Review It!: Vancouver Horror-Reality Show That Lets Audience Decide Who Dies
Choose Your Victim, which launched its pilot episode this week, is a faux reality show created by Capilano University film graduates Gigi Saul Guerrero and Luke Bramley. The show plays up the stereotypical characters often seen in shows like Big Brother: the hot bitch, the geek, the wild chick, the shy girl, the jock. The characters are placed in a cabin to party, but there’s a killer on the loose; this is where the audience comes into play.
When I was asked to review Choose Your Victim I was ecstatic. As a big horror fan and avid porn enthusiast, a show with hot scantily clad women getting killed the way I wanted sounded very appealing. So I did what any normal guy would do- I dimmed the lights, dropped trou, and dived in with high expectations. Sadly, like most of my first dates, my night ended with nothing but disappointment.
The show operates on a simple yet enticing formula: watch an episode, decide who you want off the show, and say how you want the character to die. The crew then takes an audience suggestion and makes it happen — incorporating the chosen victim’s death into the next episode.
“This is the first series where people actually write a death and can be as graphic as they want, to certain limitations,” said show co-creator Guerrero. “We’re taking what’s popular today — reality TV and horror — and combining them to make a show where people can finally kill off those characters nobody likes… Think Jersey Shore meets Survivor — with a gory twist!”
Choose your Victim has all the right elements, but is lacking a few fundamentals. The website based interactive horror was nothing but a snooze fest. I nearly fell asleep reviewing the first episode. The acting and story line leading up to the killing was pointless and weak. The killing itself was decent, but as my previous girlfriends would say- it was short, sweet, and without a climax. I would hope that future episodes will shorten the length of the “story” and increase the killing.
Despite the weak script, lame approach, and the cheesiness of a 1970’s fluff film. Choose Your Victim did get a few things right;
The girls are hot; I would definitely bend any of them over my kitchen table. The production quality (set, special effects, blood and gore) is good for a low budget online series. The website looks good and runs smooth without a hitch. The concept is good, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.
If you are 15-year-old virgin, this show is for you. If you are an avid horror buff, I would pass, but as LeVar Burton would say; you don’t have to take my word for it.
New episodes will air every two weeks throughout the summer with a fresh round of voting after each episode.
Choose Your Victim can be found at www.chooseyourvictim.com:
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