‘Scream’ (2015): Welcome To Lakewood

When Scream 4 attempted to reignite interest in Wes Craven’s horror franchise, the results were decidedly mixed (read our review). However, despite its middling critical response and under-whelming box office, Craven assured fans that Scream 5 was still in the cards. Fast-forward four years and talk of another film has all but disappeared. Instead, Ghostface is getting new life in the form of an MTV original series.

The new Scream looks like it will not feature any direct connections to the films that inspired it; instead, the show will share the same basic premise – focusing on a masked killer targeting a group of teens in a small town – as well as the movies’ tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. This time, a scandalous viral YouTube video leads to murder, setting off a chain of events that unleash the town’s troubled past.

MTV has now released a new trailer for Scream the TV show, and it’s largely what you would expect from the eerie atmosphere of the films. The footage features a number of soon-to-be victims trapped or pursued by the masked killer and teases the murderous events that set off town-wide panic. Bella Thorne has been announced as Ghostface’s first onscreen target, echoing the doomed character Drew Barrymore played in the original Scream movie’s unforgettable opening sequence.

The appeal of the Scream franchise has always been its amalgamation of the slasher story and the murder mystery. That mistrust between characters as they attempt to stay alive long enough to figure out who’s behind it all has been a hallmark of each film, and judging by this footage, that same formula could very well apply for MTV’s small screen take on the property.

Reports have suggested that the Scream TV series could incorporate supernatural elements into its plot, transforming Ghostface into an actual specter. There’s probably a smart angle where that can apply (perhaps it is the soul of a long-ago murder haunting the town that never sought justice, etc.), but at this point, there’s a solid chance that the show could prove to be a winner for the core MTV audience regardless.

After all, the network has already transformed a goofy 1980s comedy into a darker and more modern Teen Wolf. Adapting the Scream films into a similar series should be simple by comparison.

Will you be watching Scream when it debuts on MTV later this month? Sound off in the comments below.

Scream premieres on Tuesday, June 30th, 2015 at 10pm on MTV.