Howdy there, Scream Freaks! With the new year underway, we’re knockin’ our remainin’ side gigs out and workin’ harder than ever to get back to deliverin’ regular content on our YouTube channel for ya’ll. We’re catchin’ up with writin’ reviews for upcomin’ episodes, layin’ the groundwork for completin’ ideas we started in other vids, and back in the swing of animatin’ our adventures through hell. It feels great and helps to have Joe Bob Briggs’s Silver Bolo Award servin’ as a goal to work toward for the chance to be officially recognized by such a legendary host in the horror community.
Between stretches of our iron butt marathons at the computer and drawin’ desk, we’ve been veggin’ in front of the idiot box and bingin’ a guilty pleasure we just discovered. Browsin’ the Vidmark channel’s latest acquisitions on Roku, we stumbled ‘cross a show we never heard of called Scream Queens. Not that horror comedy with slashers after Emma Roberts, mind ya, but a short lived reality show from back in the day on VH1 featurin’ up and comin’ actresses competin’ to be in the Saw movies.
Minds blown!
As mentioned in our review of the Saw comic, we knew the franchise exploited its popularity with tons of merch, haunted house attractions, and roller coaster rides, but we would’ve never guessed it had a reality show, too!
The basic premise is ten aspirin’ actresses compete ‘gainst one ‘nother for eight weeks in a series of horror related actin’ challenges, and based on their performances, they either get a call back for a closer shot at bein’ in a major motion picture, or they get the ax. Each episode is broken into three phases: The girls begin with an actin’ challenge that features some element of horror to help ’em hone their skills as scream queen contenders, then they’re put through some group exercises by an actin’ coach, and finally gotta bring all these lessons together on a set where a director judges how well they take direction and adapt to the demands of the shoot. With the only constant bein’ actin’ coach John Homa ‘tween seasons, Saw’s favorite bad girl Shawnee Smith helped judge the first season as a mentor with a pre-Guardians of the Galaxy James Gunn servin’ as the director, and season two switched ’em out with actress Jaime King and the director of the newer 2001 Maniacs movies, Tim Sullivan. We were surprised at first the producers at Lionsgate brought in Jaime King as a mentor ‘stead of ‘nother Saw actress to judge season two, but it made sense when we learned she had just starred in their remake of Troma’s Mother’s Day at the time which Saw alum worked on.
Anyway, as far as any sours are concerned, they’re pretty trivial and nothin’ that spoils the fun of the show. The biggest tick we get is whenever the judges from any season criticize the actresses for not meetin’ their definition of a scream queen they basically describe as a strong sexy survivor. Tell me if I’m wrong, but aren’t they describin’ the traits for the final girl? I mean, a final girl can be a scream queen, but the show’s called Scream Queens, and not all scream queens are final girls ya know? Just look at the careers of scream queen royalty like Brinke Stevens and Linnea Quigley. They played final girls, victims, villains, straight up screamers . . . it’s a very loose term that can really apply to any character type so long as they’re screamin’ bloody freakin’ murder in a horror movie.
And ‘course, ya can’t have a reality TV show starrin’ ten gals crammed in a house without some catty drama, and that’s somethin’ we can do without. Now, we’re fully aware of executives alterin’ footage and stagin’ situations to spice things up for the home audience, but regardless of that, we do believe in the competition itself and the girls actin’ their hearts out to win it. That said, anytime there’s a confrontation, we’re skeptical of it bein’ at all genuine and just wanna get back to the fun of the challenges. Luckily, only season two has any of this non-sense and the majority of it’s bitch slappin’ tension is relegated to one episode. The real drama should have been with wardrobe dressin’ these gals like they’re bein’ auctioned off for human traffickin’ in the ball room scenes.
Regardin’ the sweets of this eye candy parade, our joy for the show comes from watchin’ the challenges and how they all relate to makin’ horror movies. If you’re an actor or filmmaker, this show shares a lot of valuable tips, tricks, and trades in the movie makin’ industry ya can take away. These girls work with pools of blood, wires, stunts, motion capture, squibs, critters, make-up, and show just how much thought and emotion goes into every performance from the most subtle facial twitch to the biggest gesture. The most fun we have watchin’ is usually Homa’s actin’ classes which always result in a true comedy of errors with the girls strugglin’ to impress him.
The only thin’ we think is missin’ from all this that would make it more fun is the girls’ fandom for horror. Season two touched on this a little, but for the most part, we don’t know if these gals are just a bunch of hungry actresses usin’ the show as their foot in the door for that big break or if they grew up on a steady diet of Freddy and Jason movies and want to be the next Michelle Bauer or Jacqueline Lovell. We were especially surprised how uninterested they looked when told they’re workin’ with Debbie Rochon for a day or actin’ on the same sets used for movies like Saw and Leprechaun.
SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE OF Y’ALL CONVINCED TO WATCH!
With the prizes bein’ roles in Saw VI and Saw VII: The Final Chapter, Scream Queens only lasted two seasons. Tanedra Howard won the first competition and is the gal choppin’ her arm off in the beginnin’ of part six who comes back as one of the Jigsaw support group members in part seven. Gabby West won the next and final season and was cast as the girl screamin’ under the car trap that turns her into roadkill. A prize is a prize, and it’s awesome to be part of such a major franchise that played in theaters worldwide, but we find it funny how Gabby’s role paled in comparison to Tanedra’s. Tanedra got to flex her thespian chops with a legitimate performance that showed her range as an actress in scenes of varyin’ emotions with other actors. Gabby, on the other hand, was hogtied under a car screamin’. Eight weeks of intense competition provin’ she had the ability to outact a fierce pack of talent, and it was all to show she could scream under a spinnin’ tire on her back. It’s even funnier when ya wonder if her difficulty with blockin’ forced the filmmakers to put her in one of the most immobile roles in the movie.
The other fun part ’bout watchin’ a 10+ year old reality show like Scream Queens is seein’ just how these “life changing” roles affected these leadin’ ladies’ careers. Accordin’ to IMDb, Tanedra continues to have a steady TV career followin’ her stint in the Saw movies, her biggest role bein’ Tammy in a show called Black Boots. Gabby’s filmography, however, is more sporadic with large chunks of time ‘tween projects, her last recorded roles bein’ a couple of TV episodes in 2018. She was no fluke on Scream Queens, so hopefully Gabby’s applyin’ her talent to other uncredited avenues of filmmakin’ or at least the theater scene someplace. As for the other contestants who got the ax over the seasons, ’bout half of ’em seem to have stopped actin’ after a while, but the rest can still be found on TV and in movies like Christine Haeberman, Sarah Agor, Sarah Alami, Karlie Redd, Rosanna Pansino, Tai Davis, and Jessica Ortiz who’s currently one of the major players on ABC’s Station 19.
We’re not the biggest fans of reality shows, but Scream Queens has a lotta things we enjoy as fans of horror, filmmakin’, and purdy ladies. It’s a shame it was so closely tied to the Saw movies which were comin’ to a stoppin’ point at the time, ’cause we would love to see more of this show with potential scream queens fightin’ to be in even more upcomin’ franchise sequels like the new Halloween movies. Come on, Blumhouse, make it happen!
Other than that, be sure to catch up on all past Screaming Soup! Seasons, check out this week’s Howl’n Hottie, read recent reviews for the newer horror films and comics we’re checkin’ out in our blogs, R-Rated Reviews and Sequential Slime, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets, subscribe to our video channels, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail comin’. You can also warm up some Screaming Soup! leftovers with reruns currently playin’ on Beta Max TV, Sluggo’s The Vortexx, and Mr. Lobo‘s OSI 74!
See ya later, Scream Freaks!
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