MTV making a TV series based on the Scream movie franchise caught many of us off-guard, but maybe it’s not such a bad idea after all. Part of what made the movies such a hit (well, the first and second ones, at least) were their biting, self-aware sense of humor and the way they utilized technology and pop culture as a means of striking horror into its audience while making it laugh. Technology is what makes the first couple of movies look so dated, but the scares, the references, and the jokes? They hold up like any classic would.
That’s why a Scream series has a ton of opportunities to be great as well as relevant and why it shouldn’t be written off just yet.
1. The culture of social media, fame, and attention-craving idiots
Even while we all use it, social media is stupid. It’s a pain in the neck and it turns us all into attention-craving narcissists with a “fear of missing out.” But what if we played on that whole thing, making it something to truly be afraid of? The original Scream movies were about making a mark, becoming notorious, getting revenge. What better platform to do that on than social media? Scream the series could have a field day with that, what with cyberstalking generally giving many of us the creeping heebie-jeebies.
Speaking of stalking, social media has also opened up celebrities — illegitimate and legitimate alike — to being targeted for mockery and, unfortunately, danger. On top of that, we, as a people, could probably consider pop culture part of the plasma running throughout our bodies at this point. Scream 4, made in 2011, did a great job at mocking celebrities who were “famous for being famous,” but that’s perpetually fertile ground. The Scream series isn’t supposed to take place amongst famous types, but what if it became an American Horror Story or Black Mirror-style anthology series and a whole season could be devoted to (fictional) famous people living in a homicidal nightmare?
And let’s not forget one of the best part of the Scream movies — the cameos! Which mega-famous person will be the sacrificial lamb or show up as a random victim? Will it be someone who will break our heart if they’re fake-killed (Jennifer Lawrence)? Or will it be someone we can’t wait to see fake-killed? The speculation alone could be a huge attraction.
2. Technology — there is sooo much of it now
The first Scream movie basically took place over the phone. Some of those phones were even attached to walls. With wires! Having a “cellular telephone” was unusual, especially for a high school student like Billy Loomis. But everyone had a portable phone, and by Scream 2, everyone had a cell phone and a computer. Now, we have everything at our fingertips. Everyone has a phone, nothing is tethered. Cameras are everywhere, you can record and upload things in a matter of seconds. Remember the delay in the cable truck in Scream? It cost precious seconds. Seconds make all the difference in horror movies, and technology just isn’t 100 percent reliable. What if someone’s wireless goes out? If the cell towers are downed in a storm? How cool would it be if the most unusual sound in the Scream series was a regular, wired telephone that someone’s parents had in the corner of someone’s house? Who the f*ck would call that phone???
But what could be even scarier on the other end of the phone than a psychotic killer? How about a psychotic killer who isn’t even human? Or the wrong human? Whether it’s artificial intelligence, some Siri-type program, or a bot, any of those things could make it so easy to frame someone. A killer could pretend to be someone else entirely, even someone who is just a creation. And there is a ton of source material to parody, another Scream trademark. Maybe MTV has heard of their own show, Catfish? Scream could easily do a play on Catfish and it could be horrifying. It’s halfway there as it is.
Combine social media culture and technology into viral content
While it didn’t creep into the real world the way The Blair Witch Project did, Scream can easily play on viral content on the Internet (and MTV, of course). They might not have to convince us that their characters are real people, but plenty of additional content could be created to drop little hints and easter eggs that tie into the series and keep people watching and waiting for more. There could be an entire web series made by someone we don’t know is the Big Bad, or someone we think is the Big Bad but could be a sitting duck for the real Big Bad. Or it could be from the perspective of someone who is already dead. Then Scream could get in on the found footage game and it would be soooooo creepy.
If MTV wants me to write any of these ideas, I wrote my own full-length Scream 2 screenplay when I was 18 because I was pissed that Randy died. So I have ex-Scream-ience.
And I know how bad that was.
In all seriousness, modern technology has given the Scream writers plenty of new avenues to explore. Will they capitalize on them and give us something fresh? Time will tell, but I’m not ready to write them off just yet.
