traumatized. I love those the most, because I've become so numb I can only feel emotion through the reactions of others.

As with all prank shows, some episodes are more successful than others. The level of success really depends on three factors:

1. The quality of the premise.
2. The quality of the execution of the premise.
3. The mark's reaction throughout.

Some of them are really good until they fizzle at the very end. A weak response from the victim, upon the big reveal, can be real anticlimactic. Such as this video wherein the mark is led to believe he's got a volatile parasite in him. It's great right up to the reveal -- at which point, the victim doesn't seem to know how to react to the prank.

This guy wins the Bill Paxton Award:

There's a nice build here. He reacts strongly but he's a good sport at the end. Great ending, well played, bro.

I like to call the next one, "That Thing You Lay In When You Die". His end reaction is sort of non-existent, but his language struggle kept me laughing.

This one has a Shining/6th Sense vibe. It builds really nicely, but the ending doesn't have a real punch.

This one isn't that funny, but I like how intensely the victim reacts. It's not showy, she's not screaming, but she clearly needs to be consoled afterwards. In fact, it looks like they end the bit prematurely because she looks too freaked out.

I'm moved by this guy's reaction as he really seems to think he's about to be executed.

This mummy premise seems like one of the more far-fetched scenarios, but it's saved by how thoroughly the victim buys into it. She also reminds me of Calamity Jane, a little.

There are a ton of these segments online. I highly recommend them. Part of the appeal for me is how they take these familiar genre setups and plug a "real person" in there. When I'm writing, I'm always thinking, "How would a real person react in this bizarre situation?" With this show, you get a range of reactions. From simple, quaking fear to fight or flight aggression.

Good fucking show, kids. Right on, that's cool!