MTV Proves 'Scream' Is A Killer New Series

Have you ever gone to a party only to discover when you get there that all the other guests are dead? No? Well, me neither. However, that is exactly what happens in MTV's latest Scream trailer, which advertises their upcoming television adaptation of the infamously self-aware horror film with that exact set up. What sets this apart from your average horror movie cliche is that the deceased party guys are all actors and characters from other MTV shows, such as Teen Wolf, Finding Carter, Faking It, and Awkward. If you're skeeved out by blood and gore, you probably shouldn't watch this trailer. Then again, if you're skeeved out by blood and gore, you probably shouldn't watch this television show.

Set to dissonant music, the trailer pans around to all the dead bodies in the house (particular shoutout to Teen Wolf's Lydia sitting with Finding Carter's Max's head in her lap — too cute) before the cast of Scream shows up, unaware of the danger that lies within. It is an absolutely perfect introduction to the series in so many ways that I don't even know where to start. It's also the kind of trailer that makes you want to go back and re-watch the entirety of Scream, just so you can appreciate all the callbacks to the original film that MTV is sure to sprinkle throughout the show.

The most obvious introduction to the series is the party full of dead teenagers. Not only did the original Ghostface focus his attentions on one particular teenager and everyone who made the mistake of knowing her, but attacking them at parties is a horror movie cliche that the meta killer was just not able to resist. And that brings us to the more subtle introduction to the series; the fact that everyone killed at the party in the trailer is a character on another MTV show is so meta. It says, "Scream is a killer new TV series that will blow all the rest of these out of the water," while also saying, "Hey, look, a bunch of children were killed for their drunken party antics in a horror movie."

It's incredibly meta, and meta is exactly what Scream does best. It lampshades, subverts, averts, and plays straight so many beloved horror movie tropes that it is in an entire league all its own within its genre. The fact that it's getting its own TV show now could be a cause for alarm considering how perfect the original film was, but, from the trailers that MTV has been releasing, they truly understand what the movie was about and are fully prepared to do it justice. I don't know about you guys, but I'm already setting my DVR to ensure that I don't miss a minute of the gory action.

Check out the new trailer below.

Image: YouTube (2)