The Problem With The 'Scream' Game

I suppose this is a case of "Well, what did you expect?" but the new interactive Scream promo is crazy violent. MTV's television series based on the 1996 stab-happy horror flick has already promised us a gory good time, with a promo that "killed off" some of MTV's biggest television stars. Now the series is promoting itself in a way that is oh so 2015: with an online interactive game that lets you choose how you're going to die. (Because, sorry — you are going to die. This isn't Awkward.) The result is an interactive video designed to churn even the strongest of stomachs, but the problem that I found with MTV's latest video has very literal to do with its gore factor. What happened to the strong lady protagonist that made Scream such a hit?

She's MIA in the interactive video, which lets you "choose your own adventure" all the way to your bloody, stabby death. (For the record, if there is a way to survive this game, I simply haven't found it — my character died four times.) The opening shot is of "you" ("you" are never seen and the whole video is shot from your point of view) making out with your girlfriend, who is wearing a red bra and pantie set. She begs you to go check out the noise, but whether you do it or not, your girlfriend is going to die in the same way: the killer was hiding out under the bed and apparently had a knife long enough to slice through the mattress and your poor lady friend's torso.

This isn't exactly a new sort of scene for a horror movie, but it's a tad disappointing considering Scream is one of the few slasher flicks that subverts a genre that has a history of treating women as helpless victims of violence. In this video game, your girlfriend is there to be sexy, sexual, and the first to die in a truly disturbing, violent way. At least your death happens because you're a terrible decision maker. (Well, at least I know I am — my character died after the very first question.)

That being said, this promo doesn't totally deter me from checking out the new Scream. While I'm sure that the show will be just as (if not even more) violent than this interactive promo, MTV's Scream also boasts two female leads. A guy may be the star of the interactive promo, but it's women who will carry this new series, and hopefully act as more than just the killer's victims. Let's hope that this version of Scream carries out the original legacy in more than just its body count.

Check out the (NSFW) game below:

Images: MTV (screenshot) (2)