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Boo! Here's What Makes Scare Tactics Different From Other Prank Shows
Get ready to scream until you laugh with this new take on the classic series from executive producer Jordan Peele.
Horror and comedy are more intertwined than you might think. A scientific paper published over the summer entitled First They Scream, Then They Laugh: The Cognitive Intersections of Humor and Fear explores the surprising nexus between two psychological responses that seem like polar opposites. Interestingly, the paper touches on the subject of "scare pranks," which consist of an initial jolt of fear quickly followed by a "cognitive reappraisal" on the part of the prankee.
Sounds a bit like USA Network's new series Scare Tactics ...
"A fearful startle has a very visible and audible manifestation in the form of spasmodic defensive posturing and potentially a scream, and it is this reaction that the prankster seeks to evoke," write co-authors Marc Hye-Knudsen, Jens Kjeldgaard-Christiansen, Brian B. Boutwell, and Mathias Clasen. "The victim's primary appraisal of threat is then followed by a secondary appraisal, which involves conscious reflection. This is when the victim of the scare prank reassesses the situation and sees that they are not actually in danger, which may be accompanied by an appraisal of benignity and a consequent humor response."
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That's basically the elevator pitch — albeit with much more highfalutin' language — for the new iteration of Scare Tactics, which premieres on USA Network on Friday, October 4.
Is Scare Tactics a horror show?
Well, technically speaking, yes. While it's true that Scare Tactics is all about luring unsuspecting "victims" into cinematic situations rooted in the horror genre and filming their response via hidden cameras, the whole thing is done in the spirit of good fun.
The end goal is to scream until we laugh. And, let's be honest here: it's hilarious to see other people jumping out of their skins in terror. The Germans even have a word for deriving pleasure from someone else's pain — schadenfreude.
What is Scare Tactics based on?
Originally created by Scott Hallock and Kevin Healey, Scare Tactics ran for five seasons on SYFY and the now-defunct Chiller between 2003 and 2013.
RELATED: Everything to Know About SYFY's Original, Early-2000s Scare Tactics Prank Series
Hosts included Shannen Doherty, Stephen Baldwin, and Tracy Morgan, but no human will host the USA revival. The MC this time around is a ghostly and horror-obsessed pre-teen named Flip.
Who is making the new Scare Tactics?
This new iteration of the classic show hails from acclaimed filmmaker Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions banner.
Peele, of course, is the writer-director behind some of the most innovative horror cinema of the last decade — Get Out, Us, and Nope — all of which balanced thrills, social commentary, and moments of levity. He also knows a thing or two about making us laugh, having served as one half of the sketch comedy duo known as Key & Peele alongside Keegan-Michael Key.
"I think the comedy part of my career is still going. I think it’s still active," Peele said during a guest appearance on The Daily Show. "And part of that — I talk about it as sort of like the difference between comedy and horror is the music. And it really does feel like that. I love comedy. It became very complex, somehow, making comedy in this world — as it is making anything or getting anything accomplished in this world."
Peele is an executive producer on Scare Tactics with Win Rosenfeld, Scott Hallock, and showrunner Elan Gale.
RELATED: Nope Director Jordan Peele to Shine Light on Forgotten Black Cowboys in New Peacock Docuseries
When does Scare Tactics premiere?
Scare Tactics is scheduled to premiere on USA Network on Friday, October 4 at 10 p.m. ET. The debut episode will also air simultaneously across Bravo, SYFY and E!
