Scream: Vacancy

"Vacancy" is the third episode of season two of the psycho-thriller television program Scream: The Series, and the thirteenth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Jamie Travis with a script written by Steve Yockey. It first aired on MTV on Monday, June 13th, 2016 at 11:00 pm/10:00 central.

Synopsis
Audrey Jensen finds Jake Fitzgerald's body in the storage facility. She pulls the letters off implicating her and rushes off.

The next morning, Emma Duval tells mother that her father is back in town. Maggie is concerned, but acts a little dodgy. Emma tells her that she is going to meet with him for breakfast. Emma calls Audrey to tell her, and Audrey warns her that her father is "damaged", which makes Emma angry.

Noah Foster bursts into Audrey's room and rushes her out so they can check out the storage facility before school starts. Audrey tries to discourage this, but cannot say anything without revealing what she knows. When they get there, Noah finds that the door had already been unlocked. Audrey is certain to see Jake's body as he lifts the door, but instead, all they find are random motel belongings. Noah finds a security camera and steals it. He wants to check it out before class starts. Audrey receives a text from the killer who tells her that he cleaned everything up for her.

Noah examines the camera, and Audrey prepares to knock him out with a collectible bookend. However, it is only a streaming video feed and there is no actual recording. Audrey is relieved.

Emma meets her father at the coffee house. He tries to bond with her, but cannot offer any explanation as to why he left when she was a child. This upsets Emma greatly and she storms out of the restaurant. At school, Brooke Maddox attends the Lady of the Lake academic function. She talks with Zoe Vaughn and reveals that she knows that she likes Noah. Creepy Gustavo Acosta is there and asks Brooke if she ever made contact with her ex-boyfriend. To make things even more awkward, the even creepier Mister Branson calls Brooke on her cell phone. She wants nothing to do with him, and warns him that she is going to block his number. In the hallway, Kieran Wilcox talks with Emma about her morning chat with her father. His weird cousin Eli Hudson is there and tries to sound sympathetic by stating that he wanted to punch his dad in the face after he left. Kieran walks off and Emma and Eli chat for a bit.

That night, Brooke brings Zoe to the Zenith Theater, knowing that Noah is going to be there as this might pave the way for having her hook him up with Zoe. Stavo is also there, which irritates Brooke. Oddly, Audrey is not working tonight. When they go inside, they see Mister Branson at the concession. He tries to talk to Brooke, making it appear as if it was completely coincidental that he should show up at the movie theater. He admits to being the one who left flowers on her car; flowers that she previously thought were from Jake. She texts Jake, reiterating the fact that their relationship is over. Someone texts back, "K. Hasta La Vista".

Emma receives a note, presumably from her father, asking her to meet him out at the Crescent Palms Motel. She drives off to find him. At the motel, night manager Eddie Krueger brings a bottle of wine and a corkscrew to Room 213, which is where Kevin is staying. Nobody appears to be in the room, and everything is covered in sheets. Ghostface emerges and picks up the corkscrew. He stabs Eddie multiple times in the back, with a final kill shot in the throat. He takes a picture of the body and sends it to Audrey. Audrey learns that Emma is going to the motel and races off to intercept her. She tries calling her, but Emma is still uptight with her, so she ignores the call. Audrey then calls 911. Emma reaches the motel first and goes to the room. The place is spotless, but she finds newspaper clippings relating to the recent murder spree. She calls out for her father, but gets no reply.

Emma leaves the motel and hears the sounds of a fracas from the Lakewood Lounge next door. Her father is outside, drunk and fighting with another patron. Audrey pulls up just as the two begin talking. Emma confronts her father and he tells her that he never sent her a note and that he already checked out of the motel. Emma realizes that he is preparing to leave town again without even telling her. Kevin confesses that the reason he originally left was because the original experience of being a murder survivor turned him into an abusive drunk. One night, he struck Maggie, breaking her jaw. It was immediately after this that he left town.

Several police cars pull up in response to Audrey's 911 call. She plays it off as if she had seen two men fighting outside the bar and called it in. When she gets back into her car, she receives a text from the killer, telling her to look under her seat. She finds the bloody corkscrew. A follow-up text tells her that she should have never called the police.

Crew

 * Matthew Signer - Producer
 * Keith Levine - Producer
 * Eoghan O'Donnell - Co-executive producer
 * Kat Landsberg - Co-executive producer
 * Bob Weinstein - Executive producer
 * Harvey Weinstein - Executive producer
 * Tony DiSanto - Executive producer


 * Liz Gateley - Executive producer
 * Wes Craven - Executive producer
 * Michael Gans - Executive producer
 * Richard Register - Executive producer
 * Marianne Maddalena - Executive producer
 * Cathy Konrad - Executive producer
 * Aaron Fink - Associate producer

Notes & Trivia

 * Scream: The Series was developed for television by Jill Blotevogel, Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie. It was created by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson.


 * Executive producer Jill E. Blotevogel is credited as Jill Blotevogel in this episode.


 * Wes Craven is still credited as an executive producer on the series even though he passed away on August 30th, 2015 while season one was coming to a close.


 * This is the third episode of Scream directed by Jamie Travis and his first episode from season two. It is his first episode of the series that was not a premiere or finale episode. He previously directed the series' pilot episode, and "Revelations".


 * This is the first episode of Scream: The Series with Steve Yockey as a writer. He also worked as a story editor on "Psycho".


 * This is the first acting work for Darren Ortiz.


 * This is the second and final appearance of Eddie Krueger, who dies in this episode. He is the second murder victim presented this season.


 * This is the ninth appearance of former school teacher Seth Branson and his first appearance in season two. He appeared last in the season one finale, "Revelations".

Allusions

 * The title of this episode, "Vacancy", is a reference to the 2007 feature film starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson. This continues the season two trend of naming episodes after horror films. It also refers to the neon sign that is usually posted outside of motel, which read either "Vacancy" or "No Vacancy". In the context of this episode, it refers to Room 213, which is where Ghostface killed Eddie Krueger.


 * Brooke Maddox makes reference to her father, Quinn Maddox, in this episode. Quinn Maddox is the mayor of Lakewood.


 * The emails that Kevin Duval received were supposedly sent by Riley Marra. Riley was one of the murder victims from the previous spree and the former girlfriend of Noah Foster. She was murdered by Piper Shaw in the season one episode, "Wanna Play a Game?".


 * At one point, Emma Duval intones the phrase, "Never Sleep Again". This was also part of a children's nursery rhyme used in the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series, which was created by Wes Craven. It is also the title of a documentary about the film franchise.


 * The movie playing at the Zenith Theater is Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which is a 1988 horror/sci-fi comedy film directed by Stephen Chiodo.


 * Emma Duval makes a reference to Pikeview Road in this episode. This is the location of a pig farm owned by Troy James. Emma visited it in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Psycho".


 * Seth Branson makes reference to Piper Shaw's final attack, which took place in the season one finale, "Revelations".

Body count

 * 1) Eddie Krueger - Stabbed in the back and throat numerous times with a corkscrew.