Scream Halloween Special Recap and Review

The ending of Scream season 2 was one that shocked us and left us all hanging. After no word on a third season renewal, Scream fans everywhere were panicking, afraid no answers were to be given on one of the best slasher shows of the decade. But alas, MTV teased and then placated fans by releasing info on an upcoming Scream Halloween special that aired on October 18th. In case you were wondering, they also announced a third season. Before we recap and review the episode, here’s a brief synopsis for anyone up that may have missed the first few seasons.

Season One — We’re introduced to Lakewood High, a small and cozy town located… well, I don’t really know what state Lakewood is supposed to be set in, but it has a Cali-sort of vibe to it. The students of Lakewood are dealing with a horrible tragedy after one of the most popular students, Nina, is brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. Nina’s closest friends Brooke, Jake, Emma and Will are shocked by the tragedy, despite Nina not being the nicest person around. Soon after the murder, strange happenings occur throughout town, including more murders and Emma receiving mysterious phone calls from some one believed to be the killer.

The town had also dealt with murders in the past when the infamous Brandon James brutally murdered many teenagers twenty years previous. Brandon was obsessed with a young woman named Daisy that is revealed to be Emma’s mother, Maggie. Emma reconnects with her old friends Audrey and Noah while Emma starts dating Kieran, a dark and handsome newcomer to town. Piper Shaw comes to Lakewood in hopes that the town’s high murder rate will help her podcast gain some more fandom. At the end of the season, Piper reveals herself as Emma’s sister and the killer, but Noah theorizes another killer may be out there because Piper couldn’t have possibly done everything herself.

Season Two: Emma returns from a long retreat where she has recuperated from the horrifying events that plagued her and her town. Everything seems okay at first until Audrey begins receiving phone calls from the killer’s supposed accomplice. Brooke’s boyfriend Will’s body is dumped on stage right in front of her during an assembly. New suspects arise, such as Will’s cousin, Eli, and the new Sheriff’s son, Gus. More students are slain and Brooke is very badly stabbed. Could Brandon James himself be behind everything? At the end of the season, Kieran is revealed to be the killer and has a complete change of character. Instead of killing Kieran in self-defense, Emma lets the cops take care of him. Of course, while he’s in jail, another killer/accomplice calls him.

Anyhow, back to the Scream Halloween special. It opens with Kieran being transferred to jail when an unknown killer breaks in, slaughters the officers and slits Kieran’s throat. When the news reaches Emma, she doesn’t even seem phased and seems pretty happy that her serial killer ex-boyfriend no longer exists. Audrey is now dating a girl named Gina and the two seem very content with each other, although Gina seems a bit jealous of Audrey’s close friendship with Emma.

The gang is offered a chance to go spend the weekend at Shallow Grove Island where Noah and Stavo are offered a book deal from a man named Jeremy, on the urban legend about islander Anna Hobbs, who is said to have murdered her entire family except for her little brother, Billie.

Emma meets a cute boy named Alex that she is immediately drawn to while at a tattoo parlor/convenience store (yeah, weird combo, right?). Emma later runs into Alex again while having some drinks at the pier and the two begin to talk and connect.

A severe storm is headed in for the night and the gang ends up being stuck in the legendary murder house. Jeremy and many of the island locals, including the sheriff, are soon killed off, making tensions arise in the house. Whoever is murdering everyone does it in an Anna Hobbs costume.

After Noah discovers a secret passageway in the house, he figures out that Anna never actually slaughtered anyone and that it was actually a man named Reginald. Emma finds Billie’s bloody body locked up in the cupboard and figures out that Alex is the one behind it. Alex said he had planned to pose as Billie in hopes to win Emma over after becoming obsessed with her when seeing her on TV. Alex attacks Emma when she does not reciprocate his feelings and manages to make an escape onto the upstairs balcony. Alex reluctantly tells Emma he was not the one who had slain Kieran, although he had really wanted to.

All the while, Audrey, Stavo, Brooke, Gina and Noah are still trapped in the secret passageway. Emma is alone to ward off Alex and she is able to push him off the balcony where he falls to his death on the front porch below. Emma seems stronger and more confident that she was able to keep her emotions in check and is soon reunited with her friends.

At the very end, we see Emma’s father at Kieran’s grave with a rather grim look on his face and some one who uses the name Brandon James checks into the local Lakewood motel, leaving plenty of room for a third season.

Alright, so what are my thoughts on the Scream Halloween special? It was semi-decent. I liked the added gore but besides Kieran, the only people being killed off were the BRAND new characters. Which, to me, is frustrating. It makes the show quite predictable and takes the excitement away. It’s almost like The Walking Dead where you know certain characters are always going to be safe because they’re too afraid to kill off anyone major and piss off fans.

The whole Anna Hobbs thing was interesting but really it just felt like a different version of Brandon James and I didn’t see the point to it. Pairing Emma with another person that ends up being a sick, sadistic killer also seemed unnecessary. In real life, Emma probably would be off-the-walls insane by now. But Emma seems oddly stoic and her friends seem the same. Not sure what’s up with that.

The pacing of the Scream Halloween special was well done, and not as slow as some episodes of Scream tend to be. The drama was existent but not overpowering. Brooke and Stavo make an interesting couple and I hope it is a lasting relationship. Audrey’s new gal seems nice but her freakout over Emma seemed a bit extreme, so I see the two experiencing more rifts in the upcoming episodes.

Don’t get me wrong; the Scream Halloween special was a fun episode to watch but I really wish it would have answered more questions or maybe taken some more risks. However, I will still be turning in for Scream season 3 and can’t wait to see where the show goes next.