MTV's 'Scream' Isn't Good, But It's Not Terrible
- sarahkloepple
- Jul 9, 2015
- 3 min read
I think it’s unfair to compare MTV’s new scripted series, “Scream,” to the original Wes Craven horror flick of the same name.
OK, that sounds blissfully naive — but hear me out. It seems like MTV’s updated “Scream” is garnering bad press for the injustice it does to the 1996 original. But I’m here to say that the TV version is meant to be completely different than the movie — a movie which I reluctantly adore for reasons I still don’t understand (murder is scary, yo!).
Let me start off by saying that, for a scripted, teen-centric show on MTV, “Scream” is fairly good. It’s nowhere near the high-caliber gore that’s created by the evil geniuses at, say, “American Horror Story” or “The Walking Dead,” but that’s a whole different ballpark.
MTV’s “Scream” takes place in Lakewood, and the pilot episode naturally kicks off with a masked killer stalking, Snap-videoing (I laughed at that, but I guess it is 2015), and eventually slashing popular girl Nina Patterson in her own home.
From there, we meet our main cast. There’s Emma, the nice, “final” girl played by a relatively forgettable Willa Fitzgerald. Her friends are far more interesting, particularly Audrey (Bex Taylor-Klaus), who dons a manic pixie cut and a f*ck-you attitude; and Noah (John Karna, who is endlessly charming), the sweet, nerdy, pop culture expert who provides the best moments of each episode.
All these characters are tied together, not just by boozy parties and predictable melodrama, but by the town’s “Halloween”-esque history. Emma’s mom, Maggie, was once courted by Brandon James, a recluse with a badly deformed face — hence the recreated mask. Turns out he was slashing teens left and right, so Maggie helped turn Brandon in. He gets taken out by the police and perishes in a lake. But is he really dead? The teens, obviously, don't think so. Emma and her friends immediately pin Nina's murder on Brandon.
So here’s why “Scream” works as a TV show, and why it’s in it’s own alternate universe away from the movie. First, it takes place in 2015, where cyberbullying can be far more traumatizing than a bloodbath and fake texts can be creepier than a menacing phone call (well, not always — we’ll get to that soon). That’s one reason why comparing it to a 90s film seems unfair.
Second, the show knows that transforming the “Scream” premise into a TV show is risky. It incorporates so many meta quips it’s hard to keep up. They mostly come from Noah, which makes his character so enjoyable. His school hallway monologue to Riley is actually incredibly insightful: He explains that whereas a 90-minute slasher flick burns through the murders, a TV show has to slow it down. “You have to care,” he says to Riley. You have to care about the nice girl who constantly fights with her jock boyfriend, and you have to care about the hot English teacher who’s having an affair with his student (because of course he is).
His logic has some truth. I can already see myself getting upset over the first impactful murder, who I’m predicting is Riley because of her budding romance with Noah — and a devastated Noah would be just the worst. See? I already care! That’s another reason why it’s completely different from the movie — we didn’t care one bit about Sidney’s friends. They were just props for a creatively gory scene.
Finally, MTV’s “Scream” works because it can be legitimately horrifying — minus the opening scene from the pilot (it was just too quick and not all that exciting, although I did laugh when Nina asks Siri to call 911 and the phone interprets it as Pottery Barn). I finally felt some of the spirit of Wes Craven’s iconic “Scream” opening when the killer called Emma at the end of the second episode. Gosh, that was creepy. After her house alarm went off, he pretends to be a phone operator for the security company — and I totally fell for it. The phone call disturbingly escalates just as it did for a tear-streaked Drew Barrymore. Score. Plus, the redesigned mask is eerie compared to the silly one from the movies.
Obviously, “Scream” isn’t perfect. The acting is cringe-worthy at times, and Emma’s love triangle is painfully contrived. It’s also worth noting that every male character looks identical, and I repeatedly mix them up. Like I said, it’s 2015; let’s maybe cast some male leads who look like something other than white, built and blonde.
But we should take it for what it is — I mean, it’s on MTV. If you’re a fan of horror, I urge you to watch a few episodes. It’s easy to be enveloped by the suspense and cheeky meta-ness. I think Wes Craven might approve.
