Pretty Little Liars' Spinoff Continues To Be One Of The Best Horror Shows On TV

Summary Pretty Little Liars: Summer School offers bone-chilling horror and suspense.

The Max series has terrifying villains inspired by classic horror films.

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School couldn't be more different than the original Pretty Little Liars.

Higher quality horror shows are hard to come by, but Pretty Little Liars: Summer School is undoubtedly one of the better ones as it continuously builds upon its scare factor, suspense, and intriguing (and terrifying) villains. The Max slasher teen drama is a spinoff of the popular Freeform series and is set in the same universe (but one doesn't have to watch the original Pretty Little Liars to tune in to the spinoff). Whereas it contains the very basic foundations of its predecessor, like a mysterious antagonist named "A" stalking a group of teenage girls, it couldn't be more different.

The first season, subtitled Original Sin, promptly let viewers know that the newer series is bolder, more blood-curdling, and intentional than Pretty Little Liars. But the way it differs the most from the former show is in its horror and slasher roots. Pretty Little Liars was not nearly as scary as the Max spinoff is because, while the original was more rooted in teen drama, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin takes the best parts of slasher movies and uses them as inspiration to build a well-developed story. Thankfully, the show continues to do so in season 2, subtitled Summer School.

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Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Is A Great Slasher Horror Show

The Max Series Contains All The Elements Of Classic Horror Films

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Pretty Little Liars: Summer School continues the Max show's impressive ability to fully embrace the horror and slasher genres and execute extremely terrifying scenes that could be pulled straight out of a horror film (no one could forget when "A" chased Noa out of her apartment building in Original Sin). Plus, the villains are just as petrifying as the likes of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers. Season 1 set the bar with "A," whose creepy appearance could haunt many people's nightmares, and Summer School's villain "Bloody Rose" is somehow even more horrifying than the first antagonist.

Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Cast Character Bailee Madison Imogen Adams Chandler Kinney Tabby Haworthe Zaria Faran Bryant Malia Pyles Mouse Honrada Maia Reficco Noa Oliver Mallory Bechtel Kelly Beasley Sharon Leal Sidney Haworthe Alex Aiono Shawn Noble Jordan Gonzalez Ash Romero Elias Kacavas Greg Mantzoukas

The plot also gives the Pretty Little Liars: Summer School characters the chance to develop (unfortunately, by putting them through traumatic experiences, but that's what the horror genre is all about). As a result, the Max slasher teen drama features characters worth rooting for and nerve-racking sequences that viewers won't be able to get out of their heads. Ultimately, Pretty Little Liars: Summer School makes the audience feel as if they are watching a horror movie, but just in a television format, making it one of the best bone-chilling shows.

Related Pretty Little Liars: Summer School Soundtrack Guide - Every Song & When They Play The Max slasher teen drama television series Pretty Little Liars returns with season 2, subtitled Summer School, and a soundtrack of new songs.

How The Pretty Little Liars Spinoff Became A Horror Highlight In Recent Years

Max's Pretty Little Liars Takes Full Advantage Of Its Slasher Themes & Influences

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Since Max's Pretty Little Liars leans more heavily into horror compared to the original Pretty Little Liars, it has distinguished itself from its namesake and become one of the best horror shows as of late. The producers and writers were clearly inspired by popular slasher films like Scream, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th, which undoubtedly aids the series' quality. Pretty Little Liars: Summer School is also much more mature than its predecessor (because of its horror roots) as it thoroughly explores the main characters' trauma.

New episodes of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School air on Thursdays on Max.