It makes sense that there's often the desire to turn a beloved horror movie into a TV show. Horror is a genre that works well for television since there can be either be an anthology of several scary tales or the chance to tell a longer story over many episodes. Since Scream has been a popular horror franchise since the first movie was released in 1996, it's no wonder that there was interest in adapting it for television as well. Of course, there was a lot to be nervous about as most horror fans think that Scream is one of the most fascinating movies from the genre.
Season 1 of Scream premiered on MTV in 2015 and the third season wrapped up in 2019. While fans of the '90s movie are always going to love it more, and the TV series isn't quite as well-crafted, there are still some things to love about it. MTV's Scream isn't that bad and there are several aspects of these three seasons that stand out.
A Final Girl To Root For
When debating Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott as final girls, Emma Duval (Willa Fitzgerald) also counts as a strong character who is part of this group. Emma and her mom are tied to the Ghostface killer just like Sidney is being tormented because of the horrors that happened to her mother. Emma learns that her mother Maggie (who everyone used to call Daisy) was a friend of an outcast named Brandon James.
As the killer is revealed, Emma becomes an even stronger and more lovable character. It turns out that Brandon and Maggie's daughter Piper Shaw (Amelia Rose Blair) is the killer, just like Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu (Matthew Lillard) target Sidney (Neve Campbell) and others in the town in Scream. Emma murders Piper and proves herself to be just as tough as Sidney. It's exciting watching Emma try to save her town and her friends from the Ghostface killer, just like Sidney has always done. Without Emma as this tough "final girl" character, the show just wouldn't work.
Scream aged well because of the characters and the franchise has always done a good job of showing how much the constant fear, stalking, and murders has affected Sidney. The Scream TV show succeeds as Emma has PTSD in the season 2 premiere, similar to how Sidney struggles in Scream 3 and assists others through a help line while living in a hidden location because she's so freaked out by what has happened to her.
The Settings Of Lakewood And Shallow Grove Island
There are many reasons why horror fans consider Scream to be legendary and the setting of Woodsboro is one part of the original movie that works so well. It looks like an adorable town where nothing bad could occur but, of course, the sad story of Sidney's mother lurks everywhere. Fans always like coming back to Woodsboro and seeing what's happening next in the ongoing saga of Ghostface.
MTV's Scream does a great job of creating its own calm yet scary small town in Lakewood. There is also a second setting in Scream: Shallow Grove Island. Season 2 of Scream also has a two-part Halloween special that shares with viewers who the new killer is: Tom Martin (Alexander Calvert). Tom has an incredibly creepy motive: wanting to be in a relationship with Emma because after seeing his mom and dad get brutally murdered, he liked the idea of being with someone who also dealt with people close to them being killed.
A Unique And Different Season 3
While season 3 could still tell the same story about Emma and her friends in Lakewood, things shift and Deion Elliot (RJ Cutler) is the new main character. He's an incredibly talented football player with a haunted background. The season is called Scream: Resurrection and aired on VH1, not MTV. It's interesting that the show makes this change and it feels more exciting than if it simply told the same story as before. Deoin still carries around the childhood wound of losing his twin brother Marcus who went missing and died on Halloween.
Sometimes a plot twist can't help a bad movie, but the twist at the end of the third season of Scream is impressive. Season 3 still feels like Scream, though, with a new Ghostface who is going after Deoin and his friends. There are many different Ghostfaces in the Scream franchise and at the end of season 3, viewers find out that Beth (Giorgia Whigham) is Ghostface and worked with Jay who realized that Deoin is really Marcus. Deoin passed away on Halloween but everyone believed that Marcus did. This is a great, perfect ending that makes a strong case for turning the beloved horror film Scream into a TV show.