‘Panic’ review: Amazon Prime teen show works in fits and starts
The Hindu
Based on Lauren Oliver’s eponymous 2014 novel, the drama follows a bunch of teenagers take part in a set of risky challenges to get out of their nowhere town
After spending time with tough, sexy granny Mare, in Easttown, it is time to shoot the breeze with a teenager, Heather (Olivia Welch) in another dead-end town, Carp, Texas. Everyone wants to get out of Carp, and ‘Panic’ seems the way to do it. Graduating teens take part in Panic, which comprises teenagers doing a bunch of risky challenges such as jumping off a cliff, spending a night in the morgue or a spot of Russian roulette. Competitors get eliminated as the rounds progress till four contestants face individual challenges and then final two face off in joust for a stash of cash. Created and written by Lauren Oliver, who based the show on her eponymous 2014 novel, Panic works in fits and starts. With two teens losing their lives in the previous year’s game, the police are sniffing around. Keeping a long-running game involving a bunch of teenagers secret from the authorities is quite an ask; the organisers, however, do not seem to care. The clues, invitations and challenges are broadcast around town in big, bold letters and graffiti on very public spaces. The show, like the novel, is not a version of Hunger Games set in the here and now. Through Panic, the show presents a slice of small town America, warts and all.More Related News