GSN tickled by terror-themed game show

US cable channel GSN has commissioned an eight part, horror-themed game show from Paranormal Activity guru Jason Blum.

Hellavator will see teams of three ride a haunted elevator to various levels of an abandoned warehouse. One player per floor must complete a frightening challenge within a set time, or they are locked out of the lift.

Blum’s Blumhouse Productions and Matador are producing the show in association with Lionsgate Television.

Blum, who produces the Paranormal Activity, Insidious and The Purge film franchises, executive produces along with Matador’s Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin.

Horror-themed game shows have become a popular option for entertainment channels in the past year, with Sony Pictures Television selling its Release the Hounds format into the UK, the US, Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, and BBC Three commissioning reality show I Survived a Zombie Apocalypse.

For Sony- and DirecTV-owned GSN, the series marks a continuation of its programming strategy to ‘gamify’ cultural trends. It previously commissioned the tattoo-focused Skin Wars and will soon debut Steampunk’d.

“The teams from Blumhouse and Matador have created a frighteningly fun and spooky game environment,” said Amy Introcaso-Davis, executive VP of programming and development for GSN. “Horror and game enthusiasts alike will love Hellavator‘s wild ride of fear, suspense, and unrelenting challenges.”