In a day and age where everybody is paying astronomical prices for Spotify, Tidal, Hulu, and Netflix (just to name a few), and nobody feels comfortable being confined in a cubicle to make enough moolah to support the media habits of 2016, YouTube Red just kind of seems like an unnecessary add-on. Now, granted, since 2012 I developed a habit where I spend an average of 3-5 hours on YouTube every day, I even have playlists running all night as I sleep. But the commercials didn't bother me and their original content didn't seem appealing... that was until last night. It was a dark and stormy and horribly boring evening locked up at work as the rains literally beat down on the roof of the gym I work at. Holiday weekends are usually slow, so I was kicked back behind the counter catching up on my daily YouTube subscriptions - Markiplier, FunHaus, JackSepticEye, the majority of my day-to-day YouTube consumption revolving around Let's Plays. I've always been familiar with the Tyler Oakleys and Shane Dawsons and iJustines of the world, but was never super interested in keeping tabs on them. I appreciate what they do but it's never been massively appealing. But, the night was slow andI had run out of media, and I came across the first episode of Joey Graceffa's "Escape The Night" and I was hooked. I broke down and bought YouTube Red because I HAD to know what happened next - curses, I was trying so hard too.
Escape The Night is a breath of fresh air in a world where every little thing that is published on a day to day basis seems like just another ploy to get more followers. Now, I'm a little salty that Shane Dawson was already killed off in like the first ten minutes, but I digress. Graceffa has given us a truly clever, well-written, beautifully casted web series that breaks the norm of what has become YouTube. It feels like Clue for GenX - fancy dinner party, people die, nobody knows who done it. It's a beautiful murder mystery that is risqué, quirky, and gives you a sick satisfaction watching YouTubers you seriously just can't stand get killed off in amusing ways (looking at you, iJustine). I think the thing that really makes Escape The Night great is that it hits on all of the things this generation loves, while masterfully dragging you in with Internet stars that you have grown to love. Joey Graceffa has done his homework. This generation is OBSESSED with the 1920s, so the setting hits on a bizarre need the twenty somethings of the world have to revive the roaring 20s. The setting feels authentic; time and care was put into the house, the costumes, the mood. We love a good mystery, we love the supernatural, and the race to solve the mystery before the story can unfold. It hits on friendship and betrayal, the cast is made of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and sexual orientations and everybody watching can find favorite YouTubers old and new. And most of all, in very subtle ways, it hits on the true epidemic that is the Social Media Age - the stars are obsessed with going back to 2016. Comments like "I haven't checked my e-mails all day" and the arguments on who will "inherit" their dead friends' subscribers to better themselves reflect on the world's need to be connected to media and the web. Without spoiling too much, the premise of the show revolves around a seemingly "living" house, forever stuck in the 1920s and only accessible via classic car, that Graceffa inherits from a distant relative he has never met. This begins to cause him nightmares upon moving into the house, and the only way to make them cease is to invite some friends over for a dinner party, completely decked out in classic flapper fashion. As with any good murder mystery, things go South very rapidly. People begin dying, clues start appearing, accusations are slung, friendships are tested, and antics ensue. The thing that makes Escape The Night so enjoyable is the beautiful balance of predicability and completely original storytelling. There are only so many tropes a murder mystery can throw at you, but the way Graceffa and Lawson (writer and director) weave the episodic tale makes it all feel so new. A lot of times I got so lost in the story I forgot that this was a scripted show; as it blends the styles of a television drama with a big brother style reality show seamlessly. The cast plays their roles exceptionally well, each with a persona that not only matches a prominent role in society during the 1920s but the YouTuber themselves. From GloZell portraying a jazz singer with so many levels of sass to Tim DeLaGhetto completely owning his role as a mobster, the cast is made up almost entirely of YouTubers that live their roles in ways that feel so natural. Even graphically, which can be so iffy nowadays, the web series looks quite good in the special effects department (albeit a bit cheesy at points). When YouTube Red announced shows like "Scare PewDiePie" and "Prank Academy" I had very little hope for what YouTube was going to do with the independent film projects of today. Most everything you see now is a cookie-cutter of the last month's most watched fad. And while Escape The Night definitely feels like a large majority of murder mystery tales that have been told since the dawn of storytelling, it's refreshing to see a cast of young, talented individuals come together to create a wonderfully witty, honest and emotional, and just downright fun series. It's worth every penny you spend to get YouTube Red, even if you only get it to watch Escape The Night, because not only are you supporting your favorite YouTubers, you're also investing in a beautiful form of entertainment that stands out against the mundane in a world. I am ecstatic to see how the season progresses and have nothing but wonderful things to say about this beautiful gem. ![]() Review written by Alycia D. (MaybeMockingbird) All pictures from Escape the Night, Joey Graceffa, and YouTube #EscapeTheNight #YouTubeRed
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AuthorJust your average geek chic gamer chick into all things ghostly and geeky (and vice versa) Archives
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