Scream Queen

De: Edo Van Belkom

Narrado por: Jo Anna Perrin

The idea is a guaranteed ratings winner: a reality TV show where six contestants audition for a part in a horror movie, a chance to be a "scream queen." Whoever lasts the night in a haunted house, rigged with shriek-inducing special effects, will walk away rich and famous...if they make it out alive.

Unfortunately, no one on the production crew has delved into the past of the house itself, a place where a mad doctor carried out unspeakable human experiments...where people say every room is haunted by the vengeful spirits of his tortured victims...a house coming alive before their very eyes. Now, as the cameras roll, blood is spilled, bodies disappear, and no one -- not even the show's creators -- can be sure what's a game and what's real.

But with each terrifying discovery, the contestants are dwindling, and one thing is becoming chillingly clear...on this show, there will be no survivors.

©2003 Edo van Belkom (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Slasher Movie As Told By Muppets.

What did you like best about Scream Queen? What did you like least?

I liked that it obviously knew its source material-- horror movies-- and referenced them accordingly. The entity was creepy and creative. Unfortunately the end was predictable, and the narrator was so off base that she presented as incompetent. Her vocal characterizations did frequenty call to mind muppets.

What did you like best about this story?

The entity was interesting, and the main character would have been likeable if the narrator hadn't given her a bad Marilyn Monroe impression in the place of a voice.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Her first mistake was speaking. Her attempts at accents were distracting, her attempts at giving someone an ethnic presence was confusing, and her attempts at sexy were irritating.

Was Scream Queen worth the listening time?

With a competent narrator, possibly. But really, if you've ever seen a by the numbers slasher movie you've essentially read this. I would be curious to read it in print form, however.

Any additional comments?

Miss it in audible format. The narration is so bad it's impossible to enjoy the story.

Parody of slasher/horror films

What did you like best about Scream Queen? What did you like least?

I enjoyed the satire of it all, the skewering of all the Hollywood clichés. From the oily producers to the nipped and tucked starlet and wanna be action hero to the official scream queen. Unfortunately, the story was inconsistent as written and for me, the writing did not continually hold up. This is a take off on horror films so the premise, unctuous and greedy producers try to turn their lackluster horror films into a reality show and end up in a real haunted house/horror film, was interesting at first, but the plot began to wear on me.

Which character – as performed by Jo Anna Perrin – was your favorite?

I enjoyed them all and credit her wry tongue-in-cheek performance for keeping me interested even when the story did not.

Do you think Scream Queen needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. But with the right satiric style, it might actually make an interesting film. That is, on a par with the multitude of Scream parodies that are out there.