Hosts: Greg Alba, John Humphrey
LM23 Review: Hit subscribe & Turn on all notifications
I have always been a “cord never” person. In all the time I lived on my own in an apartment, I never bothered to buy a TV or cable. I coasted on YouTube and questionable downloads of shows. But then the pandemic and lockdown happened and suddenly it seemed like there was not enough clips and shows to watch on YouTube or to download. And so I started to randomly search for videos that I thought I wanted to watch like ghost videos. I started watching other people watching ghost videos and one featuring The Reel Rejects popped up. I really liked their reactions, so I searched for more ghost videos on their channel and I couldn’t stop watching.
But content on the The Reel Rejects channels is not about ghost videos reactions. The channel is primarily about movies and TV shows and more so in the genres of superhero and sci-fi. I, too, was one of those people who lined up to go see The Avengers: Endgame. I literally had to line up as I was invited by a friend to a special preview of the movie, and all ticketholders had to line up in this concourse before being admitted to the theatre. I was one of the lucky ones who got to brag about seeing Endgame before the movie officially premiered. The Reel Rejects had a reaction for the Endgame trailer and from there, I just started watching more and more of their content.
I only hit the subscribe button when The Reel Rejects started streaming live on Saturday nights. The livestreams then were random conversations with their community (which is now at close to 900K subscribers) and of various topics. I think one of the streams I caught was about favorites scary movies. I felt as if I was hanging out with friends and since they were live, I felt as if I was out and doing something during the evening. Greg and John actually addressed the community’s questions and comments as if they mattered. I kind of laughed at what I was partaking in as I can remember when live social video came out, I was so skeptical about its necessity and what results it could bring. I was like, it’s just a novelty, let’s wait a while before we declare live videos better than regular videos. And sure enough, the novelty of live video started to wear off with the declining views, and so our team backed off on producing live video content. But now I’m much more likely to tune in if the YouTube is live and I’m there to witness it.
The Reel Rejects’ style of content is a mix of hyper passionate videos dedicated to movies and TV shows with a mix of random reactions like for short films and scary videos. But you’d be surprised at how clever and creative The Reel Rejects are with the content. You can guarantee that all permutations of a reaction to a movie’s content will be covered. Take Spider-Man: No Way Home for example, you can count on an immediate reaction from The Reel Rejects. There are already reactions of the new trailer, teasers, rumors, and plot leaks. And you can be sure that The Reel Rejects will thoroughly analyze each second, frame, and word of whatever news they have.
That’s what is so addictive and amusing of YouTube channels like The Reel Rejects. If you are a true movie fan, then you are a fan of anything and everything connected to the movie. When I used to run a music fan site, I reported on ANYTHING that talked about the band even if it was recycled news but from a different website. Each update felt like you were closer to the band and our readers loved it. Each piece of news was like a puzzle piece to the overall picture. And the way The Reel Rejects provides so much content and information to their community, you know you are hearing from true fans as well.
There’s a dime a dozen of these types of YouTube channels these days as let’s face it, everyone wants to be a YouTube creator. But why not? The world is your audience on YouTube. It’s not like TV which is restricted to just those in a certain country. There’s an audience out there for practically any of these types of accounts. And the content that is created for TV, it’s all sanitized and put through censors and the wishes of advertisers. Sometimes you just want to hear an honest and unabridged review. But what makes The Reel Rejects truly stand out is their timeliness and volume of content. Last Thursday when the new Matrix trailer dropped, I already saw their reaction video was uploaded and it was followed by a lengthy live discussion. A short video reaction is not enough. We need to talk about the Matrix some more, but live of course!
I don’t know much about Greg and John’s backgrounds, but I believe both or at least Greg, are trained in film production. Due to their professional experience, we also get feedback from the hosts through that angle as well. They understand the technical descriptions of movie making and so for those who are a bit more serious about film, Greg and John also offer some more sophisticated feedback to their reaction comments.
The Reel Rejects are also major influencers due to their number of fans and because of that, followers of their channel will also get to see their exclusive interviews and movie premiere jaunts. But exclusives are not what the channel is all about. It’s being able to witness their immediate reactions is what is exciting. I particularly had to press play as soon as I saw they had uploaded an immediate reaction of Shang-Chi as soon as they stepped out of the theatre. Those are my most favorite type of reaction-style videos as you are getting the initial, raw reaction.
But all in all, channels like The Reel Rejects are all about fun and fandom. You can feel the passion by the amount of content that’s published and how quick the videos are uploaded. The graphic design of the videos are colorful and captivating just like a comic book. If you’re a fan of movies (especially superhero movies) and you’re looking for fun, positive content, check out The Reel Rejects.
Kommentare