Scream Queens
Created by:
Ian Brennan
Brad Falchuk
Ryan Murphy
2015-
Comedy, Horror
Fox
TV-14
In 1978, Jamie Lee Curtis burst onto the scene in John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” That film was a huge hit, and it helped Curtis find her way to elite status as a horror actress. Her latest foray into that genre is Fox’s “Scream Queens,” which comes to us from Ryan Murphy (“Glee” and “American Horror Story”) and his fellow collaborators. But is this show worthy of her (and our) time?
In 1995, during a party, a baby was born in the tub of the sorority house of Kappa Kappa Tau. The baby lived; the mother died. Uh oh! Fast-forward to 2015, and that baby’s all grown up. Her name is Grace (Skyler Samuels), and she decides to pledge Kappa Kappa Tau in honor of her late mother. Little does she know that the current leader of the sorority is a … horrible person. Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts), known as Chanel Number One, is the queen of the sorority. Her underlings are Chanel Numbers Two, Three, and Five (Abigail Breslin). Chanel Number Four died. Chanel Number One rules by hurling insults and rolling her eyes. For instance, she calls the sorority’s housekeeper “white mammy” and forces her to say, “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies.” Funny, right?
Of course, Kappa Kappa Tau has high standards. It’s dedicated to the celebration of wealth, high fashion, and the ill treatment of its pledges. Yada, yada, yada. Curtis plays Cathy Munsch (yes, there’s a joke about her last name), who’s the dean of Wallace University and who believes that Queen Chanel killed the former Kappa Kappa Tau leader. As a result, Dean Munsch wants to get rid of Chanel and change the sorority’s culture. To accomplish this, Munsch forces Kappa Kappa Tau to accept anyone who wants to join the sorority as a pledge. Some of their names include Neck Brace (Lea Michele), Deaf Taylor Swift, and Predatory Lez. You’ve gotta be laughing by now.
“Scream Queens” has a look that fits in with that of “Clueless,” “Gossip Girl,” and whatever other similar teen offering you can think of. I’m sure that much of its audience will tune in just to see who’s wearing what. But it’s crass instead of funny. And it’s certainly not scary. No, lame is a better way to describe it. If “Clueless” were an unfunny attempt at campy horror, this would be it. A tell-tale moment in its first hour is when Chanel Number Two, played by popstar and actress Ariana Grande, encounters the Red Devil – a killer on the loose. Number Two communicates with this devil via text message, but they’re in the same room. As he or she kills her, Number Two manages to post a call for help on her Facebook page. Too little, too late. That’s the level of satire here.
Look, I’m all for making fun of the horror genre and teen culture, but there has to be some sizzle. “Scream Queens” isn’t even close to being sharp enough. “Gossip Girl” had more suspense and scares than this. So, while its cast is jam-packed with notable names and faces (I won’t list them all) and while it plays around with its “Scream” stylings, this comedy-horror series goes nowhere fast. It gets worse the longer you watch it. What’s truly frightening is the way in which Jaime Lee Curtis and the rest of the cast are being squandered. The significance of Curtis’s presence is lost here. I wonder how many of them hope to be killed off the show … and soon.
Verdict: Whatever to Somewhat Bad
About: (Source: scream queens)
The new anthology series revolves around a college campus which is rocked by a series of murders and is set in a sorority house.
Featuring Jaime Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Oliver Hudson, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer, Skyler Samuels, Billie Lourd, Diego Boneta, Lucien Laviscount, Glen Powell and guest stars Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas.
