View: The Fear Program

Some monsters appear all too real. Uncovering the truth is your assignment.

Immersive Scene Los Angeles 2026 View

There’s much to admire when a first-time immersive creator executes his inaugural production with a steady hand and a high-level of professionalism.  Such is the case with Sam Eliassi in his short interactive experience, The Fear Program, which is just wrapping up a brief sold-out run in Encino.  Though it’s clearly a work-in-progress piece at this juncture, it still offers more depth and interest than some fully realized immersives we’ve caught this year.   All the creator needs to do to get this one where it appears to be heading is simply add more to it — build the story out while using its current framework as a guiding light.   In fact, after a post-show chat with the director, that’s exactly what he plans to do.  We look forward to being there for it.

The premise is mysteriously intriguing.  You’re invited to become a “Temporary Fear Assistant” for a cryptic organization known as The Institute of Fear Processing.  Your assignment is to visit a young girl in a re-creation of her bedroom at this hidden facility and help convince her that the monster hiding in her closet isn’t there at all but is only a figment of a vivid imagination.  After a thorough run-through of your duties and an examination of your own personal fears executed by the genial yet intentional Institute Receptionist (Cara Leahy), you - alone or with a guest - are permitted entry into the bedroom of young, tormented June (Nina Santoyo).  In that spooky space, and in the fog-laden passageways that follow, you soon realize there’s much more to the child’s disturbing visions than what the Institute would conveniently like to dispel.  Maybe this is why they led you into the compound blindfolded after a long, twisting golf-cart ride to their ultra-secret location.  Helping June to confront her fears while facing your own are equal parts of your assignment.  In the end, it’s all too clear…some monsters are real.

Eliassi’s story is strong, original, and faithfully eerie yet still somewhat undeveloped.  With further tweaking, the addition of more elements and, most importantly, more patients and secondary storylines to follow, The Fear Program has potential to be a breakout in L.A.’s crowded immersive market.  Clearly, the show’s creator already has an ear for scripted dialogue, an innate storyteller’s gift for spooky-setting drama, and a great eye for casting.  Both Leahy as the Institute's greeter and Santoyo as the stronger-than-you-might-think June are very gifted actors.  With a few additional characters and different fear narratives of their own, and a more memorable monster that truly scares, not just exists, The Fear Factor is one to look for in its next iteration.

For a small production literally held in the backyard of a home in the Valley, there are impressively designed and fitted-out sets and just enough special effects to suggest that, visually and audio-wise, with further enhancements this could be not only one of the better narratives to be experienced but also one that looks and sounds the part. 

Growing a small show into a big one is no easy task, of course, but after seeing what Eliassi has accomplished here with a micro-cast and an abridged storyline, there’s potential that a future version of this monsterly tale will have its audience seeking an Institute of their own.