Editorials
[TV Review] “Scream Queens” Is ‘Mean Girls’ on Horror
I had been staying away from most of the press releases and coverage of Scream Queens because I wanted to go in mostly blind. I knew it had Jamie Lee Curtis (the biggest draw for me) and Emma Roberts (American Horror Story) and was a pseudo-slasher parody set in a Sorority house. After getting a chance to check it out today, I have decided I am in extreme like with this show. Could be love.
So essentially, Emma Roberts stars as Queen Bitch Chanel who embodies ever wretched stereotype of a sorority girl. She is followed by her minions, whose real names she does not know, Chanel #2 (Ariana Grande), Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd), and, of course, Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin). There was a Chanel #4, but evidently she died of meningitis as we are told by Roberts’ narration. Kappa Kappa Tau is the house of scandal, starting from the prologue which is set in 1995, 20 years before the Chanel Invasion. One unfortunate sister has a baby during a big party and the other members accidently let her bleed out in the upstairs tub while they jam to TLC. The sisters have to cover not only the death up but also the baby. Flash forward 20 years and here we are!
Grace (Skyler Samuels) is determined to join KKT to honor her mother who was a sister back in the day. Upon arrival, she learns about the horrid stunts and discrimination that goes on in the house and gathers her new outcast friends to join. All of this would not be possible without the dean’s help, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, who is determined to destroy KKT. Her first executive order is to force KKT to accept anyone who pledges to be a sister. Soon Grace and her friends are wrapped up in a web of murder and salacious scandal.
SCREAM QUEENS: Lea Michele stars as new Sorority pledge Hester on SCREAM QUEENS premiering September 2015 on FOX. ©2015 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Steve Dietl/FOX
Now that we have the plot basically out of the way, I want to address something. This show is entirely played for laughs. ENTIRELY. Yes, there is murder and disappearing corpses but it’s all done in a very tongue in cheek way. So, unlike Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story that is sometimes funny but mostly horror, Scream Queens is basically if Mean Girls and Heathers had a baby. If you are looking for another new horror-themed show don’t expect this one to attempt scares. Just enjoy the laughs, because they are unending.
Scream Queens really surprised me in how funny it actually was and also made me realize how out of touch I am despite being 25. When Grace’s dad is taking her to college he puts on a playlist he’s made of songs from her childhood. One of them being a song that I gathered was something from Twilight when he awkwardly yells “Team Edward” and says it was her first PG-13 movie. So, ouch. Now I feel old. Thanks, Ryan Murphy!
Murphy is slowly becoming this generation’s Joss Whedon, but it has yet to be seen if he can really stick it out with this show. The snappy dialogue is great and very reminiscent of shows say like, Buffy (Cordelia Chase could show Chanel a thing or two) and the pacing works really well, especially for a 2-hr premiere (I’m looking at you Fear the Walking Dead). But Murphy is notorious for biting off more than he can chew and sending most of his endings to crash and burn. I do really enjoy American Horror Story, but I’m not blinded to its shortcomings. I really hope that isn’t the case with Scream Queens. Of course, the last 2 seasons of Buffy were kinda shitty so maybe he IS this generation’s Joss Whedon.
I want to spend some time on Jamie Lee Curtis here. Initially, I was thinking she would make an appearance in the premiere and be hyped up as the main character only to meet an early demise, much like her mother in Psycho. But it would appear she is going to be hanging in there longer than I thought and that’s totally fine by me. Curtis is a badass in this show and isn’t just sleepwalking through it. She really has taken on her character with as much sincerity as anything else she has done. Thank you, Jamie Lee Curtis, for becoming and remaining a loyal horror icon.
Final thought, even though this show is more a comedy than anything else, it’s got a pretty decent body count for the premier and they don’t hold back too much on the gore. So that’s fun. And if your complaint is that “none of this is believable” you haven’t been paying attention.
Favorite lines:
“Waterfalls is my jam!”
“We’re having a white party, where everyone is encouraged to wear and/or be white.”
“I would love you more if other people loved you too.”
“Pissy Spacek”
“And I was so going to go to third base with you tonight! Dammit!”
Favorite deaths (spoilers…obviously):
“Shondell! Why you got a knife in your throat?!?!” RIP Shondell, we didn’t know you
The hilarious text exchange between killer and Ariana Grande… “Wait…whaaaaat?!!”
The poor deaf girl singing Taylor Swift before she gets lawn mowed.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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