‘SNL’ Parodies ‘Scream’ With Pete Davidson’s Chad

Saturday Night Live included a laidback parody of Scream this week in a digital short featuring Pete Davidson and John Mulaney.

Davidson and Mulaney offered their take on the classic meta-narrative horror movie in a skit titled “The Unknown Caller.” It featured Davidson as the would-be victim, his clueless recurring character named Chad. He sat watching TV with no pants on as Mulaney’s sinister masked character watched through hidden cameras and called on the phone.

The trouble was, Mulaney’s character had a hard time drawing Chad into his “game.” The zoned-out protagonist did not notice his dead girlfriend’s severed head in the back yard or the pizza delivery man with the slashed belly. Everything went miraculously right for him, leading Mulaney’s character to deliver his desperate monologue.

“We grew up together. You called me every name in the book, except my own: Ferguson Tuddle,” he said, removing his mask to reveal a greasy bowl cut.

However, Tuddle’s revenge plot did not go far, as he slipped on a slice of pizza and found himself dead instead.

Davidson has played Chad several times over the last two years. The unflappable character always finds himself in outlandish situations, yet does not bat an eyelash at them. In April 2016, Davidson appeared as Chad in a digital short with Julia Louis-Dreyfus titled “Pool Boy.” In it, Louis-Dreyfus’ married character tried to dramatically end her affair with Chad, while the pool boy did not seem concerned.

In another short titled “Doctor’s Orders,” Chad was irresistible to Jessica Chastain, the doctor who had fallen in love with him while treating him for a deadly illness. In another, he had won the heart of a professor (Benedict Cumberbatch) who was teaching him philosophy. Chad even turned up in a live skit where he was the hottest ticket at a charity bachelor auction.

The character has become a staple on SNL and one of Davidson’s best-known bits. Fans were ecstatic to see Chad back on the show this week, and all of his previous videos got a bump online as well.

This week’s episode was a high point for SNL in what has become a controversial season. The show featured former writer Mulaney as its host, and former cast member Bill Hader dropped by for a few appearances as well. The laughs will continue next week with host Idris Elba and musical guest Khalid.

Saturday Night Live airs every week at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.