Every Haunting Hour Ever #9: Game Over

Season: 1
Episode: 9
Original Airdate: February 12, 2011
Director: Terry Ingram 

     Really guys? That's the best title you could come up with for a video game related episode? Well let's just hope the rest of the episode isn't as generic.

     Kelly "Kell-razer" (Calum Worthy) and his friend Gooch (AJ Lutsky) receive a mysteriously new game called Zee Town that they got from a stranger named the Game Master (voiced by David Sobolov). However, it turns out this game sucks its players into a live-action game world in which said players can actually die. As they team up with their newfound allies Sean and Mika, they must all fight their way out as that is the only way to survive.

     One of the things that makes this episode enjoyable is that they take the whole "People get sucked into a video game" concept and have a lot of fun with it. For example, when Kelly, Gooch, and their Asian friends are fighting the zombies, they use a wide variety of weapons in all sorts of ways to defeat them. Because of this, the fight scenes with the zombies and the quartet become very intense and entertaining to watch. Like in a really good beat 'em up game, It also feels satisfying whenever one if the quartet members hits a zombie. 

     Another thing that makes this episode enjoyable is that it actually SHOWS the good things that video games have to offer. These things include working together as a team to defeat the zombies and the Game Master, strategic planning, and socialization. In all honesty, I find this kind of refreshing because when it comes to a video game related episode in a kid's horror anthology show, such as The Tale of The Pinball Wizard from Are You Afraid of The Dark?, it usually shows the bad side of video games. 

     Though with all of that said, I did find one issue with the episode. For me, I found the ending where Kelly becomes trapped in the game as the new Game Master to be a little too predictable. Don't get me wrong! It's not a terrible ending but it seemed like this episode wanted to do a fresh take on the whole "Person gets sucked into a video game" concept. When you have an ending like this in an episode that's trying to do a fresh take on something, it feels really out of place and a bit lazy. 

     Overall, Game Over is a mostly refreshing take on a familiar concept done right. It's one of those "Don't judge a book by its cover" episodes. Sure the title isn't the most original, but the rest of the episode definitely does a lot to separate itself from other video game related horror stories. If you like The Haunting Hour and/or video games, this is definitely the ideal episode for you to watch! 

     Overall Grade: B+