Scream Season 1

5/10 Based off of the Wes Craven film series, MTV decided to turn the “Scream” franchise into a TV show for two seasons before a three year gap and switching to VH1 for the third and final season. Before the fifth movie drops, I figured I’d take a look at the TV series to see how it measures up. Any show coming from either MTV or VH1 means my expectations will be low. MTV is no HBO, that’s for damn sure. All things considered, the debut season is pretty much what I expected. Mediocre film making, completely unrealistic, cheesy, over the top but with an attractive cast, strong pacing and harmless fun that will entertain you. Like most high school set shows/movies, our main characters all look like super models which while completely unrealistic, at least provides some eye candy. We get the same meta commentary on the slasher genre, this time provided by the character of Noah (John Karna), who happened to be the best and most likeable character of the season. The plot is too similar to the film series for my liking but I definitely wasn’t expecting this series to break the mold. I will give it credit for taking a story that could have been told in two hours and being able to stretch it out into ten 40-45 minute episodes without having too much filler. I appreciated that the show didn’t shy away from the violence, even if the language/sex was essentially ignored, which felt strange given the TV-MA rating and how language/sex are as much a staple of the horror genre as the violence is. No one in the cast will go on to win any acting Oscars but several characters were likeable and having fun with their roles. The film making was average with the direction, cinematography, editing, etc. getting the job done but failing to impress in any way. In true horror fashion, characters make completely dumb decisions. You’d think if a serial killer was on the loose in your small town that you wouldn’t be throwing high school parties or that you might want to carry some kind of weapon on your persons at all times. The show gives plenty of misdirection on who the killer is and while you may not see the killer’s identity coming, the twist also felt a bit unearned. The soundtrack is pretty bad but the score makes this an easier pill to swallow. In the end, if you expect the plot to follow closely to what the films do and know that the quality won’t blow you away, there is some fun to be had with some grisly kills, an attractive cast and a season that won’t take up too much of your time. I’m keeping my expectations on par with this season for the next two seasons so hopefully the show at least keeps consistent. This season won’t make you scream, but perhaps you’ll get a gasp or two out of it.

#LetsGoBrandonJames / #NoahsCharacterArc / #SlayThePiper / #FraudCast / #ScreamSong / #SweetScreamsAreMadeOfThese