Scream Compared To Other Works: Pop Culture References!

[Last Time Lord]

Comparing the show to other works is something that has been coming up in the episode threads, and was really inevitable due to the nature of the Scream franchise as a whole, and because the show runner for this show previously worked on Harper's Island, another slasher movie as a series show.

From the Wanna Play A Game? discussion:

The HI connection was mentioned previously upthread, that's why I was looking for similarities; crime in the past that affects the present, sins of the fathers and mothers etc.

I do think a few advantages this show has over Harper's Island is a much smaller cast size, and the characters have been a lot more likable (for the most part) than the Harper's Island cast, but in their defense, after one very public murder, the cast of characters really came together.

Maybe something like that is in the cards for Scream.

[Cranberry]

I finished Harper's Island a few days ago. Enjoyed the format a lot, thought the middle chunk of episodes were great, hated the big reveal. That was one of two things I didn't want to happen (the other would be Abby suffering from some kind of dissociative disorder).

[Last Time Lord]

I finished Harper's Island a few days ago. Enjoyed the format a lot, thought the middle chunk of episodes were great, hated the big reveal. That was one of two things I didn't want to happen (the other would be Abby suffering from some kind of dissociative disorder).

 

There were two big reveals that I recall. Harper's Island spoiler below:

 

Abby and Henry actually being siblings, and that whole... incest thing, and the original killer still being alive

 

I'm assuming the latter is what you're talking about, which, I would have to agree with you, if that happens in Scream.

[jay741982]

I finished Harper's Island a few days ago. Enjoyed the format a lot, thought the middle chunk of episodes were great, hated the big reveal. That was one of two things I didn't want to happen (the other would be Abby suffering from some kind of dissociative disorder).

Loved that Show but Chloe and Cal GUH So heartbreaking!!

[Crim]

Harper's Island was an earlier slasher type of show: people trapped in a location die one by one, played straight. Scream TV has to deal with the meta elements, ideally not just by having the obligatory Genre Savy Character(s) speechify, which makes it a tad harder to get the tone right. So far, I can't say that I am impressed. I've watched the new The Town that Dreaded Sundown movie, and wish Scream TV would have done some of that stuff. Granted, the premise that the killings happened only a few years ago changes things, but still, Scream TV could have tried harder.

[Happytobehere]

I did not know where else to put this, so I'll place it her.

Watching this series has inspired me to rewatch all the Scream films, as I have them on DVD. First, I'm surprised how well they hold up. I think I would rank them in order of goodness from best to worst this way Scream, Scream 2, Scream 4, Scream 3.

The original Scream is still really good movie and highlights both the humor and intelligence Wes Craven can bring to a production. The characters weren't typical moron and they actually fought back when being attacked and made efforts to get away, rather than hide as usually happened in horror films. The send-ups of such tropes were hilarious. It also gave us Liev Schrieber as Cotton Weary, and Liev is awesome.

Watching Scream 2 reminded me how much I hated them for killing of Randy (I know they brought him back for a cameo in Scream 3, but they was because of the feedback from the de is ion to kill him). I also realized that four black characters were introduced in the film's day the end, three of the four were killed, so 75% kill rate for PoC. First Omar Epps, then Jada Pinkett Smith (in the famous/infamous death scene) and Elise Neal. Only Duane Martin managed to live.

Scream 3 remains a disaster for me because they ruined the excellent pro is it had. Has Syd finally snapped and become the killer, the beginning set this up nicely. Did the father find out Syd was not his and snap be has he put up with his doorknob of a wife for the kid and it turns out that in the ultimate cuckhold, Syd's not his. Did Daddy Loomis in the tradition of his creepy son and creepy wife decide he had to excise the evil that is Syd from his life. No, they went with Scott Foley as a rape baby too dim to get way his birth mother would not want him and made that reveal even worse by retconning the murders as we knew them from the original scream. The only saving grace was Puddy, and they even killed him (I love Patrick Wharburton).

I am glad they did Scream 4 if for no other reason than it went back to basics and redeemed the series and served as a much more fitting end than Scream 3.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Happytobehere

[Last Time Lord]

Funny you posted that, because the series caused me to go and buy all the scream movies. I got them mainly for the commentary.

One tidbit I learned from the original's commentary was the script was written and entered production under the title Scary Movie. The studio changed it to Scream midway through production, ( Stu's line "It's a Scream, baby!" in the climax was added after the title was changed) and at the wrap party, they got hats that said Scream, and T-Shirts that said Scary Movie.

I will say that 3 is the weakest of the movies, but I think it's better than given credit for.

[Happytobehere]

I will concede that 3 is not all that bad as a movie in general and especially as a slasher picture. Still not having gotten over my anger over Randy, I hated that his rules were on point until this one where only one thing proved correct, we learned something we didn't know before. However, none of the core characters dying was a total cop out. I also forgot it killed off the only black character, who sadly was the Randy stand in.

[amensisterfriend]

I actually like Scream 3 more than Scream 2 and arguably more than Scream 4, but then I'm nearly always a sucker for stuff that spoofs Hollywood/moviemaking :)

 

I've been falling rapidly out of love with the TV  series, but I disagree with the seemingly common sentiment that the Scream movie characters were so much more likable and/or more interesting than the ones we're getting on the TV show. I'd actually argue that Audrey is a little more likable/compelling to me than any of the movie characters, and while I can't recall the movie having anyone quite as simultaneously awful and boring (not to mention poorly acted) as Will and Jake, I didn't find the movie characters especially delightful or memorable either. (Though I'll take Dewey over the TV series' sheriff ANY day!) I guess Sydney made a better protagonist than Emma---though Neve Campbell's manner of speaking has always annoyed me for some reason---but the others were utterly meh for me. I'll grant that the acting in the movie was generally better than the acting we get on the TV show, but that's a REALLY low bar :)  

 

Harper's Island, like Scream (I'm talking about the TV show here!), had a *ton* of promise that it didn't quite realize IMO. Like Scream, it had some pacing and tonal issues IMO. I felt like it could never quite decide whether it wanted to be an actual whodunit a la Agatha Christie or a horror/slasher series and whether it was deliberately campy summer fun or a more genuinely thrilling, 'serious' scarefest---as a result, it didn't fully deliver as either one for me.  But I would definitely say I preferred Harper's Island overall---the setting/scenery was awesome, the acting was surprisingly decent for the most part, and I found myself more engaged in the mystery regardless of how relatively disappointing the resolution to it turned out to be. And, honestly, the mere fact that Harper's Island featured Chris Gorham, who I've always adored, would probably be enough to elevate it over Scream for me :) 

Edited July 30, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Last Time Lord]

All the mentions of Harper's Island on these boards caused me to buy the DVD. It just arrived today.

There's an upcoming PS4 video game called Until Dawn that is essentially an interactive slasher flick. It's said to have an insanely high replay value because of the game's butterfly effect system, so it will be fun comparing the Scream-ness of the game when it comes out.

[JakeyJokes]

Watching Scream 2 reminded me how much I hated them for killing of Randy (I know they brought him back for a cameo in Scream 3, but they was because of the feedback from the de is ion to kill him). I also realized that four black characters were introduced in the film's day the end, three of the four were killed, so 75% kill rate for PoC. First Omar Epps, then Jada Pinkett Smith (in the famous/infamous death scene) and Elise Neal. Only Duane Martin managed to live.

 

 

Elise Neal's character was originally going to be one of the killers but the script got leaked so they changed it. I still think her death scene is one of the most suspenseful out of *any* of the Scream films.

[Last Time Lord]

Until Dawn came out today, and to my surprise, it's not an interactive slasher flick, it's an interactive slasher series!

And I mean that, too. There are Previously On segments and everything.

It's got quite the cast, including Peter Stormare, Rami Malek, and Hayden Panettiere.

This game has a Scream Alumni in it