Scream Stream 2023: Salem

In Salem of 1754, Mary Walcott (Janet Montgomery) is in love with Captain John Alden (Shane West) who is going off to fight in the French and Indian War. Thinking the war would only last a year, John breaks a coin in half and vows to return to Mary soon, giving her the other half. Mary, who has hidden her pregnancy from John, turns to the witch Tituba to remove the child and in a demonic ceremony deep in the woods, she does just that.  John is reported dead, and Mary becomes the wife to the richest and most powerful man in Salem, George Sibley (Michael Mulheren). Eight years later, the Salem witch trials are about to begin right when John returns, having been a captive of the indigenous people.  He learns of his one true love’s marriage to a man he found to be evil before he left and disgusted by the witch hunts being led by old childhood acquaintance, Cotton Mather (Seth Gabel) who hides his own carnal desires. Mary also hides a dark secret; she is now the leader of the real witches of Salem who plan to use the witch trials as a way of taking revenge on the Puritans while summoning the Devil.

I really loved the show’s visual elements with a realistic representation of the Puritanical Salem.  The calling forth of the devil and the removal of her child both had some gorgeous cinematography and editing with visions of her love intermixed with a demonic entity. The music by Tyler Bates heightened the tone of each scene and the using of Marilyn Manson’s song “Cupid Carries a Gun” as the title track was well chosen. The story is compelling and intriguing especially the use of the puritanical views of how witches related to their familiars. The script is well written, with the dialogue sounding natural and never forced.  The leading actors were also well cast, with Janet Montgomery being able to portray both strength and vulnerability, seeming to harness both a gentle and malignant spirit. Shane West is a good-looking man who does a great job being the strong hero who speaks his mind.

With Gothic romance storytelling and supernatural elements, the plot of the show is riveting and very well told. This three-season series first aired on April 20^th, 2014, and lasted until January 25^th, 2017, with the first two seasons having 13 episodes each and the final season having 10. The show garnered mixed reviews from the critics, some loving the “witch’s brew of romance, fear, deceit, revenge, hysteria, evil and uncertainty.”, but others thought the show had ramshackle plotting to the shallow characters. Overall, this is a very well-produced show with some stunning visual elements and interesting plotting.