Review by CJ

Director:
Jamie Travis, Tim Hunter, Brian Dannelly, Julius Ramsay, Leigh Janiak, Rodman Flender, Ti West

Writer:
Jill E. Blotevogel, Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie, David Coggeshall, Jordan Rosenberg, Meredith Glynn, Erin Maher, Kay Reindl, Jaime Paglia, Kevin Williamson (based on the film series by)

Starring:
Willa Fitzgerald, Bex Taylor-Klaus, John Karna, Amadeus Serafini, Connor Weil, Carlson Young, Tracy Middendorf, Jason Wiles

Other notable appearances:
Amelia Rose Blaire, Bobby Campo, Bella Thorne

Running time:
39-45 minutes per episode

Number of episodes:
10

The town of Lakewood is subjected to a string of murders reminiscent of events that occurred over 20 years ago.

The Scream franchise is one of my favourites in the horror genre, so I really wanted to love this TV series. How was I disappointed by thee? Let me count the ways.

If you’re going to make a TV series based on a popular movie series, there should at least be some correlation between the two. The only one that I could see is that they are both self-referential or “meta”. There is one more that is spoilery, so I won’t be specific but it’s not even really a thing that is exclusive to the Scream film franchise. It’s a different town, different characters, different motives and a different mask.

Speaking of which, I know it’s a small thing but I hated the killer’s mask. It’s a poorly butchered version of the Ghostface mask. The traditional Ghostface mask is terrifying in nature because it’s generic and was innocent before it was used by movie serial killers. The mask used in the Scream TV series is given a backstory that makes it automatically scary in the town of Lakewood.

That tagline … “You’ll never see it coming”. Only I did. From miles away. There are so many awful red herrings being thrown around in this season of Scream that it felt like being in the path of John West’s rejections. In the end the reveal is entirely too predictable, which is made even more obvious because it is never considered despite being overly predictable.

The dialogue is tacky. The characters are two dimensional and clichéd. The acting is mediocre. The direction is sketchy. So many things are introduced that seem like they will be important but then they just trail off. Overall, I spent more time bored while watching Scream than I did scared or entertained.

Would this series have been enjoyable if it weren’t associated with the Scream film franchise? I guess we will never know, but it definitely would have stood more of a chance.

I really wouldn’t bother with the Scream TV series. If you want a meta slasher fix, watch the film quadrilogy. Its weakest* is infinitely more enjoyable than anything the TV series has to offer.

Rating:

“You can’t do a slasher movie as a TV series. Think about it. Girl and her friend arrive at the dance, the camp, deserted town, whatever. Killer takes them out one-by-one. Ninety minutes later, the sun comes up and survivor girl sits in the ambulance watching her friends’ bodies being wheeled past. Slasher movies burn bright and fast. TV needs to stretch things out. You know, by the time the first body is found, it’s only a matter of time before the bloodbath commences.”

* We all know it’s number 3. It’s the weakest of a strong series, so I love it anyway.