What is not to love about the Scream franchise is something I have been trying to wrap my head around for quite some time now. I’ve had quite the unusual journey towards fandom as unlike many, the very first movie that I watched in the franchise was Scream 4 which released in 2011. Ever since I have been an avid fan of the franchise and have re watched the first three installments. I appreciate their take on horror and comedy, as well as, their self reflection and humor in filmography. Even as a borderline horror movie, it manages to be very entertaining and comedic, even though I personally believe the third one did not come close to the first two. The first four films were directed by the late horror great Wes Craven. After his passing in 2015, I thought the chances of another Scream film being made would only grow slimmer, but 11 years after the fourth installment, here we are.
When I first learned about this film, one of my greatest dilemmas was that Wes Craven is gone and it was not written by Kevin Williamson, who wrote the first two films and Scream 4. Scream 3 is my least favorite movie in the franchise, and I believe it is largely due to Williamson’s absence because he is a truly great writer, and remarkably skilled at writing good dialogues. With neither Craven nor Williamson taking on the roles, my concern was that the film would feel different. Unfortunately, I was correct in my intuition, as Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not) do not have the talent needed to bring back the magic that Craven and Williamson had. That said, the outcome still proves to be a surprisingly good quality slasher film.
The 2022 Ghost-Face Scream reveals a new killer taking over Woodsboro and targets friends of Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega, You on Netflix) and her sister Sam (Melissa Barrera, In the Heights). Sam feels her family and friends are constantly being attacked because she knows a dark secret that Tara doesn’t. The news of the new killing spree and new Ghost Face begins to travel and Freddy Sees the return of franchise regulars Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) all come back to assist the group and try to put a stop to those murders once again. Campbell and Cox never fail to deliver great performances, however, David Arquette steals the spotlight here, as he puts forth the greatest effort in his acting career in this specific film in the series. The newcomers did not perform to expectations beyond Ortega and Barrera, who played the Carpenter sisters. Most of the friend circle of Tara Carpenter, especially, are really very basic and unmemorable modern clichés of teens that are quite bland and too stereotypical.
Scream highlights some of the most remarkable murders of the saga and works phenomenally as a simple horror film. The assaults are horrendous and there is some real, relentless tension created for every scene. The film maintains an even level of anxiety, through and through. What is even better about the film is the fact that most of the characters actually make rational, wise choices, which is very nice to observe in a horror movie. Looking at that perspective, the film does well as a slasher flick. Unfortunately, the film fails as a Scream sequel, or “requel,” like how the film claims to be. Ghostface does not have enough screen time and he is given terrible lines. The phone-call moments lack excitement because the killer’s words of mockery are not as sharp as some of the other films. There is no balance between comedy and horror, too, because the film is very serious and completely devoid of the trademark silliness of the previous films. What is more, the great revelation and the closing of the story, which is characteristically the best part of every Scream movie, is rather mundane here.
Throughout the film Scream, there are certain moments that suggest it is part of the franchise, especially those segments during which the characters speak about horror movie cliches, rules, and even the classic horror movies themselves. It’s nice to see portrayals of modern horror films and how some of the rules evolve over the years, but just like the other scenes, these moments feel shoehorned into the movie as if the creators started remembering they were making a film in the Scream franchise and had to incorporate those bits in. The new film seems to provide certain differences from the other films that feel welcoming, unlike the others. In any case, Scream is not as entertaining as the rest of the franchise and I feel that it steers off the track a little too much. Even so, it serves as a decent slasher film with great work by the main actors and good horror scenes, which earns it my quasi-positive reviews. For my part, I do think that some hardcore fans of the previous films will be leaving a tad disappointed and mixed about the new movie, similar to me.
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