MTV’s ‘Scream’ Takes Teen Horror Next-Gen in First Eight Minute Slash

We haven’t known exactly what to make of MTV’s take on the classic Scream franchise, first reinventing the concept, then ditching the iconic mask. The Tuesday premiere has spilled a bit of blood early however, releasing the first eight minutes of the reborn teen slasher, and wouldn’t know it, MTV’s Scream is pretty damn effective.

Opening on the outbreak of a viral video that lands Arrow star Bex Taylor-Klaus as an object of humiliaton school-wide, the first eight minutes of MTV’s Scream quickly move to channel the original film, as a sexy teen (Bella Thorne) winds up stalked through her own home, taking the danger seriously far too late, before our masked killer finally arrives.

Borrowing a bit from the ol’ Jaws principle of keeping the threat largely hidden, the clip actually proves surprisingly effective, replacing the well-known killer’s voice with omnipresent text messages and stalking video clips, a near-supernatural, but inherently modern take on the classic horror beats. How well the rest of the series reinvents the teen slasher remains to be seen, but Scream seems a much worthier watch than we’d given credit for.

Here’s how MTV describes the plot of the new series, premiering June 30:

After a cyber-bullying incident results in a brutal murder, the shocking violence stirs up memories of a killing spree from the past that has haunted some, intrigued others and maybe just inspired a new killer. A group of teens — with two old friends struggling to reconnect at its heart — become lovers, enemies, suspects, targets and victims of an assassin who’s out for blood.

The new TV series sees Jamie Travis directing scripts from Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin, with Jill Blotevogel serving as showrunner, and Wes Craven, Marianne Maddalena and Cathy Konrad executive producing. Scream also stars Bobby Campo, Connor Weil and Joel Gretsch.

Watch the clip for yourself above, and get ready for the full Scream blood spurt this coming Tuesday.