MTV dumped teens into actual haunted hellholes and filmed them losing their minds. Reality TV's unhinged ancestor.
Season 2 • Episode 6
LatestFour complete strangers investigate the haunted former Boettger Brewery and the owner's mansion which is connected to it. Those who complete their dares and remain in the location until released will win a cash prize, while those who succumb to terror leave with nothing except a better understanding of where their breaking point is.
Fear is an American paranormal reality television series that originally aired from 2000 to 2002 on MTV. The program follows a group of five or more contestants being left at an allegedly haunted location and led them on a series of dares over two nights to explore and confirm whether or not the place is haunted. The show was created by Martin Kunert and Eric Manes. The pilot episode was Co-Executive Produced and directed by George Verschoor. The series aired the first two episodes in a pilot run, which received outstanding reviews and a full season was ordered. After eight more episodes, another season was ordered. The second season ended after 6 episodes aired. The series was not cancelled due to a lack of interest, but due to the high cost of producing each episode. A DVD, MTV's Inside Fear, was released on November 6, 2001. Fear was named #6 on Entertainment Weekly's "15 Taboo-Breaking TV Moments." The show brought several innovations to the reality show genre, including having contestants film their own experience as no video crew followed them into the 'haunted' locations, use of night vision cameras, and use of body mounted cameras to have contestants film their own close-ups.
Direction
No crew present—contestants film genuine panic themselves.
Production
Pioneered body-cams and night vision before found footage exploded.
Practical Effects
Real abandoned prisons, asylums, ships—zero CGI safety net.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
US
