Scream (2022) Review

Prelude.

From the 1970’s through the late 1990’s, the horror genre was really making its mark in Hollywood. Through those times came classics such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween, two classics that set the stage for what would become slasher films. But jump forward to 1996, a niche unheard director by the name of Wes Craven dipped his toes into the slasher flick genre with Scream (1996), which gave the genre a breath of fresh air by introducing a silly, yet iconic antagonist that will become known as Ghost Face. The film was a hit! So of course there was the bright idea of making a Scream 2 (1997).. Then a third one (Scream 3 (2000)).. And then a fourth (Scream 4 (2011)). Sadly, With a bombshell audience score, the latest entry in the franchise would prove to be the death of it. 

There wasn’t a new movie…

Until now! Wes Craven wasn’t around to direct the new movie, may he rest in peace, but two directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, and Tyler Gillett took hold of the reins for this one. And right off the bat it was clear what the directors had envisioned, and just how much Craven’s style had influenced the film’s direction. 

If it ain’t broken..

Scream (2022) was strongly faithful to its predecessors, the opening scene is nearly a shot for shot remake of the original ‘spooky phone call; do you like scary movies’ gimmick. It even likes to poke fun at the original for it, which is something you’ll have to get used to throughout the movie because Stab will be mentioned constantly. Stab being a film in the fictional universe of Scream that is based on the events of Scream, makes sense, right? In addition to recreating the opening scene, it maintains that level of goofiness Scream is known for throughout the whole runtime, as there are moments of Ghost Face slipping, falling, and getting hit by an IV stand sprinkled in to let the audience know that at the end of the day, Ghost Face is an amateur serial killer who just wants a little notoriety, and nothing else.

Holy Crap it’s Sidney Prescott.

Of course it can’t be a long awaited sequel/reboot without bringing back the original cast members from 1996, and it’s great to say that they reprised their roles beautifully, being as charming and likable as they were since the beginning.  But with that said, they weren’t given so much screen time as to overshadow the main cast, it’s the other way around; they had a good share of screen time, and their role wasn’t as critical as some would believe, which is the right call if there’s a brand new set of characters in your movie, and you want people to care about them.

You Watch Horror Movies for the Plot?

This new entry in the franchise holds a pretty solid plot, although it is without a doubt thanks to the fact that this plot took off with the help of the originals. 25 years have passed since the events of Scream 4 (2011), and our protagonist is the daughter of the most miraculous, and important character in the franchise, who is responsible for everything that has ever happened up to this point. I would say that’s a good direction: it gives the long-time fans a reason to care for this character and see how she develops, considering the knowledge of her past. On the other hand, that might not have worked so well since there are the others who aren’t aware of the previous events, and she seems like a vanilla protagonist who only reminisces on the past

Final Take.

Scream has always been more of a murder mystery ‘whodunnit’ film than an actual horror film, although there are horror elements. It’s got a phenomenal cast of characters that don’t take themselves too seriously, a returning villain who doesn’t take himself too seriously either, and a plot that satisfies new fans and old fans alike. 

Honestly it feels like the movie kind of flew under the radar, it wasn’t as explosive of a sequel as say for example Halloween (2018), which had a box office of $256.6 million, while Scream had a box office of $128 million. Still impressive, but not up to par to the competitors. So give the rerisen franchise some love, will ya? Oh but you make sure you see Scream 1 first, just so you don’t get confused the first time around.