Scream: Season 1 (2015)

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

What I liked:

• Noah Foster. Holy crap, this guy! I absolutely adore him. He is so geeky and I find that immensely cute, but aside from that, I find him to be a great character. I mean, just the way he says things, example: “Oh, holy Manson family album”, etc. It was like finding my spirit animal – just the weird ways of expressing oneself. I love it! Plus, he is the character pointing everything out to us in the show, as well as narrating the events.
• The contemporary references, etc. that made the originals so awesome.
• Everyone is fair game, and when they get killed, the gore is so rewarding. Yes, again, Noah could be my spirit animal.
• The humour. Really, this is something I had a total blast with. It was pretty geeky and quite entertaining.
• Noah Foster screaming. Really, it rivals Dean Winchester!
• The throwbacks and references to the movies, as well as how some scenes were shot. Big fan of the little details like that. This is an awesome page to check out to see more about it.
• The gore. Yep. At least they got that right, even though it was undercut by that stupid soundtrack.

I actually really enjoyed Kieran’s character, and hope we see more of him in the next season. And while not necessarily my cup of tea, he was pretty easy on the eyes. Just saying.

I beg to differ with Noah’s assessment. Sure, maybe not conventional, but the cute, geeky, nerdy guys have always been way more appealing to me!

What I didn’t like:

• The way this whole show feels like a girls show. I mean it, the music, focusing on such mundane things like your ex being a tit, and how you feel about the new guy. That’s all good and well, but could we check something besides relationships out? I am all for it, but not when her love triangle becomes the most important thing. UGH.
• The music. I bitched a bit in the point above, but really? Do guys actually listen to that crap? I might be really out of touch what people are listening to nowadays, but seriously. I hated it, and it irritated the hell out of me. It also undercut the gore and stuff, because the show just doesn’t feel like it is built for everyone, if that makes sense? The music alone could stop an entire demographic watching it because it just doesn’t gel with the content.
• Piper Shaw. She was such a flat, bland character for me, and didn’t break the mould in the slightest.
• How predictable the show was at the best of times.
• Emma. I know this is awful, she is the lead, and we are supposed to back her, but she just grated on me, for reals. She was whiny, flaky, annoying, silly, icky. She will never be the new Sidney Prescott, I don’t care what anybody says! What a useless lump.

Rating:

So I finally got to watching this, though I had my reservations, what with being a huge fan of the movies. The series isn’t really like the movies, but it is, if that makes sense. There are certain aspects that spill over, like the in your face way it tells you what is going to happen, and how all horror/slasher formulas work, and the stereotyped characters. However, where the movies succeeded, this failed in the sense that the show is really soft. It made me think (on more than one occasion) more of Pretty Little Liars and not so much other shows like American Horror Story or Hannibal (although nothing is like Hannibal, to be fair).

I expected something more hardcore, especially with the blood and gore that Scream would feature. Not to mention that the soundtrack does not help this out at all. I don’t know, do guys actually listen to that stuff? I might just be really out of touch with what people listen to as I don’t listen to the radio and watch TV, but I don’t know… it’s a little femme. I don’t say this in a derogatory sense or that guys can’t listen to that, I am just saying that this is the kind of music you find in chick flicks and shows for teenage girls (*cough cough* again why I thought Pretty Little Liars). Add to that, there is a hell of a lot of teenage drama going on, and so much relationship mush. Yep, these are all things that bugged me.

I know we are supposed to get attached to the characters and care, but only some of the characters that were killed were handled that well, the rest, not so much. Also, let’s just explore this really messed up relationship between Emma and Kieran – how is that ever going to work out? She has dropped this guy, hurt this guy, run back to her ex, jerked Kieran around, accused him of murder, crushed him, but hey, let’s do this thing? I am so darn confused. How much is he going to take from her, and why is he okay with it all? Also, I am not a fan of Emma, and found her entitled, whiny, and annoying, which  made giving a crap about her damn difficult. In fact, I didn’t, even right at the very end. Her fate is none of my concern.

Then there is Noah, and he is the only one I am concerned about, no kidding. That guy is my favourite thing about this show, and the reason I continued watching (because, let’s face it, the beginning of this show was rocky at best). He is hilarious, and so unapologetic about the nerdy, serial killer obsessed dude that he is, and I love that. My spirit animal, I swear. I wish that some of the other characters had been given more time. In a movie I can understand not having the time to focus on other characters, but in a series based off of a movie that is just under two hours in length, I would say there is spans of time to flesh out the side characters.

Anyway, this is a fun show if you don’t take it too seriously, though I don’t think it will ever, ever hit the heights of the movies. Not the worst series you can waste your time on if you have nothing else to watch, and it is a real quick, eight episode filler watch, probably great for when you are trying to decide what to move on to next.

Review: Scream 4 (2011)

SYNOPSIS: Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer. – via IMDB

And here we are, the final movie! Thank you all for sticking with me, reading, commenting, everything. As always, it’s appreciate it! It’s been a blast.

This one is definitely not right up there like the first two movies, but this is really not the worst movie to be added to a franchise, especially so long after the fact. It is infinitely better than the last one though, that’s for sure! I will always be a fan of the fact that the same cast has always returned for their roles, it just gives the whole experience a more cohesive and authentic feeling, which is awesome.

Thank goodness Cox’s hair was sorted out – Scream 3 did her no wonders whatsoever, and whoever styled her hair with that fringe should have been shot. Seriously. Her and Dewey being together is adorable, and I will not lie, that blonde woman, Hicks, who was hitting on Dewey? She really made me angry Stay away or go find an available man, hooker!

I am still not sold on Emma Roberts – even her face just looks like a spoiled brat to me, and she always comes across like that, too. Ugh. She isn’t even that great an actress (or I have yet to see her in anything where she wows me, at any rate). Giving her such a huge role in here peeved me a bit, but there were other things to enjoy. As I understand it, there was quite some backlash when Hayden Panettiere was cast for this (although much humble pie has been eaten since, by the sound of it). I thought she was great, and definitely a character I had a lot of fun with.

Sidney has the worst agent of all time and she annoyed the fuck out of me. Like can you even?! The woman had no morals or scruples! There were quite a few reprehensible characters for this one though, but you can deal with it. There was a strong focus on the teens again, very reminiscent of Scream, and I enjoyed exploring that avenue again, though modern kids are less entertaining than they think they are.

Dewey with some power was awesome, and to see him getting hit on by the other cop and that pissing Gale off was classic, even though that woman irritated me (as I mentioned). Hicks did provide some classic entertainment for unleashing the snippy Gale Weathers we all know and love though.

Sidney is back in action of course, and the woman just keeps on getting crap flung at her. She has in no way had an easy life, and people seem so keen on constantly making her relive awful torment. This time around she is not taking anything, and puts up a great defense, terrified or not. She is making her stand and that is just that.

I almost died when they tried to call Rory Culkin’s Charlie Walker this generation’s Billy Loomis. Are you freaking kidding me??????

My argument:

Billy Loomis – sexy

Charlie Walker – not so much

The new and improved “rules” that were put forth in this movie and explored made me laugh, there were quite a few industry digs and they were handled quite well.

For a sequel to a set of films so long after the fact, Scream 4 is highly successful and hits quite a few high points and misses in other places, but that isn’t an issue for the most part.

Overall I had an absolute blast going back to these films as well as watching this one, the only one I hadn’t seen. I can see myself watching the hell out of these movies again, so much fun to be had! Thank you all so much for undertaking this journey with me, taking the time to read and share comments, I always appreciate it!

Review: Scream 2 (1997)

SYNOPSIS: Two years after the first series of murders, a new psychopath dons the Ghostface costume and a new string of killings begins. – via IMDB

Sequels aren’t usually that good, we all know that. It is a topic that this sequel harps on about, and it is pretty successful. For one, I still had an absolute blast with this movie, how conscious it was of the type of film it was (once again), how it mocked and taunted (again), yet did all those things anyway. Scream 2 managed to pull it off, but I had no doubt that it would, and no, not just because I had seen it a million times before. Hell, it even had a (really) brief glimpse of Joshua Jackson in it, so there weren’t complaints for me. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of that.

The opening is one of those that have stuck with people for years after all was said and done, whether you remember the rest of the movie or not, we all remember the brutal toilet stall slaying of Phil and the screaming theatre death of Maureen.

I was so happy to see Dewey again, I think he is such an adorable idiot, and David Arquette was perfectly cast to play him. He is truly a favourite of mine, and watching him and Courteney Cox together was great, they just worked. Dewey’s fury with Gale and her book was a point of incredible entertainment for me, he was so childish about it all, yet still so infatuated with her.

There was no shock in the reveal (hopefully nobody was expecting there would be), and though there were more murders in this one, they were not as meticulously planned as the first one, and also much less phone calls. I miss the phone calls. They were something I truly enjoyed about Scream. I think one thing that really fell flat in this movie was Ghostface… not quite what I was hoping for, and it was a little bit jarring, too. It wasn’t as smooth as it could have been, though not a complete waste.

The back and forth between the characters was as sharp, smart and fast as always, so nothing has really changed there. Sidney is still hanging in there, our reluctant heroine who is surrounded by wonderful people. I felt so sorry for Randy, perpetually stuck in the dreaded friendzone. Sidney is a wonderful character to carry the Scream franchise because she isn’t too much or too little, she never takes over and is never forgotten, and that is something that so many horrors can mess up. The main characters from this franchise all have their time to shine.

Gale kicks some serious ass. I love this woman. She is a shark and a super  mean bitch but she is hardcore, and she doesn’t take much crap from anyone. Sometimes she is just too harsh for some, and her lack of morals really is a bit rough at times, but she is someone that I really like.

Then something that happened in this movie that I am sure many fans are still horrified about. (Highlight text to view – SPOILER if you haven’t seen this yet). Killing Randy Meeks?! After all that we have been through with him, after all the lessons that he taught us! The only main character to be popped. Ugh. Why?! Craven, how did you think that was alright?! What the ever-loving hell was the meaning of that? 

 

I adored how Scream 2 starts up, and you are thinking they are going to do something different and you are missing all the characters you came to love, and slowly but surely they start creeping through the cracks. It really is something to witness them all coming together again to battle Ghostface, again, though it cannot possibly be the delicious Billy Loomis.

Overall, Scream 2 is buckets of fun, while not as brilliant as its predecessor, it is a strong sequel with plenty of laughs, blood and gore – everything I am looking for in a film. Definitely worth the watch.

Review: Scream (1996)

SYNOPSIS: A group of teens are pitted against a masked murderer that tests their knowledge of horror movies. – via IMDB

Originally I had these lined up for a JB & The Chop collaboration, but extenuating circumstances meant that the outing would have to be cancelled. These have long been lined up for publication for the next few Fridays, and I was quite sad to see of Wes Craven’s passing on Sunday. What a pity, and the man gave us a lot of great horrors, slashers, and thrillers over the years. There would never be a more perfect time to line these up, and so they have become tribute posts.

Popping this in, as much as my other half was calling out how lame this was and how cheesy  and stupid, I have to admit that I had a total blast. Why? Not only because I grew up watching this, but as I got older, I could finally appreciate some specific aspects of these movies. When I was a kid, it was just about some weird mask and terrorizing teenagers and being different from other horror movies yet completely the same. I am older now, wiser. What this movie is, is actually a stroke of genius. Why? Because it mocks on horror movies, does its thing, conforms and teases and jokes.

In a quick way, it is fresh. Different. Goodness knows it has been ripped off from here to Kingdom Come, and it has endured a lot of mockery and cheese on its own, but when you get right down to it, Scream still holds up well after all this time. In fact, it holds up brilliantly. I swear I damn near wore the VHS out when I was a kid, I watched this movie so many times, checked it out of the video store a ton more.

The opening scene for this movie is infamous. We all know it. Or, if you don’t, I am not quite sure where you have been. A creepy, weird phone call to Drew Barrymore? Check. A strange conversation that starts as funny and goes sour, quickly? Check. The popcorn on the stove that she is prepping for a movie that is our timer? Check. A superbly grisly death by the end of all the taunting and the crazy chase? Check.  Totally just one of those movies that was going to nail all the things I love in a film, and handles the delicate balance so well. This movie could have bombed, but it didn’t because there is a certain finesse behind it that just makes it all come together wonderfully.

Scream is so nineties, there is no way to get around that, but on the other hand, that just gives rise to all the nostalgia I feel when I watch that. Not because the nineties were anything to write home about or anything, but that was my decade, rugrat that I was and all.

Scream is smarter than it is given credit for, and is constantly aware of what it is and how it is going about doing it. I find that awesome. It doesn’t get old, it doesn’t get boring, and it isn’t stale. It has an idea, and it runs with it, and is highly successful about it, too.

I was a big fan of the Freddy Krueger nod that was in here, as well as the way it was implemented. I had a pretty good laugh, especially seeing as it was Wes Craven in that outfit 🙂

While looking for the above, I found this… LOL!

Anyway, I also really liked the casting. I mean, half these people you don’t see in movies anymore, though they were pretty popular in the nineties. They all did a good job with what they were given.

They made me laugh, they made me roll my eyes and cringe, but they also had me invested in what was going to happen and how things were going to play out.

I feel for Skeet Ulrich – gosh, imagine getting a name like that as a kid and going through school?! I just couldn’t! Anyway, he was a cutie in a real fucked up, greasy sense, but it worked. Campbell was suited for the scared young girl with issues, David Arquette is a serious favourite of mine as the adorable Deputy Dewey, and Courteney Cox was perfect for the bitchy, sharky reporter. Seriously, like no qualms.

The movie is quotable, too, and played off on a lot of movie clichés that had been seen a million times then, and have been seen a million more since. However, they all just seemed to be done so differently here, which is awesome.

I know he is doing only the most fucked up shit here, but he is damn fine while doing it There’s something just slightly too erotic about the corn syrup licking and knife flicking…

I know I am not alone in my sentiments. I think. I hope. I actually don’t even care. Yep bestie, me and the psychos again…

If you can’t tell from all the points above, I am a huge fan of Scream, it’s smart, it’s great fun and definitely worth watching! Thanks to Wes Craven for having given us something so awesome!