Scream
Episode 2.13 “Halloween” & 2.14 “Halloween II”
Written by Eoghan O’Donnell & Richard Register
Directed by Oz Scott
Starring Willa Fitzgerald, Bex Taylor-Klaus, John Karna, John Karna, Carlson Young, Santiago Segura
MTV
Air Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 9pm

Spoilers for Scream…

MTV’s Scream has splattered the network with blood and gore each of the last two summers. Fitting with the season, they released a special 2-hour Halloween Special for Season 3. Poor Emma (Willa Fitzgerald) has had to deal with a lot these past two seasons. Season 1’s killer, Piper Shaw (Amelia Rose Blaire), turned out to be her half sister. And when she was killed off, we found she had an unknown accomplice. Turns out Kieran (Amadeus Serafini) was said accomplice, and he was Emma’s boyfriend. Considering her first boyfriend on the show was brutally hacked up season 1, Emma is NOT doing too well in the love department.

Picking up 8-months after Season 2 ended, Kieran is sentenced to the maximum and put in a holding cell, where a masked killer sneaks in, murders the officer guarding him and then…slices Kieran’s throat in graphic detail. Two minutes and I’m stunned by the gore”¦ that’s a good thing. At school, the media is there (reminiscent of Wes Craven’s film) wanting insight into how Kieran’s death impacts Emma. The gang’s all there to offer moral support. Audrey (Bex Taylor-Klaus) is out in the open with a new girlfriend. Noah (John Karna) and Stavo (Santiago Segura) are now signed writers, and Stavo is the official new boyfriend of my bae, Brooke (Carlson Young) who has defied all horror logic to still be alive.

Stavo and Noah get sent by their publisher Jeremy (Alex Esola) on a spooky island getaway to research their next story, a murderess who slaughtered people in a “murder mansion.” Anna Hobbs (Stevie Lynn Jones) went on a killing spree with a pair of shears over a century ago and Noah and Stavo are tasked to investigate the scene of the crime. Emma meets a new guy, Alex (Alexander Calvert). Does she not remember her boyfriends murdering/being murdered? It doesn’t take long before the killer break into the historical society exhibit, steals Anna Hobbs’ scissors and murders the poor proprietor.

Of course, Emma’s new bff is the descendant of the victims in the murder spree and we get a great old fashioned horror flashback scene. This is all told by caretaker Billie (Lindsay LaVanchy). Noah gets in a great line when he’s taken aback when meeting her. “Not what you expected?” she asks. “I was expecting Crazy Ralph from Friday the 13th.”

I need to pause for a second because through the first 45 minutes this is the best work the cast and crew of Scream have done. The killer adopted Anna Hobbs’ garb and the change works for the best, the “ghostface” outfit needed a retirement. When the killer does finally call Emma, I thought, “Oh yeah, it’s Scream!” It’s very reminiscent of The Burning (1981), especially with the weapon of choice being shears and a great finger-chop scene.

“This is a pretty classic horror concept,” Noah says at one point. Soon they are all alone on the island, in a murder house, with a killer after them and surprise guests just keep popping up. And then look at that, a secret passageway. “Holy haunted mansion Batman!” We find out the identity of the killer, there is resolution and there is a pretty cool setup for season 3. All things considered, this was not an episode of a horror series. This was a fairly awesome, standalone sequel. 90 minutes sans commercials, good bodycount, decent mystery, and set up the future installments. This was totally something other shows should steal to keep fans interested during long off seasons. Scream‘s Halloween Special definitely offers the tricks and treats.

If you missed Scream‘s Halloween Special, then head to MTV.com and you can watch it and every episode in the first two seasons.