Hey everyone, PushingUpRoses here, and today we’re looking at another episode of The
Haunting Hour, a show conceptualized by R.L. Stine, of Goosebumps fame. If you’re not
familiar with this series, it was meant to be for a younger audience, the warning claiming
kids 7 and up could watch it, but turned out to be astoundingly dark, even for adults.
I was shocked at some of the themes presented in this show, and it’s willingness to show
death and body horror. That being said, not every episode had a morbid plot; some of them
borderlined on cheesy and more resembled a Goosebumps episode, where the acting was weird
and writing was hammy. Because the first several episodes I watched were definitely on the
bleaker side, I was a little shocked when The Haunting Hour went a more tame route,
and I think this is the case with “Game Over” from Season 2. My curiosity to watch
it was really spurred by the vague description on my streaming service. An “expert” gamer
plays a new game with a twist on level 3.” I’ve been known to be knowledgeable about
gaming, so let’s dive in.
The episode greets us with our main characters, Kelly, who bares a striking resemblance to
Ron Weasely and goes by the user name KELLraiser, and his best friend Gooch. I kept mishearing
his name as Dooch and started making jokes about it sounding like Douche, and now I feel
bad in retrospect. I’m such a Goochbag.
They’re playing something that looks similar to an Id game, like a modern Doom, and clearly
using MadCats xbox controllers. Well clearly they aren’t real gamers eeeunhhghg…
What in the world is this painting? It’s a kid gaming on his couch… sitting in front
of an open window and there’s a bunch of sticks outside?
Kelraiser finishes off the zombie and congratulates himself on a job well done. Kelraiser: “And
that’s why they call me Kelraiser.” He gets irritated because Gooch is not as skilled
as he is at the game and asks him to get a soda. Kelraiser: “I gotta find someone who
can play at my own level.” While he’s gone, Kelraiser sees a message pop up on the
screen, presumably from another person playing the game named Major Mayhem. “U R Good.
Ready 4 A Real Challenge?” Ugh, reminds me of getting texts from my older family members.
Hi Sarah R U There Pls Fix My Comptr <3 U, squirrel emoji, Aunt Hilda
Kelraiser accepts the challenge and the user replies with an address, telling him to go
to it, alone. Sure thing, meeting a stranger from the internet, that sounds safe.
Not using his better judgement, Kelraiser decides to go to this random address and brings
Gooch along with him. “So some cyberfreak IMs you, tells you to meet him downtown, and
you’re gonna do it?” Yeah, I’m with Gooch. But Kelraiser’s ego has taken over
and he wants to throw down, even if this rando turns out to be a serial killer. Gooch: “Everything
about this screams bad idea.”
But first! Gooch: “Gotta hydrate.” ...at the bowling alley?
I was actually pleasantly surprised at how fast this episode progressed, within the first
few minutes Kelraiser and Gooch arrived at their destination, which they refer to as
shady. Does this look shady to you? I’d live here, it looks like my house in Animal
Crossing.
Kelraiser heads in alone and finds what looks to be an ominous e-sports chamber. Three monitors
flip on and he’s greeted by Major Mayhem. “Don’t touch anything.” (Kill Bill Siren)
GM: “Sit down Kelraiser.” Kel: “How do you know my name?” What do you mean how
does he know, he messaged you earlier. It’s your username, the one you bragged about earlier?
Kel: “And that’s why they call me Kelraiser.” After some more bragging, Major Mayhem, who
is also the game master, presents him with a new, top secret game called Zee-Town. Sounds
thrilling. Major Mayhem tells him not to share it with anyone, cause yeah; gamers are so
good at not leaking secrets. “Dude, you’re not gonna believe what happened.” See?
They boot it up immediately, and oh good. It’s an FMV game. Ugh, first person games
make me anxious. I was afraid of MYST when I was young and nothing even happens in that
game.
In game, the two enter Zee Town, or if you’re German like me, Zee Town. When they enter,
their house is transplanted into the game’s environment, which is full of Zombies.
Gooch: (screams) Oh wow, that scream. That was amazing! (Scream)
It really IS an FMV game; real life zombies and trying whatever the fuck you can to solve
the puzzles, even if it doesn’t make sense. Yeah you USE that fly swatter. (Plink! Plink!
Plink!)
Kelraiser and Gooch try to escape from the Zombie, amputating its arm in the process.
You’re just gonna leave that there? Wow. LITTERing.
They realize they are in the game after noticing an absence of people, which is strange because
I thought the Zombie would have been the giveaway. The tone really takes on the movie Shaun of
the Dead, with silly sound effects and similar character dynamics. They meet two other players,
a girl named Micah, and a boy who is aptly named Shawn. There’s even a scene similar
to the pub fight from Shaun of the Dead, except this takes place in the bowling alley. “Gotta
hydrate.”
Before the fight starts, Gooch grabs a hotdog and puts ketchup on it, ultimately sealing
his death because of this completely blasphemous act.
“What was that sound?” They sound of someone ruining a hotdog.
Kelraiser: “I think we’re in the game.” Wow, you’re a genius.
The zombies infiltrate the place, and because Kelraiser was too busy showing off, he failed
to help his team and Micah gets captured. Her health bar lowers, and her player is eliminated.
Shawn gets captured, and Gooch and Kelraiser do basically nothing to save him. Kelraiser:
“SHAAAUN!”
At this point I also started to feel like the plot resembled The Most Dangerous Game,
a short story written by Richard Connel - you probably know of it, and if not directly then
by the amount of stories it has influenced; it tells of a big game hunter becoming stranded
on an island, who is then hunted by an aristocrat. Slightly different here I realize, as the
game master isn’t doing the hunting, he’s just putting the players in a dangerous environment,
but I was getting some similar vibes.
Major Mayhem tells them that there is no way out of the game, they HAVE to beat it for
any chance of escape. At least, ONE person needs to remain standing. Gooch decides to
just go ALL in and sacrifices himself as a distraction so Kelraiser can make it to the
end. I respect that; Gooch knows what his strengths are and it’s not fighting, so
he forfeits his life so that they stand a chance at winning. Kelraiser makes it to the
final level where he meets Major Mayhem, the Game Master. He finally realizes that being
the best isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, checks his ego, and chooses his friends
as his weapons. They get their lives back, and manage to subdue Mayhem.
Unfortunately, winning doesn’t mean Kelraiser gets to go home. The reason Mayhem was looking
for the best was so he could pass his title along to them, and Kelraiser proved himself
to be just that. Kelraiser: “That’s why they call me Kelraiser.” It’s not clear
what happens to the other players; presumably they do get to go home, but Kelraiser is left
behind, tasked with the job of finding the next victim to take his place. He gets started
right away, targeting a bratty little kid who also thinks a little too highly of himself.
He touches the screen, and… (yoink!)
I loved the ending for this one, in fact I thought seeing the kid get abruptly yanked
through the television screen was one of the scariest, more startling parts of the episode,
otherwise I thought it lacked frightening moments. (slide whistle) Not every episode
from The Haunting Hour has a moral, some are just bleak or disturbing, which makes sense;
horror can make for good cautionary tales AND sometimes they just make for fun frights,
and this one tried for the moral. Kelraiser neglected his friends, couldn’t be a team
player, and only cared about himself, and that landed him in a dismal situation. I get
a lot of satisfaction seeing entitled gamers get their comeuppance, and I understand using
gaming as a more modern topic, but it really did just feel like Shaun of the Dead Lite,
with some gratuitous violence against zombies and a few humorous moments. Gooch: I suck
at video games… ow…” Compared to a lot of cautionary tales within horror, I’d say
this one falls on the weaker side. It almost has that Twilight Zone feel to it, where your
actions lead you to a life of eternal suffering, as opposed to just dying, but I think because
it was so hokey, the ending didn’t land. I also don’t think Kelraiser truly learned
his lesson; typically lessons are learned over years, and I think in the end, winning
was still the goal for him, whether that meant using his friends or not.
Even if he had learned his lesson, the episode very quickly jumps away from the moral by
making it not matter; he still has to be the game master, and he still has to carry on
with the tradition of finding the best players to take his place. So there’s not enough
of a direct message to make the moral stand out as the main theme, and there’s not enough
significantly scary scenes for it to be taken seriously as a horror story either. It feels
like the writers just wanted to have fun with the “we’re trapped inside a video” premise
as opposed to making something more memorable or impactful. Although, I can tell the creators
had a great time with the zombies and the fight scenes, those are pretty fun. The actors
obviously had a fun time too, especially this one who does a lil twirl after getting bonked
on the head with a frying pan. If that zombie lives, he definitely has a potential career
in dance.
The gaming element gave it more of an action adventure feel, and that’s not my favorite
way to digest horror. Makes sense for the audience, which is going to consist of preteens
and teens, but I’m more inclined towards the macabre. The story was also very fast
paced, which I consider a pro for things that are more action oriented; sometimes you just
need to get to the point, and this story does that. Another thing this series really has
going for it that separates it from older children’s horror shows is the acting; the
actors are more varied in age compared to series like Goosebumps and Are You Afraid
of the Dark, so that gives it a lot more maturity and relatability. Still, I prefer the episodes
that feature pumpkinheads and Death. Not people dying, Death as a character. That’s my jam.
If you have an episode of the Haunting Hour you are just DYING to see me talk about, please
leave a suggestion in the comments. Perhaps you have a more grisly one in mind. Until
then, stay spooky.
Hey everyone, thanks for watching my video on Game Over from R.L. Stine’s The Haunting
Hour. I hope you enjoyed it. If you are interested in more children’s horror reviews, I have
some, but first I’d like to thank my patrons for continuing to support my channel. It means
so much to me to have your support so I can keep putting out quality content. If you don’t
want to give me money, which is understandable because sometimes I blow it on Denny’s breakfast,
no worries; likes, comments, and especially sharing helps to spread my work.
If you want to browse my content before subscribing, please do so! Here’s a few videos you can
start with. On the left I have a breakdown of a more disturbing episode of The Haunting
Hour, and on the right I have an episode from one of my flagship series, That Time on Murder,
She Wrote! Murder Mystery and Horror go hand in hand, you know. Thank you again and as
always, I’ll see you in the next one.