It’s no secret that horror fans will jump at the chance to show how much more they know about the genre than you do. It’s endearing. Other than being some of the best fans around, they’re also very proud of the dark knowledge they’ve accumulated over the years by watching movies, listening to horror scores, and reading books and comics.
The YouTube horror trivia game show Better Luck Than Chuck, a limited six-episode event, is made for this type of fan. It can best be described as a cross between Jeopardy and Elvira, with a bit of the Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt mixed in for good measure.
The game is played by three contestants that are tasked with answering questions based on distinct horror categories across three rounds. Topics range from 80s slashers to movies that have the word “house” in their titles.
After two rounds of play, which include special 2-in-1 questions, the player with the highest score moves on to a final round that involves a kind of scavenger hunt based on horror prompts. Find the items that correspond with the prompts to secure a spot in the season finale, where contestants get to compete for a trip to Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights.
The show’s hosted by The Widow (Alexis Allotta) and her zombie husband Charlie (Adam Michaels). On their 50th wedding anniversary, Widow decides to fulfill her hubby’s life-long dream of being a game show host. And thus, Better Luck Than Chuck is born.
Allotta and Michales have a quietly infectious sense of chemistry between them, indicative of a veteran married couple that’s been through everything a marriage can go through and still keep things alive (or at least undead). This bit of storytelling goes a long way. It makes the hosts relatable and easy to listen to. They’re not even playing the game and you still find yourself rooting for them.
Special guests pop up here and there via video to read questions that point to a movie they worked on or directed. Mike Flanagan, for instance, makes an appearance to ask a question about his film adaptation of Doctor Sleep. It’s a nice addition that makes the game feel connected to the larger horror community.
The questions themselves can pose quite a challenge. The contestants, academics and radio personalities working in horror among them, might be asked to provide the names of directors with multiple franchises under their belts at one moment only to be tasked with recalling the type of food a group of young girls ordered moments before a killer with a drill descends upon them the next.
As such, it’s hard not to want to play along, making this a great party watch. Like Jeopardy, you’ll get the itch to provide an answer to each question asked by The Widow before any of the actual contestants hit the buzzer. It tests the audience just as much as it does the people on the show. The scavenger hunt is the only thing that could be shot differently so fans can also scan the room with the objects to try and identify them. As it stands, you’re just watching a contestant scrambling to find the objects in an overstuffed room with little success.
As of the time of this writing, Better Luck Than Chuck is three episodes in. New episodes are released every Thursday on YouTube. So, go find yourself a few self-proclaimed horror experts and invite them over for a night of terror trivia. Put something on the line—an arm, a leg, an organ even—and put your knowledge to the test. Once it’s done, cross your remaining fingers and hope the show gets picked up for a longer run. Horror fans need more of Charlie and The Widow in their lives.
