Here's one for the seriously lacking in excitement – a reality contest, where whoever doesn't suffer a coronary after living out terrifying challenges straight from the best that horror films have to offer, wins.  Though details remain sketchy at this point, from what we've got already floating out there, contestants will be taken on a journey of fright and terror, much like characters stuck in the bowels of some blood-curdling nightmare in our favorite horror flicks.

With no less than horror specialist Sam Raimi (earlier of The Evil Dead flicks and more recently, the Spiderman movies, as well as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess on TV)  responsible, you know you're in the fright of your life in The CW's upcoming new show, aptly called 13.

"This series is the first to take the horror movie into the reality world," Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment for The CW, announced.  "The action takes contestants on a journey with challenges and games designed to frighten them along the way.  Similar to horror films, the challenges will play into our deepest fears and anxieties and will reveal things the contestants never knew about themselves."

Joining Sam Raimi as co-executive producer of 13 is Jay Bienstock, whose specialties include such cult reality fare favorites, Survivor and The Apprentice.  Once he came on board, 13 moved from its original premise when it was still dubbed House of Horrors, to a show that would make use of horror-themed challenges to go about eliminating the contenders.  Whoever is left standing by his/her lonesome after all the blood and gore, wins.

Variety reports that Bienstock cited horror classics from his youth such as Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street as his inspirations in creating the 13 setup.  While he is still working out whether to employ a sinister small town, an eerie lakeside retreat or an out-of-the-way forest cabin for the series setting, casting is already underway to find the show's, what else, 13 contestants.

The CW has ordered an initial run of eight installments for 13's maiden season, slated to unfold sometime this summer.


-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The CW, Variety
(Image Courtesy of horrormagazine.it)