Season of the witch
The Witching Hour review
Rating – 
If you’ve spent any amount of time on this blog reading my thoughts, you’ll know I am absolutely, 100% Gen X. I am not ashamed to say that I still enjoy watching The A-Team and old cartoons like Transformers. Therefore, my tastes are ripe for the picking by unscrupulous marketing professionals who are keen to cash in on my perceived wealth.
Obviously shows like Stranger Things tug at my heartstrings for my lost childhood, and since the launch of that show, the 1980s aesthetic has seen a resurgence in mainstream media. Since the end of the brilliant show A Voice From Darkness, there has been a radio call in shaped hole in my podcast life.
So when I heard about The Witching Hour, a spooky, vintage radio show set in the 1980s, then obviously it had me squarely in its sights. Did it deliver on these supposed promises though? Well read on and find out…
So what’s it about?
The Witching Hour, as I said, is a paranormal radio show set in the mid 1980s. Wearing its love of shows like Coast To Coast with Art Bell on its sleeve, a variety of people call in with spooky stories. Everything from strange lights to ghosts is covered and as the episodes progress, certain stories are revisited as more callers expand the mythos.
The host, Max Thorn, is a typical small town radio DJ, and you get the impression that his excitement is due more than partly to the fact he’s got a job on a radio station. Despite his obsession with the weird side of life, he is often willing to give a level headed, sometimes skeptical opinion on calls. He is also caring enough to offer emotional support to callers who need it.
Is it any good?
I’m not sure why this show is set in the 1980s. Apart from Max’s references to heavy metal albums and the adverts (more on those in a bit), this could be set in any year. Is it because as I said in my preamble, that it is just because the 80s are popular? Who knows. Well, somebody knows, but it isn’t me.
A lot of the callers are young people, and of course, the people who were young in the 80s are now all 40-50 years old (damn, I really don’t feel it). Therefore, they have got young people to “act” like 80s kids. This is where a lot of the problems arise for me. The actors are speaking how they think 80s kids spoke, rather than how people actually spoke.
The adverts however, are actual adverts from the 80s. In the very first episode, my ears pricked up at the inclusion of a trailer for Robot Jox, a film that I still love now. This is a nice bit of authenticity that offsets the above criticism.
Final thoughts
Despite my criticisms, I do actually enjoy the show. It’s obviously a pastiche, and maybe I’m being hard on it. As I said in the intro though, at the moment the 80s is a big seller. The acting isn’t great, the stories are hit and miss, but you know what? It’s still a lot of fun. I’m not going to unsubscribe from it, and unless something changes I’ll be listening to each episode on release day. Give the show a try, you’ll probably love the 80s vibe (if you weren’t born then)
You can get The Witching Hour here:
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods