Review: SCREAM QUEENS Knocks It Out of The Park
Do you know what's really hard to make? A parody TV show or movie. As a writer of parodies, there is always a fine line you walk to make sure you make something funny but not too zany, mimicking and emphasizing certain tropes without outright winking at the audience. We've seen successes in parody filmmaking with such movies as the first Scary Movie, Airplane, and Young Frankenstein. We've also seen failures, as seen in any movie made by Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg (Disaster Movie, Epic Movie, Date Movie, Meet the Spartans). But they are failures as filmmakers in general, so I can't really give them much credit in any aspect. The idea of making a TV series parody is a dangerous one, especially a horror parody. For one, you have to keep jokes fresh and funny while still keeping a strong narrative. Secondly, you have to not just rehash all the old jokes. Plus...well, let me just cut to the chase: the new Fox series Scream Queens knocks it out of the park.
It is rare that I will laugh out loud while watching a TV series by myself, but there are so many good moments in Scream Queens that I couldn't help but guffaw at the jokes. The first episode does so many right things from the get-go, including having a spectacular cast. Emma Roberts plays the role of Queen Bee of a sorority to a tee, from pouty faces to false kindness to glares that would give the Queen of England a run for her money. I know Roberts is a good actress, but this show really shows how versatile she truly is. Also outstanding is the good girl, Grace, played by Skyler Samuels. I knew very little about Samuels before this, but now I'm expecting big things for her future. She is definitely a breakout star in the making. She manages to do something very few actors and actresses are able to: be the straight character in a comedy but still be a fully fleshed out and funny character. She's not just a character we can relate with, but a character that we want to be. All the actors do a fantastic job, though. Everyone has beautiful moments, which is greatly due to such witty writing. They are all twisted and hilarious stereotypes of classic '90s horror, with new ones thrown in for good measure. One of the most hilarious characters introduced in the series is "Deaf Taylor Swift." I'll just let that name sit with you and make you want to watch the show even more.
This show manages to capture so many brilliant types of comedy that anyone watching it will get a laugh somewhere. There were some jokes that maybe weren't my favorite, but shortly after, they'd hit me with one that resonated greatly. I often found myself recognizing how clever and addictive this show was, not only in its comedy bits but also its story. It doesn't spoon-feed you everything all at once. There is a mystery of a murder going on which leaves interesting cliffhangers and questions unanswered in the episode. The best thing they do is manage to still take the show seriously. It's a satire of horror as well as modern college students which makes huge over the top jokes that would normally take people out of a show, but because of the tone and actors' amazing ability to play everything so real, it just makes you more intrigued.
Finally, the choice of putting in classic scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis was brilliant. When first hearing of it, I thought it was just a media ploy to get viewers to watch, but Curtis is hilarious. No one else could play the role of the vicious Dean Munsch as well as her. She brings her own gravitas and presence that rivals that of even Kevin Spacey in House of Cards or James Spader in The Blacklist. Bold claim, I know, but she makes the horror/comedy genre her own and overshadows so many of the others on screen with her.
This is a must watch for October. If the first episode is any indicator of the rest of the series, this show is going to be my favorite show of the year. If you like the horror genre or are just in the mood for a good comedy, check it out. Scream Queens delivers fantastic comedy without sacrificing an interesting story. Step aside Scream and Scary Movie, this is the new horror/comedy standard in TV and filmmaking.