8. "Why would the irony laced angle hurt it?" In response to In response to 7
That will widen it's appeal. "Scream" is the one of the biggest horror films/franchises of all-time and it seems to be a more snarky/less meta version of that.
As you said, it's Species meets Mean Girls and the Mean Girl angle is going to make it a lot more appealing, especially to women.