The newly-released American Horror Stories episode 3, “Drive In,” centered on a “cursed” movie — allowing it to perfectly reverse one of the most iconic quotes from Scream. Equally created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, American Horror Stories was devised as a companion to the soon-to-be ten seasons of American Horror Story. Where the divisive two-part opener revisited the infamous Murder House, however, American Horror Stories episode 3, “Drive In,” explored a wholly new corner of the often-overlapping world. And rather than the twisted (Tate and Violet-alike) couple of Scarlett and Ruby, events centered on the less psychopathic relationship between Kelley (Madison Bailey) and Chad (Rhenzy Feliz).
Eager to take things to the next level, Chad took the advice of his friends and accepted tickets to the screening of a rare horror movie. Titled Rabbit Rabbit, the film in question had acquired cult status for driving those who viewed it into homicidal rages. Understandably skeptical, Chad and Kelley soon learned that the urban legend was entirely true — as both friends and strangers started violently rampaging. As the pair fought to survive, American Horror Stories episode 3, “Drive In,” continued the trend of American Horror Story‘s horror movie easter eggs. In this case, with a group of teens discussing horror movies before they find themselves actually living through one, the episode shared a few shades with Scream.
In fact, the entire premise of “Drive In” could actually be viewed as perfectly reversing one of Scream‘s most iconic lines. As Sidney (Neve Campbell) finally faced off with newly-revealed killers, Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu (Matthew Lillard), she blamed their actions on watching too many movies. The comment led the increasingly stab-happy Billy to passionately state that “movies don’t create psychos, movies make psychos more creative!” Ironically, problems with the MPAA almost forced Wes Craven to cut the line from Scream. Fortunately, the issue was resolved, allowing it to become one of Scream‘s most enduring and frequently referenced.
Whether or not it was intentional on the part of writer Manny Coto, American Horror Stories episode 3, “Drive In,” nonetheless furthered the popular quote’s legacy by riffing on it. After all, the episode flipped that idea on its head in a literal way, with Rabbit Rabbit designed to make people into killers. In that case, the movie actually was to blame and, for those at the Drive-In, after a lifetime of movie-watching with no issue, it was the one too many (so to speak). Rabbit Rabbit creator Larry Bitterman (returning AHS actor John Carroll Lynch) could even be viewed as a Billy Loomis type. His obsession with horror movies and bringing one to life both belied his natural psychopathy and allowed him to reel off trivia.
American Horror Stories episode 3, “Drive In,” even went a step further in flipping the classic Scream dialogue. There was none of the creativity that Billy espoused when it came to the killers created by the Rabbit Rabbit movie. Instead, they were more akin to ravenous zombies, mostly clawing and biting at their victims. At best, they used what was to hand, acting on mere instinct rather than with premeditated flare. It was a final step in perfectly reversing what Scream had laid out. As such, it helped American Horror Stories season 1 add an even more satirical edge to proceedings (and the senseless real-world debate) by perfectly culminating with that final Netflix reveal and potentially setting up sequels. After all, as another classic line from Scream suggested: “These days, you’ve gotta have a sequel!”
