“You can’t do a slasher movie as a TV series”

MTV has just released the trailer for their upcoming TV series that will be based on Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ franchise and it leaves a bit to be desired. Right off the bat, the trailer makes an attempt to convey that the series possesses the same self-aware style that made the ‘Scream’ series successful but it mostly rings hollow.

The trailer indicates that the show will be full of wealthy and pretty young people involved in relationship drama and a little bit of murder. The glimpses of the killer in this trailer are devoid of the iconic Ghostface mask, which doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t ultimately show up, but falls in line with earlier reports that the mask and costume wouldn’t be in the series. If the name ‘Scream’ wasn’t attached to the trailer, there are none of the trademarks of the series ( Sidney Prescott, the Ghostface mask, ominous phone calls  using a voice changer) to indicate that it is related to the movies of the same name.

I’m all for horror being brought to the masses, and the concept of a slasher TV series does provide enough time for adequate character development to occur so that the ultimate reveal of the killer has a real impact, but what was shown in the trailer leaves me worried for the series. If it’s just a formulaic teen drama with slasher elements that is cashing in on the name of the movie series that it’s attached to, it could set back attempts to bring actual horror, not counting vampire/zombie series, to mainstream television audiences. ‘Scream 4’ hinted at a slasher set in the modern era of YouTube and Twitter, and a TV series could take that idea further. Hopefully this trailer isn’t indicative of what the final product will be.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the series from the YouTube description:

What starts as a YouTube video going viral, soon leads to problems for the teenagers of Lakewood and serves as the catalyst for a murder that opens up a window to the town’s troubled past.