TV

[Review] MTV's Scream: Wanna Play a Game?

In my review of the last episode, I said I was a fan of Scream's willingness to be awful. There's always an inherent fun with shows that are written, acted, and directed terribly if there's a commitment to the bit. With episode three, the commitment is in full force and we've gotten some pretty cheesy murder television. Either I've been subject to this for too long that I've become numb to it, or it's making its way around to being interesting again, but episode three is definitely a highlight.

Then again, it's a highlight of a show that increasingly aims low so I'm not sure what to think.

One of the bigger tidbits floating around during this year's San Diego Comic Con was that the showrunners weren't planning to kill someone every episode. Well, three episodes in and we've gotten a new victim for each one. But there's still the same problem of not giving a damn every time one of these kids dies because we don't know them well enough beyond stereotypical horror movie tropes. This week's victim was Riley, the nerdy girl who liked the nerdy boy Noah (who's the Jamie Kennedy stand in, and is way more annoying than that character ever was). It was a heavily telegraphed murder since we actually got some development of her character. Although it was only that she wanted to pursue a relationship with Noah (and that she cares about others, something the rest of the cast doesn't seem to share), the fact that she got any attention at all meant she was marked for death. If there's one thing the show can learn from other horror shows' mistakes, is that you could totally develop folks without killing them minutes later.

But I guess that's the point. The only interesting plot development of note this episode was that Emma's (main girl) mother revealed she was the main girl victim during Brandon James' streak years ago. Because of this new information, awesomely revealed by the killer's voice a la Scream films, Emma's beginning to trust the killer's voice more than her friends and family. As the show's Ghostface begins to show his prowess with phone technology, he's got access to everyone's voices and phone numbers, we're beginning to enter familiar yet unknown territory. It's an homage to the films, yet Emma is getting more and more involved with the deaths. There was some honest to God tension as Emma had to choose which of her friends would die. It also highlighted something the Scream films used to love, that the killer felt like he could be everywhere at once. Too bad the show's writing is still the woooooooooorst.

If things can stay in this direction, we'll get the terrible greatness we deserve soon enough.

Assorted Musings:

• I don't know much about video games, but it's hard to believe they have some of the most "dramatic scenes of all time."
• The whole teacher/student sex thing is starting to bother me. One of both involved need off the show soon.
• The show is clearly setting up the two jock dudes as part of some hidden camera website ring, but I just don't care. Either make one the killer or go home.
• #RunRileyRun? Really MTV?

by Nick Valdez