Past and present sins collide when a Salem, Massachusetts theatre troupe paying homage to the local witch hunts of centuries before find themselves in a more realistic version in the new horror comedy MASS HYSTERIA.
Paige (Geena Santiago) is performing in her last show of the Witch Hunt Trials for the troupe Mass Hysteria, as she is off to the Bright Lights of the Big Apple White Way – or so she thinks. Helping her get a sort-of send off are her colleagues, amongst them Turner (Jeff Ryan) who has a thing for her and you sense that he would like her to stay. However, it’s Halloween which has made the show a tradition for the last five years for Paige.
Still, shows need an audience – and the arrival of tourists keenly make the Halloween show somewhat special. Unfortunately, when Paige leads the way in the show by cursing one of the audience, the target keels over and dies – thus making the theatre location a crime scene. Confusion abound as the rest of the audience single out Paige – and a real and terrifying prospect is in store for Paige and her band of merry thespians….
MASS HYSTERIA never quite hits the right balance of hilarity and dark satire that Sasha Baron Cohen might well have twisted a few extra turns of his own creative knife, but it still maintains a modest consistency that does provide a mildly diverting hour and five minutes.
There is a neat idea at the heart of this film – and fans of Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE in all its filmic and theatrical forms will find something to enjoy. Despite this, one did expect a lot more craziness and skewered social reflection that would have elevated this to the level of a classic MONTY PYTHON, or even the classic YOUNG ONES episode NASTY.
Santiago and the rest of the cast acquit themselves fairly well and do as best they can with the material. It’s not an easy thing to pull off, but MASS HYSTERIA does have just enough in the coffin.
