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‘Dorkus’: Penultimate ‘Scream Queens’ Outing is Season’s Best

By Joey Click

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PRETTY EViL

THE REVIEW:

Bradley Buecker directs Dorkus with the style and class of a true filmmaking veteran. From the beginning, it’s a deliciously well-made episode of entertainment, one which starts off with some nice composition, and continues with great camerawork and well-executed montages. While it would be almost impossible to sum up every piece of great direction in Dorkus– the 12th episode in Fox’s ultimately uneven freshman season of Scream Queens– The first 10 minutes contains better direction than an entire season of many other series.

“If You Gaze Long Enough Into The Abyss, The Abyss Will Gaze Back At You.” -Pete

The amazing direction includes- but is certainly not limited to- the composition when Grace reenters the room to hear what Pete has to say (and the almost immediately following cocked ceiling shot), the amazing montage when Pete collects the Kappa Girl’s hair samples, and the jaw-dropping execution of the montage where that devious Chanel writes the email which may be her eventual downfall- and so much more, loyal Servants of Springwood. Don’t believe? Give Dorkus a spin.

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As for Dorkus‘ script, it’s majorly mature compared to almost every previous Scream Queens script. Written by series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan, Dorkus does so much more with its screen time than any previous episode(there’s much more story than any other episode) but does it with grace and style. In an episode that not only reveals the identity of the final “Red Devil”, the episode also exposes a third murderer. In a situation which could have been extremely harmful to the series on other hands, the three creators make it work amazingly well; the key is character motivations (as with every successful narrative and truly believable character), the third killer reveal is logical and meshes seamlessly with the other aspects of the story.

The whole episode plays into itself as well, with each situation leaning on and strengthen by the last. Not only is Grace the driving force of Dorkus, When characters interact, the results are obvious (more human and organic than the early entries of the series) and causes the story to gain momentum. Dorkus is truly worth each minute the audience has given to the Fox series. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

The comedy is completely changed as well. Gone is the parody comedy, and in its place are characters saying funny things (mostly in jest of the scene and plot) instead of being the butt of the show’s joke. The overly-wrought parody has been replaces with story and the series should have learned to do this along time ago- the result is a far superior show. While I’m sad Chad Radwell- and Denise Hemphill for that matter- isn’t in the episode, he’s really only there to poke fun of 80s horror and the decades infamously wholly one-dimensional characters.

Then we got those pesky things Alfred Hitchcock called “props”- the actors of Dorkus.

I’ll admit this here, I was dead wrong about lead Skyler Samuels. Playing Grace, I had previously stated the actress probably couldn’t handle massively-dramatic material, but then she comes in strong and delivered her best work in the opening of Dorkus. She’s amazing in not only the opening, in a stellar scene with investigative journalist Pete, but the actress excels in the rest of the episode as well. She’s honestly never been better in Scream Queens, and honestly, could be because of the series scripting. With so much more to do, she really shines.

Now, there’s Pete. Played by Diego Boneta, Pete has been an interesting character throughout the series. Sometimes he’s around, others times he’s gone. In Dorkus, the actor proves why he was cast and does a lot to enhance the series. I wont go into too much of Boneta’s work in Dorkus, as I don’t want to ruin it- just see it.

THE VERDICT:

Bradley Buecker’s Dorkus is miles better than the series has seen thus far. Not only is the 12th episode of Scream Queens superbly directed, it’s also well written and acted with professional ease. If you’ve given up on the Fox series- I can’t blame you- it’s time to get caught up because Dorkus is worth it. Time is precious, but this much I promise, Elm Street residence.

THE GRADE: A+

Join 1428 tomorrow as I take a look at the second part of the two-episode season finale, The Final Girl(s), directed by Brad Falchuk, only on Fox. Check on the finale preview below, courtesy of Fox.

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