Streaming Service: Paramount +
Movie Name/Year: Scream (2022)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length: 1h 54min
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: B&H Film
Distribution, Constantin-Film, Forum Hungary, Lantern Entertainment, NOS
Audiovisuais, Odeon, Outerbanks Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount
Pictures, Paramount Pictures Australia, Paramount Pictures Germany, Paramount
Pictures International, Paramount Pictures UK, Project X Entertainment, Radio
Silence Productions, Spyglass Media Group, United International Pictures (UIP),
Universal Pictures International, Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Writer: James Vanderbilt, Guy Busick, Kevin Williamson
Actors: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa
Barrera, Jack Quaid, Mikey Madison, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy
Brown, Mason Gooding, Sonia Ammar, Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich
Blurb from IMDb: 25 years after a streak of
brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, Calif., a new killer dons
the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect
secrets from the town's deadly past.
Selina’s Point of View:
Scream was much more in the vein of the
original film than any of the other sequels were.
The sequels
always took that meta-ness and tried to turn it into something it wasn’t. As a
result, they never quite captured that first feeling. Instead, the majority of them
wound up feeling kind of pointless. In
Scream, however, we find the tropes
being made fun of are more up to date and manage to be a bit subverted.
Through use of
music and our own expectations, the film really plays with suspense. It never
tries to lure us into a false sense of security, though. I’m guessing that’s because
the creative team knows better. They know exactly who we’re going to expect and
turn that around on us.
When I found out
the
Scream “requel” would be directed by Tyler Gillet (
V/H/S, Devil’s
Due, Southbound) and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (
V/H/S, Devil’s Due,
Southbound), I had high hopes. Their work on
Ready or Not more than
impressed me and I was absolutely ready for their next project. I’m glad to say
they lived up to my expectations.
I enjoyed
Scream
in all its corny, remade, sequel-y, goodness. I think it’s going to be a hard
movie for any further from the series to follow.
Scream
6 comes out in
2023, supposedly. That I’m a little nervous about.
Cat’s Point of View:
With this 4th
sequel to the original
Scream, I was initially leery – for more than
just the fact that they recycled the original movie title without the number to
indicate it’s the 5th movie. Then, after doing some digging, I learned that the
core cast of the original would be involved and the writing and directing were
in capable hands, I began to have more hope.
The new
Scream
delivered. The story leaned into all the best aspects that have made this
franchise a game-changer for horror. Its self-awareness and self-deprecation in
the humor and story were huge selling points. I mean, seriously, this series of
films has invented a fictional franchise of Stab movies to echo the happenings.
Where else could you find something crazy like that?
Another aspect
that I really enjoyed in this new installment was the fact that they embraced
modern technology. From the alarm system app to clips of YouTube streamers
reviewing the Stab movies – Scream was keeping up with the times. Usually,
productions conveniently write out the tech in some way. There’s so much more
that this
Scream incorporates into the landscape of this film, but I
don’t want to spoil all the details for you.
I think directors
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, as well as writers James Vanderbilt
(White House Down, Independence Day: Resurgence, Murder Mystery) and Guy Busick
(Stan Against Evil, Ready or Not, Castle Rock), really did an excellent job
here of creating an intelligent movie that was both a love letter to the horror
genre and to the franchise’s creator, the late great Wes Craven (1939–2015). In
addition to the dedication at the end of
Scream, there were also
character names and locations that gave callbacks to his work. (There were so
many other little horror-trivia-related Easter Eggs everywhere. It was unreal.)
If you love this
series, the good news is that there is a
Scream 6 currently in the
works. Unfortunately, I now have mixed feelings about the next movie,
considering Neve Campbell (
House of Cards, Skyscraper, The Lincoln Lawyer)
went on record with Deadline earlier in June to state she turned down the offer
to reprise her role again.
It was great,
however, to see Campbell, Courteney Cox (
Cougar Town, Mothers and Daughters,
Shining Vale), and David Arquette (
Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets,
Ghosts of the Ozarks, Quantum Cowboys) sharing the screen again and getting
into the mix. There was speculation that the new friend-group cast, coupled
with the returning cast, presented a torch-passing moment for the franchise. I
think that might plausibly work, even with Campbell’s exit after this 5th
installment. I remain hopeful.
On-screen sisters
Jenna Ortega (
Yes Day, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, American Carnage)
and Melissa Barrera (
Vida, In the Heights, All the World is Sleeping)
gave commanding performances and their friend-group was cast so well that I got
an eerie deja vu calling back to the first
Scream. (This was likely
quite purposeful.)
If you love the
Scream
movies, then definitely watch this new one as soon as you can. This was my
second watch-through, having seen it as soon as it hit digital rentals a few
months ago. I would gladly watch it again.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 76%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 81%
Metascore – 60%
Metacritic User Score – 7.0
IMDB Score – 6.4/10
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5
Movie Trailer:
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