Witch hunts, sadly they’ve been around almost as long as there have been people to hunt them. From Salem, where they were hunting for literal witches, to the United States in the 1980’s when people desperately hunted for devil worshippers among us. The idea of a witch hunt is a naturally terrifying prospect which is perfect for the Halloween season…To which we enter “Hysteria!”
“Hysteria!” released all eight episodes on Peacock on Oct. 18 though it also began airing on Syfy and USA Network every Friday starting on Oct. 18, tells a story that would not be out of place in a Stephen King novel.
A football quarterback is abducted along with his girlfriend by what appears to be a satanic cult, putting the fear of God, or rather the devil, into the small Michigan town of Happy Hollow, a once God-fearing town that has now begun to move away from its religious roots into a more secular direction. This reaction acts as an inspiration to young Dylan Campbell, a struggling teenage wannabe musician who sensing an opportunity to both impress his crush and help his band, he decides to rebrand them as satanists to cash in on panic while as the local church looks to consolidate its power what appears to be an actual supernatural force starts to take hold in the town… But things are rarely as they seem.
The series stars Emjay Anthony, known for roles in “Krampus” and “Replicas” as Dylan Campbell. Chiara Aurelia of “Cruel Summer” as Jordy, a member of Dethkrunch along with Campbell and the voice of reason being the one to tell him that his plan was a bad idea. Kezii Curtis, known for roles in “The Thundermans” and “Bootstrapped” as Spud, is another member of Dethkrunch. Anna Camp, best known for playing the villainous Sarah Newlin in “True Blood” plays Tracey Whitehead, the local religious activist. Nolan North, known for his extensive voice work of characters such as Deadpool or Nathan Drake in the “Uncharted” series acts as Gene Campbell, Dylan’s father, a mostly easy going and somewhat open minded man. Julie Bowen of “Modern Family” as Linda Campbell, Dylan’s mother and Gene’s wife, a well-meaning if worrying woman. Finally, Bruce Campbell known for playing Ash Williams in the “Evil Dead” franchise as Ben Dandridge, plays the head police officer who is in charge of looking for the missing children and one of the few adults to not give into fear or hysteria recognizing that there is something other than satan worshippers at play.
This show was… pretty darn good. Campbell was great in his role as usual proving why he is one of Hollywood’s underrated actors. Bowen was also a standout with the other actors also being solid. The whole show was great in general. I applaud the show for not taking the low-hanging bait so many films have of simply demonizing those who are different while sanctifying the system at large. “Hysteria!” makes it clear who the real bad guys are ,and it’s not who you think. If I had to name a complaint it would maybe be that the show sometimes slows down a bit too much, though even that serves a purpose to let the mystery grow and the characters expand.
All in all, it’s a great show, seven torches out of 10. I highly recommend it.
