SCREAM (2015): TV Review

Whodunnit?

Growing up, it was one of my favorite horror franchises. Though an obvious satire, I found it to have an unique mix of mystery, suspense, terror, and humor. With each sequel, I was always left surprised at the final reveal. Naturally, I found myself intrigued at the announcement of the new series.

Though the acting leaves something to be desired and none of the original characters are present, the mystery hooked me.

Who on Earth could the killer (or killers) be?

First thing we must do is deconstruct the typical Scream characteristics:

1. Most importantly, it is self-aware .

2. All films except the third provide a killing duo . So, that can be a certain possibility for the series.

3. All films repeat the same character types :

   • Sidney, the victim

   • Randy, the horror film enthusiast friend

   • Gale, the ambitious reporter

   • Duey, the cop

   • Other minor characters (not all repeated but present in the series include the missing father, the mother and her incredibly complicated past, and the suspicious boyfriend.

4. The films never repeat a character type for the killer .

Scream 1 – the boyfriend and the creepy friend

Scream 2 – a “reporter”/ the boyfriend’s vengeful mother and a horror enthusiast.

Scream 3 – Sidney’s secret half-brother/film director.

Scream 4 – the remake of the Randy and the remake of Sidney. (True, she is a relative as well, but that only gives the remake Sidney a connection to the true Sidney.)

With this in mind, we can naturally rule out these character types for the series.

Here is what we know about the killer :

• He/she knows every secret in town, including the identity of the mysterious “Daisy”.

• He/she is incredibly tech savvy with skills in hacking computers and security cameras.

• He/she is strong and fit.

• He/she is obsessed with Emma and her mother.

• He/she began the murders directly after an act of cyber bullying, which also happened to be after the sheriff’s son came to town.

At this point, the killer could be anyone. I am not ready to rule out any of them. As always, I expect to be surprised to see who the killer really is.

My theory is that all the extra stuff happening in this series that did not appear in the film is a bunch of fluff meant to distract us from the real format. This includes the cyber-bully video, blackmail secrets, teacher-student scandal, and Brandon James kill spree. Keep true to the franchise and focus on the parallel characters. It is there I hope to find the killer(s).

Last week, we were sad to see the boyfriend character eliminated. There are only two episode left before the finale when the killer(s) is/are revealed. What suspect will be eliminated tomorrow night when the next episode airs?