Scream Queens
Season 1 Episode 4: “Haunted House”
Written by Brad Falchuk
Directed by Bradley Buecker
Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan
Starring Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Nasim Pedrad, Oliver Hudson, Skyler Samuels, Keke Palmer, Billie Lourd, Nick Jonas
FOX
Air Date: Tuesday, October 6th, 2015, 9pm

Over its first two weeks, I’d challenge you find a show as flamboyantly off the wall as Scream Queens. Combining the bloodshed of an 80s slasher horror film with the teenage drama of Glee, Scream Queens and its cast throw themselves into the craziness with frenzied rigor, chewing the scenery as it comes. There are the Chanels of Kappa House, led by Emma Roberts who embraces every “bitch queen” cliche and runs with them; the quickly sure of herself Chanel # 5 (Abigail Breslin) and Charles Manson’s illegitimate love child, Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd). Then there is Dean Cathy Munsch, the original Scream Queen herself (Jamie Lee Curtis), who has decided to move into the Kappa House to prevent the Red Devil from continuing to slaughter sorority sisters. And of course… there is Chad Radwell (Glen Powell), the coolest most dreamiest guy on campus who has had his way with the Kappa girls. He is what girls want and guys want to be. And his name is CHAD RADWELL!!! C’mon!

Spoilers below.

Last week’s episode was called Chainsaw, and suffice to say, that weapon became prominent throughout the episode. This week should thusly contain some ghostly charms. It’s Chanel-O-Ween, the most important day of the year for Chanel’s 700+ instagram followers. Each year, she spends tons of money on her comatose grandma’s credit card, to buy her obsessive cult-like groupies really disturbing Halloween gifts, including what appear fake but what might be actually severed body parts, a rotting jack-o-lantern, and my favorite, a box of blood. While cops and the obnoxiously loud Denise (Niesy Nash) investigate the Kappa attacks, Grace and Pete (Skyler Samuels and Diego Boneta) look into the past. A Kappa sister died after giving birth prematurely at a mixer 20-years earlier and the thought is, that now 20-year old child is Jason Voorhees style deranged. They meet a former Kappa sister now trailer resident who has been hiding since that night. Explains why she didn’t get their dead on McConaughey/Hudson How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days costumes. Boneta’s impression is perfect, getting all the McConaughey inflections down pat. Turns out Munsch orchestrated the cover up, helped in the burying of the bathtub body… oh and the bathtub baby is a girl.

Back at Kappa and Chanel receives a shock when Zayday declares candidacy for House President. She doesn’t take it too well:

“Chanel it’s 3 AM, we’re concerned about your mental health. What are you doing?” – Chanel #3

“Just sharpening knives; kitchen knives should be razor sharp.” – Chanel

They are going to have competing Haunted House parties to raise money for awareness to various diseases like Sickle Cell, and black hairy tongue disease…

Hester (Lea Michele), a loser turned Chanel #6 makes a nighttime play for Chad Radwell in a cemetery. The scene perfectly encapsulates Scream Queens. It’s way over the top but Michele and Powell are having so much fun, you can’t help but laugh hysterically. When they eventually find a scary place to “bone down,” it turns out to be the house where the killer has stashed all the victims. When Chad Radwell tries to warn everyone, it doesn’t go according to plan”¦ “NOOOO!!!”

Glen Powell, you make Chad Radwell my hero!

Grace is putting two and two together and challenges her dad (Oliver Hudson) on whether or not her mom was the Kappa sister who died. She also digs around and finds that the murder house was the site of mysterious incidents, where a woman in black stole diapers and milk 20-years ago presumably to raise the bathtub baby… and we get a peek at who it is at the end…

This show is just bonkers! Everytime I finish laughing from something so over the top ridiculous, they top it right away. Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan are throwing every 80s horror and college movie cliche at the wall, and they are ALL sticking. I give such credit to the actors here. The collective insanity works so well. In fact Grace, the stoic lead good girl seems out of place. The one liners are perfectly timed and placed. And even though this episode was light on gore and Red Devil violence, the total insanity of everything going on made up for it.

Maybe unfair to compare, but over the Summer, MTV’s Scream posed the question “would a slasher movie work on TV?” and while I enjoyed that show as a whole, it took time to get going, and took itself way too seriously. THIS is the answer to that question. Nothing about slasher horror is taken too seriously. I feel like everyone involved watched Slumber Party Massacre 2 (the only with the Elvis impersonator killer with the drill guitar), and decided to one up that.

Scream Queens is not the best show on TV, nor will it win any awards, but it might just be the most fun hour of your week. It hits me at every level – gory violence, corny one liners, bad puns, glorious overacting, Chad Radwell… you name it.

Scream Queens returns next week with a new episode, Tuesday nights at 9:00pm ET on FOX.

Scream Queens Image Gallery

Video

SCREAM QUEENS | Halloween Event

The SCREAM QUEENS 2-week Halloween event starts this TUE at 9/8c on FOX!