Scream Queens will make you scream… with laughter, delivering hilarious over the top slasher fun.
Scream Queens is an over the top horror slasher comedy satire. Not only does it parody the slasher genre, but also the white privileged mean girl society. Everything about this series is over the top and must not be taken seriously, except for the sneers and witty remarks that do address serious social issues.
With a fast pace, a lot of bizarre kills, a Red Devil killer, some sorority girls, over the top absurd characters, hilarious situations and an underlying mystery, this series has a lot to offer, especially a lot of laughs.
This first season consists of 13 episodes with each a duration of 43 minutes. It has a slasher/mystery structure that is being unraveled, while almost everybody is getting killed.
Plot
Chanel Oberlin rules Kappa Kappa Tau at the Wallace University, with her minions the Chanels. But Dean Munsch has enough of this white privileged rich girl behavior and decides that everybody can sign up for Kappa Kappa Tau. Grace and Zayday grab their chance as do a couple of other pledges.
While Zayday wants to be the first female black president of America, Grace has her own reasons to join KKT. Her mother who died years ago, was a KKT and she thinks that she can connect with her mother by being a KKT sister.
But when The Red Devil starts killing everybody who has something to do with KKT, sisterhood isn’t all what it seems to be.
Furthermore these killings have a connection with an incident at the sorority party of KKT 20 years ago. A baby was born in the bathtub and the mother, a KKT girl, died. Could this have something to do with the killings that are happening now? Grace and Zayday are determined to find out.
Anyway, life is getting hard for Chanel. It’s not easy to stay popular with all these killings, stupid pledges and now Chad Radwell from the Dickie Dollar Scholars wants to break up with her. It is going to be a desastreus year.
Why you should watch it
Scream Queens is overly absurd in a very good way. It’s campy, it’s over the top, it’s hilarious, it’s absurd. The situations, the characters, their decisions, their actions, the dialogue, the kills and the killer are handled with zealous fun. The dialogue is sharp and witty and address social issues and give the series an edge.
Especially Chanel’s lines are over the top. What she says is mostly embarrassing to the human race in every way possible. She doesn’t mince her words and says what she thinks which is mostly insulting to everybody. But it’s funny as hell, just because it’s she who’s made fun of, the joke is on her.
The series addresses some social (millennial) problems, like social media, body-shaming, bullying, racism, sexism, gender issues and more. The series is holding up a mirror to reflect that everything you say or do has an effect on people. But what is great about this series is that Chanel doesn’t care, won’t care and never will, she’s simply too thick and too rich. To not let her change is the key to the story, while everybody else does and it works very well to keep the laughs coming.
But the social issues asides, it all evolves around Grace, a girl next door who is too nice and good and is the exact opposite of Chanel. It’s a nice contrast that works well.
It’s the characters that are strongly set in their roles that makes the series. Zayday is a clever strong-minded young woman. Chad is too stupid. Chanel No.3 and Chanel No.5 are weird but too funny creatures. The pledges are stereotypes, but to be frank, everyone is. And then there’s Dean Munsch, an over the top feminist and sexual being that can do everything she sets her mind to. And let’s not forget Denise Hemphill the campus security guard who is a blast herself.
The characters might be stereotypes but never get lame or a cliche or a caricature, and they will surprise you in stupidity or prejudice, without them even realizing it.
Don’t forget it’s a slasher too. And many are slain especially the pledges are killed in the most bizarre over the top ways. While the mystery of what happened 20 years ago and finding out who the killer is, forms the big story arc.
Find out who the Red Devil killer is, here.
It’s a series that has a lot going on. But it looks great too. Good original camerawork and shots, good campy costumes, it’s snappy, it’s fast and the characters each have their own unique traits, physically as well. It’s a rollercoaster of crazy madness into the weird and bizarre world of slasherhood.
My favorite part
I really love Emma Roberts. She plays Chanel formidably and excels in being the meanest girl you have ever seen, without becoming a caricature. She is top dog and her actions and the words that are coming out of her mouth are too funny, but you laugh with vicarious shame, because she hasn’t any.
But Billie Lourd as Chanel No.3 and Abigail Breslin as Chanel No.5 are having the times of their lives as well. Sometimes they even steal Chanel’s spotlight and their interactions are real fun. Also Jamie Lee Curtis as Dean Munsch seems to have a great time as well, reveling in her dominant female role.
The kills are hilarious and really original and over the top. The land mower is too bizarre and brutal. But the show off between the Red Devil and the Dickie Dollar Scholars is too absurd as well.
Every episode Chanel has a new bizarre surprise for us and if you thought she can’t get any worse, well, she definitely can.
If you like over the top campy humor, with dark witty social commentary, absurd situations, extreme characters and original bizarre kills with a mystery to boot and highly entertaining episodes that bring in something new, then you should not miss this.
Ratings
Rating: ★★★★★
Fun factor: ★★★★★
Originality factor: ★★★★★
Entertainment factor: ★★★★★
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Cast and crew
Scream Queens is created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. It stars Emma Roberts (Chanel Oberlin), Skylar Samuels (Grace), Keke Palmer (Zayday), Lea Michele (Hester), Glen Powell (Chad), Diego Boneta (Pete), Abigail Breslin (Chanel No.5), Nasim Pedrad (Gigi), Oliver Husdon (Wes), Billie Lourd (Chanel No.3) and Jamie Lee Curtis (Dean Cathy Munsch).
Music: Mac Quayle. Cinematography: Michael Goi, Joaquin Sedillo. Production company: Prospect Films, Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, Ryan Murphy Productions, 20th Century Fox Television. Original Network: Fox.
