![]() Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our Instagram and Twitter accounts. Prank Encounters is available now on Netflix.ĭigital Spy is launching a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox. Prank Encounters' pre-release spiel may have provoked a backlash at first, but now that it's finally arrived, its authenticity and apathy, rather than exploitation, are the bigger issues. (5 episodes, 2019) Series Film Editing by Series Production Design by Joe Warson. (15 episodes, 2019-2021) Series Writing Credits Series Cast Series Produced by Series Music by Jim McKeever. There's also a great super-meta moment in the second episode when one subject asks, "Is this real?" only to be reassured by the equally unknowing other, "Yes, this is real." And you have to admire the time and effort that goes into each prank, even if they rarely have the desired effect.īut you get more laughs from the much simpler Impractical Jokers, more invention from the underrated genius that is Nathan for Youand ultimately more scares from watching any of the more Halloween-friendly YouTube prank channels. Prank Encounters (2019 ) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Series Directed by Anthony Gonzales. Its approach of pranking two complete strangers at the same time often provides entertainingly contrasting responses. Prank Encounters does have a few more inspired moments. And the victims often appear as indifferent to his big reveal as they are his pranks. Occasionally we see him apparently organising all the chaos from a high-tech mobile base, but it's obvious that each of his commands have already been scripted and thoroughly rehearsed by each actor. Matarazzo is strangely surplus to requirements too. The PI assistant in episode three barely even raises an eyelid despite the fact that he's being confronted by a crazed plastic surgeon who's attacked a colleague, chloroformed a caregiver and kept a lookalike of his dead wife hostage for two months. Others, however, seem entirely nonplussed, perhaps aware that the elaborate set-ups and broad acting by those in on the joke could only ever be pure fiction. Some prank subjects appear genuinely scared at the horror movie-style situation they unwittingly find themselves in – see the wide-eyed insurance investigator trapped in a vehicle being attacked by a Sasquatch in episode two. But there's something slightly disconcerting about the same bear being tied to an infanticide. Sure, the moment when Xavier, the supersized teddy bear she's been blaming various crimes and misdemeanours on, suddenly comes to life is admittedly laugh-out-loud funny. It's a pretty dark set-up for a trivial 24-minute show hosted by a kid from Stranger Things. The first prank, in particular, is based around a 9-year-old girl struggling to deal with the trauma of her older sister falling (or being pushed?) to her death from a balcony. In the first episode, the poor victims consist of a babysitter – who in the middle of her prank handily confirms that she's being employed by a temping agency – and a driver's assistant on a charity pick-up.īut while the premise isn't as tasteless as everyone first thought, you could argue that its execution sometimes is. Sure, you could argue that those scared witless are still being exploited for entertainment purposes, but there's never any suggestion that they've been promised anything other than a one-off odd job. Well, firstly, Matarazzo wasn't telling porkies. Anywho, I enjoyed it and recommend others ignore the cynicism displayed by some.Related: Netflix responds to backlash against new prank show with Stranger Things' Gaten Matarazzo Maybe their selection process filtered for certain personality traits that led to that result? I guess it would be unwise to recruit alpha males that could lead to physical harm for the actors. It's a bit strange that every male "victim" was gay. I think that, much like in real crisis situations, people often remain surprisingly subdued in the face of peril and hope that all the red flags and alarms are not actually spelling their end. It's not a deeply profound show, but it is fun and interesting to see how people react under duress. By my estimation, the "victims" are genuinely out of the loop and I think that case can be defended against the hasty aspersions employed against it. Netflixs attempt to create its own Scare Tactics is mostly. of over 150, but I'm not so impressed myself as to make strident assumptions about millions of people I've never met. Prank shows always seem cruel, especially when they set out to terrify the people theyre pranking. One arrogant reviewer called its veracity into question and went so far as to insult the intelligence of anyone who buys the premise.all while grammatically butchering a simple phrase like "low I.Q." Well, I have an I.Q.
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