''Scare Tactics'' is an American

comedy horror Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

television show, produced by Scott Hallock and Kevin Healey. Its first two seasons aired from April 2003 to December 2004. After a hiatus, the show returned for a third season, beginning July 9, 2008. The first season of the show was hosted by

Shannen Doherty Shannen Doherty (, born April 12, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jenny Wilder in '' Little House on the Prairie'' (1982–1983); Maggie Malene in '' Girls Just Want to Have Fun'' (1985); Kris Witherspoon in ''Our Hou ...

Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor, producer and director. He has appeared in the films '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Posse'' (1993), '' 8 Seconds'' (1994), '' Threesome'' (1994), '' The Usual Suspects' ...

took her place in the middle of the second season. At the beginning of the third season, the show was hosted by

Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor best known for his television work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1996–2003) and for his role as Tracy Jordan in the sitcom ''30 Rock'' (2006 ...

. The fourth season began on October 6, 2009. On July 17, 2017, it was announced that Blumhouse Television was going to produce a new season of the show. In

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, the first season of the program aired on

MTV Central MTV Germany is a German language free-to-air television channel operated by Paramount Global. The channel launched on 7 March 1997 as MTV Central, as part of a regionalisation strategy by Paramount Global, then MTV Networks Europe. Avail ...

from 2003 to 2004. The show was also broadcast in Australia on Fox8, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

on MTV, in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

on AXN, in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

MTV Russia MTV Russia or MTV Россия (russian: МТВ Россия) was a Russian music and entertainment TV channel, which carried out its broadcasting from September 25, 1998 to May 31, 2013. On October 1, 2013, MTV Russia was relaunched as a satel ...

(''only the first two seasons)'', in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

on Dream TV, in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

on TV Puls, in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

on Jim, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

on Q TV, in Sweden initially on TV6, and then on TV11. The program was distributed internationally by Rive Gauche Television.

Format

''Scare Tactics'' is a

prank A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

show that puts victims into terrifying situations, usually involving

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

-style

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual w ...

s and

makeup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vo ...

that recreates horror movie clichés. The victims, generally four per episode, are set up by friends/family in tandem with

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

s. Unlike other hidden camera shows, Scare Tactics was shot and edited in a cinematic style intended to give each piece the look and feel of a scary movie. There are some instances where the victims are lured into the pranks on the promise of being on a fake reality show called "Fear Antics" which plays off like a show similar to MTV's '' Jackass'' but end with dire consequences. Sometimes, the victim will attempt keeping calm and rationally try keeping the situation from getting out of control (from their perspective). The pranks end when the victim is completely terrified and someone would ask them, "Are you scared?" to which they usually reply in the affirmative. They then get the reply, "You should be! You're on ''Scare Tactics''!" or "I'll have to/I'm gonna put you on ''Scare Tactics''!". Alternately, at times when a victim almost ran for their lives, they immediately announced the same thing. Once or twice, a victim realized they were on ''Scare Tactics''. Rarely, a victim will assault an actor playing a psycho in a moment of courage; forcing the crew to end charade.

Guest stars

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag t ...

(Season 3, Episode 15) *

Judah Friedlander Judah Friedlander (born March 16, 1969) is an American actor and comedian, known for playing the role of writer Frank Rossitano on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock''. Friedlander is also known for his role as Toby Radloff in the film '' American Splend ...

* Brooke Hogan (Season 5, Episode 1) * Lauren Ash *

Eric Stonestreet Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC mockumentary sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporti ...

(Season 3, Episode 17) * Marc Evan Jackson *

Dot-Marie Jones Dorothy-Marie Jones (born January 4, 1964) is an American actress and retired athlete who has had multiple roles in television. She attended California State University, Fresno, where she set records for shot put. Jones is also a 15-time world ...

List of ''Scare Tactics'' episodes

Season One

* 101: UFO Abduction, Firing Range, Buried Alive, Camp Killer * 102: Bigfoot Attacks, Where's Shannen?, Flatline, Psycho Hitchhiker * 103: Organ Harvest, Monster in the Closet, Disappearing Stripper, Limo in Area 51 * 104: Clone Attack, Orgy from Hell, Repo Man, Monkey Trouble * 105: Meteor Man, Date with the Devil, Barbershop of Blood, Taxi Cab Carnage * 106: Lab Spill, Haunted Babysitter, Serial Killer, Hellride * 107: Tanning Salon Terror, Cable Killers, Little Girl Psychic, Runaway Corpse * 108: Ghost Train, Body in Trunk, Dominatrix for a Day, Desert Monster * 109: UFO Trailer Attack, The Cannibal Family, Séance from Hell, Driving the Dead * 110: Harsh Reality, Dr. Werewolf, Boy in a Bubble, Virgin Sacrifice * 111: Chupacabra Attack, Deadly Secret, Lights Out, Black Magic * 112: Hazmat Hell, Surgery Nightmare, Death Lunch, Bad Seed * 113: Laboratory Meltdown, Eye Witness, Unborn Clones, Silo Scare * 114: Deadly Feast, Fear in the Box, Fear Antics: Psycho, Maniac Cop * 115: Killer Clown, Lethal Conversation, Caught on Camera, Demonic Duel * 116: Chainsaw Attack, Beastly Breakout, Deadly Hicks, Alien Returns * 117: Dangerous Obsession, Web of Evil, Laboratory of Blood, Repo from Hell * 118: Security Breach, Taste for Blood, Zombie Grandma, Killer Car * 119: Bad Medicine, Killer Queen, Dead Alive, Alien Hunters * 120: Massacre Under the House, Unholy Ground, Video Victim, Mask of Death * 121: Lethal Touch, Showgirl's Revenge, Terror Next Door, Bigfoot Returns * 122: Home Invasion, Demonic Possession, Fatal Beauty, The Hunted * 123 Special: The Bloody Mirror, Camp Killer, Deadly Infestation, Harsh Reality, Voodoo Resurrection, Psycho Hitchhiker

Season Two

* 201: Rage from the Cage, Killer Bees, Bring Out the Gimp, Grave Robbers * 202: Street Justice, That's Not Santa, Freaks Come Out at Night, Possessed Office * 203: Gorilla with a Fist, Regression Aggression, Fear Antics: Mandroid's Revenge, Flowers for My Lady * 204: What's in the Box?, Stakeout, Shocker, Radio Daze * 205: Brother's Keeper, Cult Compound Crackdown, Revenge of the Switchhiker, Drug Ring Sting * 206: Toilet Full of Scary, Desert Cult Trailer Attack, Wrath of the Mummy, Juvenile Justice * 207: Slaughterhouse of Horror, Porn Dorm Massacre, Desert Ritual, Walk-in Portal * 208: Wired for Revenge, Shave and a Headcut, Summon the Demon, Fear Antics: Hotel Hell * 209: Motor Psychos, Attack of the Rat Monster, I Me Minefield, There Are Men Coming Here to Kill Me * 210: Piranhas in the Pond, Chambermaid of Horror, Shotgun Wedding, Critters * 211: If I Only Had Your Brain, Open the Pod Bay Door, Wired, Fear Antics: Room With a View * 212: Power Outrage, License to Drive, Wolfman Tells Campfire Stories, The Bagman * 213: Backwoods Booby Trap, Demon's List, Newest Mental Patient, Mob Morgue * 214: For Whom the Bridge Trolls, Party Forever (Parts 1 & 2), Burned Alive * 215: Drone Helicopter, Fed-Execution, Girl in a Blood-Soaked Dress, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde * 216: Unsafe, Eye of the Beholder, Tastes Like Chicken, Meet My Psycho Girlfriend * 217: Bedridden but Deadly, The Set Up (Parts 1 & 2), Lost and Found * 218: Pond Creature, Carface, Moonshine Mountain, Rubbed the Wrong Way * 219: Car Wash, Fear Antics: Running Man, Gimme a Hand, Spa of Death * 220: The Blob, Road Rage, Strip Club, Man of the Haunted House * 221: Alien House Call, Hackman Attacks, Final Entry, Hannah's Abduction

Season Three

* 301: Satan's Baby, Wood Chipper, Psychic, Black Project * 302: 3:10 to Hell, Patient's Rage, Fire Starter, Affection * 303: Genie in a Beer Bottle, Vampire Spa, Escaped Mental Patient, Alien Eggs * 304: Psycho in a Box, Cheaters of Death, Welcome to the Neighborhood, Ice Man * 305: When White Noise Attacks, Phantom Power, Walled Off, Paralyzed With Fear * 306: The Screaming Room, Death Bed and Breakfast, Little Person, Big Kill, Welcome to the Dollhouse * 307: Frankenstein's Basement of Terror, Who's Your Dead Daddy?, Wired for Fear, Pool of Blood * 308: Taxi Cab Carnage, Alien Consortium, Double Trouble Clone, Junkyard Showdown * 309: Home Video Horror, Last Will and Testament, Voodoo Vixen, Assassin's Apprentice * 310: When the Larvae Breaks, To Catch a Predator, Curse of the Samurai, Pickled to Death * 311: Big Scoop of Scary, Home Invasion, Healer/Killer, Coffin Refill * 312: Blood Bath, Meteor Virus, Carmageddon, Welcome to the Dollhouse 2 * 313: Satan's Baby Returns, Screaming Room 2, Barbershop of Blood 2, Junkyard Showdown 2 * 314: Basket Case, Human Stew, Web of Lies, Breakdown * 315: Ghoul Bus, Criminal's Rage, Killer's Hideout, Psycho Kid * 316: Channeling the Dead, Black Project 2, Zombie Testing, A Quick Bite * 317: 28 Minutes Later, Nightmare Session, Zig the Clown, Paranormal Radio Show * 318: Ranger Danger, Mistaken Identity (Parts 1 & 2), The Doctor's Trip * 319: The Collector, Cleansing the House, Finding the Truth, Psycho Dance * 320: Toxic Shock, The Pimp, Female Serial Killer, Can I Have a Kiss? * 321: Tow Truck Killers, Radioactive Tanning, Mental Patient's Drug Overdose, Cannibal Party * 322: Ghoul Bus 2, Wrong Identity, Nightmare Motel, Criminal's Second Rage * 323: Dying to Kill!, Big Phantom Power, Re-hatched Alien Eggs, Old Man of Death

Season Four

* 401: It's My Party, The Squatters, Fear Antics: Check Yourself, Crop Circle Showdown * 402: No Pain No Brain, Communicating With the Ghosts, The Freak Show, Blood on the Cosmos * 403: Killing Rosemary's Baby, Human Auction, Look in the Sky, Show and Hell * 404: Vampire Stakeout, Mind Killer, Wine to Die For, Grandpa Has Returned * 405: Life's a Witch, Revenge of the Werewolf, Alien Babysitter, Organ Harvesting Facility * 406: Alien Road Block, Lend Me a Hand, Black OPTS, Murderer Still at Large * 407: Valet Violence, Cursed Book, Possessed Farm, Demon Doll * 408: Tracy the Tour Guide, Into the Mist, Horror on the Horror Set, Death from Above * 409: Uh Oh! It's Maggots, Ultimate Alien Fighter, Fountain of Youth, He Shoots He Spores * 410: If These Walls Could Bleed, Size Splatters, Zombie Town, Truthisodes * 411: Chill Out, Reptile Creature Revolt, Gang Green Thumb, Scary Development * 412: Hot Under the Collar, Insanity Virus, No Asylum, Voo Doo You Love? * 413: Buzz Kill, Electrocutie, Ouija Sitter, Snakes in a Drain

Season Five

* 501: Driver's Dead, 2 Guys 1 Suit, The Brand, Human Doll Party * 502: Pregnant With A Mutant, Work Your Skin Off, Elite Body Guard Firm, Alien in a Box * 503: Blown to Green Pieces, Farm Troll, Welcome to the Psych Ward, Monsterious Waste * 504: Bicentennialien, Waste of Talent, Human Blood Drive, All Puzzled * 505: Barnacle Boy, Reviving Your Fate, Deadly Sibling Rivalry, Lost Your Hand * 506: Touched By an E.T., Human Clothing, Vampire Child, Nightmare Therapy * 507: The Happening Again, Don't Mess With the Boss, Fried Girl, The Missing Link * 508: Party 'Til You Nuke, The Enigma, Fear Antics: Hospital, Polterheist * 509: The Corpse Whisperer, Date From Hell, Carnivorous Flies, Send In The Clowns * 510: Alien Car Crash, Morgue Woman, El Scareiachi, Coma Killer * 511: Gnome Sweet Gnome, Fear Antics: Mailbox Killer, Baby Trauma, Secret Of Survival * 512: Fright at The End of the Tunnel, Look Who's Laughing, Wonderful Knife, Conjoin Me For Dinner * 513: Twilight My Fire, Crystal Myth, Double Cross Dress, Killer Performance

Country

Canada

* MTV *

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually con ...

References

External links

* {{Syfy Shows 2003 American television series debuts 2005 American television series endings 2008 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings 2000s American reality television series 2010s American reality television series 2000s American horror comedy television series 2010s American horror comedy television series American hidden camera television series Syfy original programming Practical jokes