Scream Queens - "Chainsaw"

If the first two episodes of Scream Queens during the premiere didn’t clearly define the tone of the series for viewers, then this weeks “Chainsaw” episode will leave no doubts. The holy trio of Chanel’s running Kappa House are still reeling from the death of Chanel #2 (Ariana Grande); reeling meaning either they don’t care or worried that their bloody hands will be revealed. Of course, most of the girls aren’t suspicious other than Grace (Skylar Samuels) and Zayday (Keke Palmer) who find the second Chanel’s Instagram postings to be a little sketchy. Meanwhile, Grace’s father Wes (Oliver Hudson) has successfully infiltrated the university in order to keep an eye on his daughter’s safety. His means of entry: the new professor of “Introduction to Film Analysis”. Not too far off, Gigi (Nasim Pedrad) is smitten with Wes but of course Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) sees the sex appeal that Wes exudes and decides to intervene. After introducing the new mascot for the school, a kelp infused ice cream cone named Coney, she informs Gigi that they will both be moving into Kappa House for the week. 

Relating the premiere episodes to Raimi’s Army of Darkness proved to be accurate in “Chainsaw” as the over the top approach to this sorority slaughter house is amped up. When Chad (Glen Powell) decides to grab his douche-esque cohorts and go on a drunken manhunt for the Red Devil, audiences were treated to a fantastic scene of nostalgia and gore. “Backstreet’s Back” blares over the white outfitted fraternity boys as if their mission has stepped one foot into a holy version of the 90’s. Their plan to defeat the Red Devil begins by bashing in anything red, including a fire hydrant and a sedan. Job well done boys, now on to the actual killing. Surprise, surprise, two Red Devil’s emerge from the fog outfitted with chainsaws. In a beautifully shot moment, Chad’s new BFF charges to protect but instead loses both of his arms to the killer. It’s a true Leatherface moment at its core. Speaking of Leatherface, another fantastic moment for horror fans came with the “Film Analysis” course. Wes preaches about the complexities and genius behind Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. What proceeds is a short montage of the various students watching the film, most likely for the first time, and vomiting into backpacks or just running from the room in terror. It was a loving embrace to the classic horror fans as if to say: “We get you”. 

The humor is of course not lost on this episode, however it doesn’t hit every mark that it sets up. An opening sequence with Chad displaying his open narcissism to Chanel (Emma Roberts) just goes on a bit too long, but in the world of Scream Queens that could be the very point. What does work well is a brief moment of Chanel giving Hester (Lea Michele) a much needed makeover. As Hester descends the stairs to meet the awed gasps from the rest of Kappa House, the camera zooms repeatedly onto her awkwardly forced ecstatic face. Huge nods go to Niecy Nash as Officer Denise Hemphill who steals every scene that she’s in. Not only does she refer to herself in the third person, but she is the voice of the audience pointing out the atrocities and obvious horror clichés throughout the story. The ingenious part of the episode had to go to Jamie Lee Curtis though. Her "white noise" machine that blares whale destress calls, severe ape attacks, and a slasher film sounds is perfectly placed into the already insane sorority house. Curtis delivers this devices options with such glee and sadism that it melts the heart and brings the giggles. 

Continuing the insanity that is Scream Queens, “Chainsaw” was another link in the chain of the mysterious Red Devil saga. It’s interesting that the show’s strength is on its over the top quality and not the terror of the killer. It’s still early on, but the advantage to this choice is that it will most likely keep the series fresh as it moves forward. Finding the identity of the killer doesn’t matter as much in this world as it does watching them react to the devil’s deeds.