"I'm going to cast evil out of this town for all to see".
Men in masks kidnapping girls, ritualistic killings, teens and heavy metal rock music. All the things that petrified suburban parents during the Satanic Panic in the 80s and what the new Peacock show, Hysteria! explores with its eight episode series run.
Created by Matthew Scott Kane, the synopsis for the show reads: When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the "Satanic Panic" of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town's sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported "supernatural activity" triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.
The cast has some familiar faces including Bruce Campbell as the town's police chief, Anna Camp as a rogue Catholic mother, Julie Bowen as a mom desperate to protect her son. The show follows Dylan (Emjay Anthony) and his two friends Jordy (Chiara Aurelia) and Spud (Kezii Curtis) who have a rock band and want to be accepted and seen by their peers. When their classmate goes missing, fingers point to them, you know, because their Satanists. But there is a bigger ploy going on behind the scenes. The devil could be lurking anywhere. Whether its in the shows on tiv, the music on the radio, or the church down the street. Hysteria! plays with this idea, and a few more.
Photo Credit: Daniel Delgado/PEACOCK
Hysteria! is a show that bridges generations much like Stranger Things by showing both sides of a town's witch hunt to solve a young boy's murder. Where Hysteria! missteps, it seems, is biting off more than it can chew. As the show gets closer to the final episode, it fails to balance its tone, jumping from comedy to emotional, not really capturing any elements horror aside from some demonic imagery. It attempts to give us the 80s with a few horror tropes, 80s music, set design, and makeup and wardrobe. At times, it feels disjointed but it has enough flavor to make us feel like we're watching a something from a time capsule with its dreamy-like editing.
By the finale, you are left wondering, was it real? Or was it truly just a case of hysteria? The show does its job of giving you the space to come up with your own answer to that question as well as an opening for a potential second season.
Hysteria! is now available to view on Peacock.