Scream Queens

Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts) is the self-obsessed arrogant queen bee leading Kappa Kappa Tau at Wallace University. She can't bother to remember and names her minions all Chanel; Chanel #2 (Ariana Grande), Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd), and Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin). Twenty years earlier, there was a surprise birth and death at the sorority. Cathy Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) is the new dean. She tries to revoke the sorority but ends up opening pledging to all students. Various girls apply including Grace Gardner (Skyler Samuels) and Zayday Williams (Keke Palmer). As Chanel tries to drive out the new girls, somebody dressed as the Red Devil starts killing them. The second season has Munsch running a hospital which is haunted by new serial killer, the Green Meanie.

I love the Chanel on Chanel emotional violence. Emma Roberts' constant put down of Abigail Breslin is hilarious. The mystery part is less compelling. It becomes a series of killings without any rooting interest. Any investigation is just a bunch of random twists and dead ends. At its best, it's a fun skewering of the horror genre. At its worst, it's a boring meandering random murder mystery. Through it all, there is the irreverent Ryan Murphy brand of humor.

This is clearly a show that some will appreciate and others will not. After reading some of the other reviews, maybe I like this show so much because I have never watched GLEE.

I think some reviewers have missed a couple things. First, this is not just a parody/homage to great horror movies. It is a parody of bad horror movies. Second, you're not in the real world anymore. You're in Slasher Universe, a universe of 1-dimensional characters, bad dialog, silly plots, terrible decision-making, and all the other horror conventions we've come to know and love. That this series of events could not possibly occur in the real world is exactly the point. This universe, while superficially similar to ours, operates very differently. It is populated by dumb jocks, corrupt or incompetent authority figures, earnest if clueless parents, killers in grotesque costumes, and of course SCREAM QUEENS. This is a show about clichés and conventions. If you have watched 3 slasher films in your life, then most everything in this show will seem familiar to you. To me, the silliness of the humor makes it more enjoyable than some of the poorly acted and directed movies that it satirizes.

I admit it, I'm a grown up woman and I love this show. It is intentionally meant to be campy and silly as it is mocking the horror genre and typical themes of those types of movies or shows. So there are stereotypes all over the place, but for me, that is part of the charm and what makes it funny. And there are so many little jokes and references that younger people might not get and maybe that is why some don't appreciate it. But I find it to be very clever.

The basic storyline is that of a killer or killers stalking and killing girls on a college campus in a particular sorority. Who is/are the killer/killers? Well, I have a feeling we will be led down a path to each person at some point during the series only to find out it isn't them until the ultimate reveal. And while American Horror Story (also by Ryan Murphy) is usually bloody and gory for the shock effect, this is much tamer and much more easy to watch if you aren't into gore.

There is a lot of innuendo and sex references, so may not be appropriate for some younger teens, but nothing over the top. And the dialogue is very fast paced and you will probably want to seriously smack Emma Robert's character after the first few minutes, but her narcissism is what makes it all work. It's all about her. At least in her mind. And you are supposed to hate her, that is the point. She is another stereotype. The typical mean girl leader.

If you like campy horror, you will probably love it.

Scream Queens is a show that Iv'e held off on watching for the longest time as I truly didn't think it would be for me. After years of avoiding this show, I was pleasantly surprised when my girlfriend finally convinced me to watch it. Whether it was the low expectations or even the fsvtgoing in having no clue what I was about to watch but, I found this show to be very entertaining and fun. While this may not be the show for everyone as it is "over the top" I personally find its craziness to be its best feature given how intentional it was in order to poke fun at the horror/slasher genre. Speaking of how "over the top" this show can be, that aspect shines more than ever when referring to the characters themselves. Characters that would normally be ridiculous, or unbearable, are complimented by hilarious writing and incredible acting transforming those "unbearable" character into characters that are stupidly hilarious and fun to watch. This show manages to be an odd horror comedy while simultaneously being an interesting murder mystery. Long story short this show definitely left me wanting more and I was very bummed to find out that it had been canceled after only two seasons.

This is a brilliantly written, directed and shot series. I was shocked and deeply disappointed when it was cancelled. I miss it still. The photography and set design...along with the costumes were superb. It fascinated and of course repelled me in the parts it was supposed to! It was hilarious and biting in its take on our superficial ways. Sigh. I don't supposed anyone would ever bring it back?