Scream (2022)
“Never fuck with the daughter of a serial killer.” – Sam.
Scream (2022)
Directed by: Matt Bettinell-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Written by: James Vanderbilt (screenplay), Guy Busick (screenplay), Kevin Williamson (characters created by)
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa Barrera, Jenny Ortega
Scream (or Scream 5, as it SHOULD be called), is the biggest surprise of 2022 so far. [For the record, I know it’s only been 16 days but hey, you’ve gotta start somewhere]. A cash-grabbing reboot (or ‘requel’, as they keep reminding the audience to call it within the film) of a franchise that seemingly died in 2011 has no right being this good. Especially when the show seemed permanently banished to TV, doomed to become vaguely self-referential slasher IP that carried the name (but little else) from the franchise. But here we are, and I’m happy to report that Scream 5 is the second best Scream movie.
I have a LOT of love for the original Scream. It plays with genre in such a fun way, with characters referencing other famous horror movies and the ‘horror rules’ characters must abide by, and genuinely helped redefine the slasher genre. By bringing back the three legacy characters, Sidney Prescott (Campbell), Gale Weathers (Cox), and Dewey Riley (Arquette), this movie attempts to bridge the gap between the old and the new, introducing a new cast of misfit kids who have to survive their own Ghostface Killer.
Much like Star Wars: The Force Awakens follows the same blueprint as Empire Strikes Back, the writers returned to the franchises roots here by essentially replicating the plot of the first film. There is a killer in Woodsboro murdering people connected to sisters Tara (Ortega) and Sam (Barrera), and the group have to work out which of their friends is really an enemy before it’s too late.
This copy-and-paste approach to scriptwriting might get some flak for ‘lacking originality’, but I loved it, mainly because the film so obviously knew what it was trying to be. Sure, there were some silly scenes. Sure, you might be able to guess who did it. And sure, the characters were able to survive dozens of mortal wounds and crippling blood loss without flinching. But the writers didn’t try and overcomplicate it, and instead focused on making this what makes this franchise special - a self-referential meta-slasher who-dunnit.
And when I say meta-slasher, I mean M-E-T-A. There are soooo many references to other horror films in this, and the rules characters have to follow to survive, and how sequels often differ from the original. So. Many. Conversations. To the point that…yes…they should have cut some of these to streamline the story and picked up the pace. But if that’s my biggest complaint with the film it’s still pretty damn good. And I’ll tell you who else is damn good – Jenny Ortega! The little sister from Netflix’s You is making quite the name for herself in horror, and is set to star in the upcoming Foo Fighters horror comedy Studio 666 and another horror called X. And it’s not hard to see why, she is bloody fantastic here.
In summary, it’s probably smart to watch the original Scream before watching this, but if you enjoy something smarter than your average slasher, Scream/Scream 5 fits the bill. Recommend.
Rating: 7.5/10