Nearing the 20th anniversary of the franchise created by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, “Scream” has been repackaged for the “post-millennials” who are armed with smart phones, tablets and various other pieces of technology.

Set to air on MTV June 30th, the new “Scream” has been crafted specifically for the younger MTV viewers, turning it into a dumbed-down “bro” version of Scream, where everyone is rich and has awesome hair.

Being in my mid-thirties, there was a weird “creep” factor to watching “Scream” as an adult, and I’m thinking it should be hammered home that older readers are not going to enjoy this. It’s awfully clear that “Scream” is not for fans of the original franchise, but a complete reboot for tweens fantasizing about life in high school. Meaning, it’s for those who have never even heard of Wes Craven or Scream (it hurts speaking that aloud).

With that said, I thought it was incredibly important to remember this while writing my review, as “Scream” is not for me, but actually intended for my three nieces…

Anyways, the series opens with someone filming Bex Taylor-Klaus making out with another girl in her car. The video goes viral through all sorts of social platforms. It’s a quick connect to the younger audience, and actually works alarmingly well (I say alarmingly because, well, it is kind of scary how vulnerable we are). It sets the precedent that all of the characters are being watched, and that there’s no safe haven, which I think should be frightening to younger viewers.

We then cut to an extremely wealthy teenager, which deviates from the the playful nature of 1996’s Scream, which takes place in a suburban home many of us can relate to. The girl is home alone and preparing to hit the hot tub. (This fantastical setting is absolutely ridiculous, immediately pulling away from the believability set up in the opening sequence.) Someone is watching her, and teasing via text (only it’s not fun like in the original film). It’s “probably” Ghostface. The banter continues leading up to Ghostface’s first murder and appearance. His raincoat doesn’t sell well, but the mask is actually pretty terrifying.

We’re introduced to all of the students in Lakewood. Much like the original, they’re all red herrings. They’re all also similar in spirit to the first film’s characters, only way more self-obsessive, good looking and annoying (they’re all absolutely terrible actors).

The biggest red herring of them all comes in a heavy exposition flashback, which tells of Brandon James, a student who was shot dead 20 years ago. You see, James has the same disease as the Elephant Man, and was feared at his school. His mother loved him, his dad was ashamed, and his brother supported him. James was in love with a girl, Daisy, and went to profess his love at a dance. There, he was beat up by some other students. He sought revenge, killing them all. Daisy then invited him to a pier where he was shot dead.

Flash forward, we learn that Emma Duvall’s (Willa Fitzgerald) mother is this infamous Daisy, and has since changed her name. She’s receiving mail from someone who knows her past, and she’s scared.

The red herrings are literally everyone, which adds a good layer of mystery to the show. Although, if they’re taking from Craven’s original, the killer(s) will be Will (Connor Weil) and Jake (Tom Maden). It’s impossible to know – shit, it could even be my theory.

Now, the first episode is all about introducing the characters and setting up the red herrings. And even though they find the time to kill a few of the beautiful people, there’s painfully bad moments like when one teen gives a hilarious monologue about making “likable characters”… in a show with no likable characters (the irony!)

Once the stage is set, they leave us with a cliffhanger and one surprise: Ghostface will still be calling his victims with the use of a voice modifier.

As I stated in the opening, “Scream” isn’t really for me, and I felt a bit weird watching it. Stepping back, I think there’s some really cool and fun things that can happen, but getting past the putrid cast is going to be a chore. Again, this is only the pilot, and many shows need to get their feet wet before it can dive in. I’ll tag along for a few more episodes, but feel like I’ll eventually become the odd man out at the party. For the younger readers who aren’t that aware of Scream, I think this could end up surprising them quite a bit, especially if Ghostface continues to be such a strong presence throughout. I just think “Scream’s” lack of playfulness is going to eventually catch up to the filmmakers and bite them in the ass…