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Scream - Pilot - Advance Preview

Jun 30, 2015

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Early in the premiere episode of “Scream,” pop culture geek Noah (John Karna, “Premature”) – a Randy Meeks for the MTV generation – voices the opinion that a slasher film can’t work as a television series. “Slasher movies burn bright and fast,” he meta speaks to the audience, “TV needs to stretch things out.”

So is he right or is “Scream” the exception to the rule? I’m not sure either way yet. The pilot tries to pack in too many character introductions and exposition dumps (in the way pilots sometimes do) and suggests a show not fully formed. But the parts that work show promise and potential for this to be, at the very least, a good summer guilty pleasure. And I’ll say this – as a big fan of the “Scream” franchise, while there were creative changes/choices I wouldn’t necessarily have gone with, there’s enough of the movies’ DNA present that I never felt like I was watching something I loved get murdered before my eyes.

Speaking of murder, the show starts with high school mean girl Nina (Bella Thorne, “Shake It Up”) getting Drew Barrymore-d by a masked, knife-wielding killer. The rest of the hour spends its time introducing her friends and victims – all now red herrings, suspects, and/or potentially next – while also setting up typical teen drama stories – romantic woes, cyber bullying, issues with parents, etc. But also, like any small town in a scary movie worth its salt, their hometown of Lakewood (and fear not, the titular body of water is sufficiently creepy and mist-covered) has a local boogeyman in its past that may be involved in or at least inspiring the terror in the present.

Some good stuff I want to shout about. The killer’s stalking of Nina is a fun, modern homage to the first film’s famous opening sequence. Lakewood’s bloody backstory serves as a solid narrative bedrock to build a serialized arc on, also smartly tying the adult characters closer to the action. And the standout among the cast for me was Willa Fitzgerald (“Royal Pains”), whose Emma is the Sidney Prescott of the piece and through who a lot of the plot threads pivot.

Most of the other teens, however, didn’t particularly pop and, as Noah notes, the show will live or die on the audience caring about what they’re up to between murders since we’re spending ten hours with them and not ninety minutes. I see story potential already in outcast Audrey (Bex Taylor-Klaus, “Arrow”) and new kid Kieran (newcomer Amadeus Serafini), but the rest are pretty much pretty cannon fodder at this point. The show also leans a little heavy on Noah, understandable since his voice is the closet to the “Scream” fans are familiar with, but he gets maybe one meta monologue too many. Finally, there’s a danger of overdoing it on the fake out jump scares since there likely won’t be a death every week.

But these are all hiccups that can be scared out of the show in the weeks to come. And I’m curious and enthused to see what’s next.

MTV lets the first “Scream” rip on Tuesday June 30th. Until then, feel free to scare up some thoughts or speculations in the comments section.

68 comments:

  1. This review makes me a little bit more excited about the show, I was worried they throw away the scream movies legacy and make a crappy show, so at least I know that wont happen.

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  2. I'm watching this for Jason Wiles as I have loved him since Third Watch as Bosco. Nice to see him on the screen again, even if it did take Joel Gretsch quitting.

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  3. You said you are a fan of the Scream movies right? So am I, big fan actually. So my question is this will fans of the movie like this show? I want to like it I really do. And I'm going to give it a try, Iusually ggive new shows 3 episodes before I give up. But I'm afraid this is going to ruin my love of the Scream movies.

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  4. I love all Scream movies and I really loved the Pilot too. I think it was really awesome and I was said when it was over coz I wanted to see much more. It's definitely a 5/5 from me. ;)

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  5. I'll give the series a try seeing that you say it has potential. Guess I'll have that Scream movie marathon on June 30th then.

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  6. Who was the killer in the movies and why?

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  7. 1st movie Billy and Stu, motive was because they said Syds mom was a whore.
    2nd movie Billys mother and Mickey. Billys mom was avenging her sons death and Mickey was just crazy and wanted his time in the spotlight.
    3rd movie was Syds brother she didn't know about Rollin. And he did it because mother didn't claim him as hers.
    4th movie Jill and Charlie. Jill because she wanted to be the "new Sydney" and she wanted fame. And Charlie because Jill convinced him they would get away with it and become the new Sydney and Randy from the first movie and survive and be famous.

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  8. Thanks to you as always boss!

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  9. I recognized Jason Wiles when he first appeared in the "Scream" pilot, but I couldn't remember from where. A quick spin by IMDb made me realize I know him as Kelly's cokehead boyfriend Colin on "Beverly Hills, 90210" of all places lol!
    Thanks for the comment.

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  10. I am seriously getting this confused with Scream Queens. I'm looking forward to both though.
    Great preview, I'll give it a try and hope for the best.

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  11. What makes you think Kieran is the killer/the Billy of the show?

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  12. ...maybe we shouldn't list all the killers, in case anyone wants to watch or rewatch before the show starts? Trying to figure who's behind the Ghostface mask is half the fun.

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  13. LOL me too i saw the article title and i thought it was Scream Queens

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  14. To me, "Scream" always seemed like it was going to be more of a thriller with comedic moments (which it pretty much was) while "Scream Queens" seems more like a comedy with horror elements.
    But I do think MTV decided to debut their series over the summer to escape "Scream Queens"'s shadow a bit.

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  15. Sorry. I figured moat people have seen all the movies.

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  16. Yes it is. And not to toot my own horn but I figured out who each killer was in all of the movies except the first. I knew one but not the other in the first movie. The other 3 eere easy to figure out.

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  17. No biggie, most people probably have. But anyone who hasn't should check them out, they're fun films. And the original trilogy is streaming on Netflix.

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  18. Which of them were your favorites? I liked 1 and 4 the best then 2 and 3 in that order lol

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  19. I can't choose! But I will say I've always had a soft spot for "Scream 2" in particular.

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  20. Really? I always thought there was to many useless charactera in that one.

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  21. Thanks for the preview. I've been looking forward to this but at the moment I would have preferred Scream 5 and 6 instead. Hopefully the show will be good enough to change my mind. There are so many things that could go wrong, the Ghostface mask, voice and the way he moves. Going OTT without making it annoying and eye roll worthy. The music, the acting and ofc the "rules" that the movies always had.

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  22. The best slasher films are the ones where the audience cares about at least a few of the characters. I would agree that is more imperative to care about the characters of a 10 episode TV series than a movie, and casting is a thing that I have concerns with this show. I give the edge to Scream for doing 10 episodes over Scream Queens for doing 15 episodes, and I dont care if SQ is more of a comedy because 15 episodes seems to be too many episodes for a slasher story.

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  23. I'm not saying he's the killer, I'm saying I don't want him to be the killer because don't you get a Billy vibe from him?

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  24. Sounds interesting. I tend to prefer horror on TV (Penny Dreadful, Hannibal etc) over film with a couple of exceptions, but this could be cool. I don't have the most positive track record with MTV, though. Will give it a couple of episodes at least.

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  25. Very intrigued to see the pilot, seems like it could be a good show. *fingers crossed*

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  26. I'm not sure I can watch this show without a bias. Loved the original movies but if the mysterious tone isn't kept in favor of teen glamor...

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  27. Thanks for reading CGS!

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  28. Watching the pilot, not really. Kieran seems more like Jared Leto's character on "My So-Called Life' - the brooding bad boy with a heart of gold.

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  29. I've never watched "Penny Dreadful" so I can't speak to it, but I wouldn't expect the same level of visceral gore here as on "Hannibal", though blood is definitely spilled.
    Thanks for your thoughts!

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  30. This being "Scream", there are meta references to the burst of horror shows on TV these days, including "American Horror Story" and "The Walking Dead".

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  31. As far as the casting, I won't say all the actors playing the teens are Laurence Olivier, but Willa Fitzgerald and Bex Taylor-Klaus are both solid and likable as the leads.

    I am curious/concerned about what will happen if "Scream" gets a second season. Unlike "Scream Queens", it's not an anthology.

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  32. Yup. I like/love them all, but I do have a soft spot for this one. The clever and disturbing opening sequence. The ensemble (it's crazy to think Timothy Olyphant and Liev Schreiber were practically unknowns then). The Cotton Weary thread. The gut punch of a certain death. The developments in the Dewey/Gale relationship. It's just a smart sequel.

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  33. Well, Scream Queens isn't a 'true' anthology (like AHS) either. The second season of SQ will feature the surviving characters from the first season in a new muder mystery. It won't be a completely unreleated story, like AHS is every season, but take place in the same universe and act like a sort of semi-sequel to the previous season.

    It something I can actually see the Scream Tv show do as well. Have one season-long story revolving around a killer, unmask him/her in the season-finale and the then have the second season be a different muder mystery with a new killer and the surviving characters returning. Kind of like the Scream sequels themselves actually.

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  34. Yay! I was kind of hoping there would be references like that ;)

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  35. Cool, thanks for the heads up! To be fair, there isn't much on TV that's got the same level of visceral gore as Hannibal.

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  36. Interesting, I thought the actress playing the "final girl" on "Scream Queens" would move on to the next season, not the character.

    And yes, "Scream" would be wise to treat a second season as a sequel of sorts.

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  37. While it plays in the same sandbox, the show is definitely more of an adaptation than a continuation, if that makes sense.
    I too am curious what Williamson had planned for "Scream 5" and "Scream 6".

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  38. Well thanks for reading!

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  39. Before Nicloe told me i thought it was the same killer in all the movies., thanks.

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  40. I realized i haven't asked this: are we supposed to take this show seriously or is this just a parody-like show like scary movies franchise for the summer?

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  41. There's meta humor, but it's not a spoof.

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  42. Ah okay so it's serious show?

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  43. Also please tell they're not doing a statutory rape story.

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  44. It is all here in the first few paragraphs Ivan.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scream_characters

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  45. Why isn't this airing in Canada ?
    ( I get MTV )

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  46. Bex Taylor-Klaus is ver likeable on Arrow as Sin aka Cindy.

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  47. God, I hate this series already. And funny I said it was the same opening with Drew once they introduced the first 8 min sneak peek. Same thing, (But much better). And ftr, Drew lasted 12 min.

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  48. Ya MTV Canada scheduling on the tv is weird . I recorded whatever it says is on at 7 . Last night it said the teen wolf movie was airing when it was actually the premiere

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  49. Then don't watch. It's that simple.

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  50. They are, unfortunately. And it's a classic male fantasy thing where the young beautiful girl is heavily pursuing the older man.

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  51. Personally, after having seen the first 30 minutes, I'm hoping the killers are Noah and Emma.... but I doubt that will happen since it would be too similar to the ending of Scream 4.

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  52. Really? I thought scream 4 had the most surprising killers. My audience was shocked at one killer in particular.... you know the one I'm talking about.

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  53. Maybe you didn't read what i said, and if you did, you didn't understand something so obvious, that's THAT simple.

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  54. Well here's the thing they originally marketed it as a"reboot" so I had theories going in. And I knew it was going to be that one right off the bat. Then there were things during the moving that confirmed it for me. It took me till about halfway threw to figure out the other one though. And the first one I had suspcisons from the start, then I figured out the sidekick.. but wasn't sure sure if it was you know who untill they revealed it. And 2 was by far the easiest, and 3 I figured it out like 30 minutes in. Lol I love horror movies and Scream is one of my favorites..

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  55. I don't know what to do anymore, what the hell goes on in the brains of people who want that seen?

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  56. They're probably just trying to be very risque and "edgy." I agree. I hate seeing stuff like that.

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  57. The thing about 2 is that Wes had to completely change the identity of the killer(s) after the first script leaked.

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  58. Just as long as you're not one of those "I'm going to keep watching it just so I can bash it every week" people.

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  59. The whole disfigured guy wants revenge thing is too similar to the plot of "Valentine."

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  60. I'm definitely not one of those people. I despise those people.

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  61. Are those the people that i've seen called "trolls"?

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  62. Some of them. How you can be on the internet everyday and not know what a troll is, is beyond me. Here, read this please, b/c if you ask me one more question i'll ignore you for a week. Read this, it'll answer your question w/o me answering it....

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trolling

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  63. Here's a better one....Someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community such as, forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

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  64. Well they're jerks! I've always wondered what they were, i'd heard the term but looked up the term.

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  65. I know. That ruined 2 for me. And 3 was a train wreck lol my favorites are 1 and 4.

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  66. I was surprised that the opening that was released and pretty much recreated the Drew Barrymore scene turned out to be quite a good and respectful homage... having said that I'm still not holding my breath for this to be particularly great.

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