Scream (the TV show) Pilot

From a cookie cutter opening kill to a bland protagonist to a lack of respect for the fanbase, the pilot for the new Scream TV series makes all the classic mistakes of mediocre slasher remakes. The fact that it seems to be at least somewhat aware of these mistakes does not redeem it from being just plain uninteresting.

4/10

Spoilers to follow:

The original Scream was unique and subversive. It deconstructed and reinvigorated the tired Slasher genre while still paying respect to said genre and its fans. The pilot for the new Scream TV series does none of these things.

The opening in the original Scream worked so well because no one expected Drew Barrymore to die. If naive, sweet Drew Barrymore can die, then no one is safe. While watching the opening scene of the Pilot, if you expect the mean, promiscuous blonde to die in under 5 minutes, congratulations, you’re right. Obviously the Pilot can’t do another Drew Barrymore scene, because it’s already been done. But it could have at least tried to do something original. Maybe have the girl survive the opening scene. That may not have established the same sense of dread, but at least it would have been unexpected.

The next problem is the bland protagonist. The nice every-girl protagonist has been a trope of the Slasher genre since Laurie Strode took her first babysitting gig. The original Scream did a great job of subverting this trope by giving us Sidney Campbell. A spunky (non-blonde) teen who isn’t afraid to punch reporters in the face or talk back to the killer. She was so different from any slasher protagonist we’d seen before, it was hard not to like her.

Now, I love Sidney, Dewey and Gale and would definitely watch a show about them. But clearly, that’s not gonna happen. Since we can’t have another Sidney Campbell, the Pilot needs to give us someone who is equally interesting and likable in her own way.

It almost does this with the (Non)Lesbian-Camera-Girl (sorry, I didn't bother remembering names). In the very first scene, we already sympathize with her because she's a victim of cyber-bullying and an oppressed minority. She scores even more points when (contrary to what we’d expect) she stays tough and doesn't let the cyber-bullying bother her. Unlike all the other characters, she doesn’t fit into any stereotype. She kisses girls, but insists she’s not a lesbian. She’s a nerd, but she’s also very tough. All around, she’s hard to predict and by far the most interesting character in the show. A worthy successor to Sidney Campbell.

Unfortunately, she’s not the protagonist. No, the protagonist is a sweet, blonde every-girl with only slightly more personality than a doormat. I really hoped she would turn out to be the new Drew Barrymore. I hoped they would kill her at the end of the episode to subvert our expectations, but no such luck. While she may still die later in the series, the Pilot already failed to capture my interest, so it doesn’t really matter what they do after this point.

My last point is the lack of respect for the fans. The show could have tried harder to capture the Scream fanbase, the people most likely to watch the show. If the Pilot had even hinted at an underlying connection to the Westboro murders of the films, I might have been tempted to keep watching. But instead it creates a "new" generic slasher backstory, giving the finger to any fans who might have invested their time in this series.

Ironically enough, the Pilot itself tells the audience the problem with the series. At the end, Jamie Kennedy Jr says, “you have to care about the characters and their side-plots in order to keep watching.” Unfortunately, we really don’t care.

4/10


A random sidenote about the new Ghostface. The Pilot seems to follow the same recipe as the Nightmare on Elm Street remake: Take 1 iconic horror villain (like Freddy or Ghostface). Put him in the microwave for 5 minutes. Take him out and smear his face around. Repeat as necessary until all visually striking aspects of his appearance have melted away into an uninteresting blob.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Beauty in Black and White

Simple and unique. The story here is one we’ve seen before. Another vampire / human romance. But they keep it very interesting with a bizarre setting, an amazing art style and elegant storytelling. For those who want my score without any spoilers, here it is:

8/10

Highly recommended!

The full analysis with spoilers to follow:

As I said, the setting is intriguing. I loved the strange mix of Iranian culture and 1950s Americana. The two opposing ideas meet in Bad City, creating a perfect backdrop for conflict to unfold.

The art style is very simple. Many movies try to be artsy by shooting black and white, but I rarely feel the black and white is necessary (Nebraska). Here I felt that it was justified. The lack of color creates a striking contrast that helps to highlight their superb character designs. The Girl is so iconic, I feel like she could be a logo for their production company. Seeing her as just a black triangle gliding down the street on a skateboard was one of the best images in the movie. I wish they’d used the skateboard a little bit more.

The storytelling here is top-notch. I say story-“telling” but they don’t overtly tell you anything. They show everything, never relying on lazy exposition through dialogue. Many scenes feels almost like a time lapse, showing the characters slowly morph into something new without a need for any dialogue.

I have to highlight two of my favorite scenes. The first is when the Girl rides home on her skateboard for the first time, black cloth billowing behind her. Without a single word they establish through image that she’s a dark, unconventional superhero, flying away to scare someone else into being a good kid or to stop another injustice in Bad City. While she clearly protects women as a priority, I’m going to suggest a theory of mine. Judging by her manner of dress, I think she may be protecting traditional Iranian values from the influx of 1950s Americana. This of course creates conflict when she becomes fascinated with a man (the protagonist) who could easily be the moody Iranian version of Fonzie (NOTE: this theory is probably a bit premature, and I should go watch the movie a third time before making any thematic conclusions).

The second scene occurs when the protagonist and the titular Girl go back to her apartment. Without any kissing or cheesy sex scenes or awkward dialogue, we see the development and growth of their budding relationship right before our eyes. The Protagonist glides up behind her, slowly moving closer and closer along with the hypnotic music. Just as slowly, the girl turns around. We see her make the decision to leave him alive as she bares his neck but then leans her head on his chest. We see a visual metamorphosis of the characters as they both make life-altering decisions, without any dialogue required.

The movie isn’t without flaws. The pacing is very slow. While I loved many of the scenes that take their time to develop, there were a few that I felt could have been shorter. This film definitely isn’t for everyone and could come off as boring and pretentious. You’ll be disappointed if you come in expecting blood and guts. You might even be disappointed if you come in expecting another Babadook. But if you want to watch a simple and elegant picture about unique characters developing against a backdrop of subtle horror, this is the film for you.

8/10


A final note:

I loved the visual reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's at the very end.

An Intro

I try to learn something new from every movie I see. On this blog I plant to write reviews of movies I've seen and analyze why I liked or didn't like the movie. Note: I tend to mostly watch and review horror films.

A note about scores:
It helps me start analyzing a movie if I first give it a numeral score based on how much I enjoyed it.  I score movies on a 1-10 scale. Since every reviewer does things differently, giving a number score to a movie can be pretty meaningless. For some reviewers, a 6 might be a mediocre movie, for others it might actually be pretty good. Here's what the numbers mean to me:

1 - This movie REALLY rubs me the wrong way. This spot is reserved for my all-time least favorite movies (currently I can only think of like 4 movies that might get this score).

2 - The movie is a complete mess and gives me little to no enjoyment. Pretty much torture to watch.

3 - A messy movie with bad plot, bad characters, but might have one or two moments that give me slight enjoyment.

4 - A mediocre movie. It probably has some good ideas, entertaining moments or intriguing characters, but it never quite comes together into something I really enjoy overall. Or maybe this is a movie with a good beginning and an awful end (or vice versa)

5 - An average movie that I probably wouldn't recommend to anyone unless I had a really good reason. It probably has a passable plot and characters. I enjoy it, but never turns into anything remarkable.

6 - An average movie that I would definitely recommend. The movie probably isn't anything special, but it's still very fun and entertaining to watch. It keeps you engrossed until the very end. Anything 6 and above is something I'd recommend.

7 - A special movie that rises above average. It probably has some really fun characters and a solid plot. It leaves me satisfied and maybe even wanting to watch it again.

8 - A great movie. Something I want to watch over an over. After watching, I want to learn everything there is to know about this movie, who wrote it, how it was made, what other movies the actors have done, etc.

9 - A movie so good that it becomes one of my favorites. Something that becomes and inspiration for me. Like I could die happy if I ever write a story half as good as the one in this movie.

10 - This spot is reserved for favorite movies of all-time. Right now, there are only about 5 movies I would put in this category.


And that's all. I hope you enjoy my reviews!