Not sure if I’ll really have a whole lot to add here. When it comes to the Scream franchise, I was never the biggest fan, not necessarily to say that I actively disliked it, but I’ve been largely indifferent to the whole series, with all due respect to the late, great Wes Craven, of course. Now, given the shtick of the franchise, we finally have come to a legacy sequel with Scream (an annoying title that is amusingly explained within the film itself). Taking over Craven and the franchise’s other brainchild, Kevin Williamson, is the trio of filmmakers, Radio Silence, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett both serving as directors following 2019’s Ready Or Not and their third partner, Chad Villella, being executive producer. The screenplay comes courtesy of James Vanderbilt and Ready Or Not co-writer, Guy Busick.
The film follows Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), who returns to her hometown of Woodsboro after her estranged younger sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega) is attacked by the infamous Ghostface. Luckily, she survives, and is in the hospital, being looked after by her friends. Samantha, or “Sam” as she prefers, wants to make amends for leaving her younger sister behind after their father abandoned them, and this incident bringing them together might be her only way to do that. As a way to help find the killer, Sam enlists the help of Dewey Riley (David Arquette), who has had plenty of experience with the killer, and might offer some insight into the rules that could lead them to find out who the person behind the mask is this time around.
My general problem with the Scream franchise is that the “commentary” has always felt very pedestrian and surface level, not offering much insight into these supposed tropes and trends that you find in Hollywood horror franchises. More often than not, it’s just plain lampshading to cover up the kind of contrivances and conveniences that the characters will often criticize. Not the worst offense by any means, but it does puzzle me sometimes how this still managed to hit so big. Maybe it allowed people to feel way smarter about something than they actually are? That’s certainly the impression I got from some superfans who seemed to base their whole personality on Randy Meeks.
That aside, the focus this time around is on the legacy sequel, the part-sequel-part-reboot that builds up new characters while utilizing familiar environments and connecting to characters we love. As such, the inclusion of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) feels so disconnected to everything else up until the final act that they might as well have not even been here, but that would go against the whole gag the film is commenting on. Still feels like an afterthought. Where the film does get somewhat clever is in the way it explores toxic fandom, but even that thematic thread is seriously lacking in bite. One thing you often see in these rebootquels is the inclusion of a more diverse cast, something this film does, but is never mentioned as one of the things you commonly see. Maybe the filmmakers didn’t want their audience to feel uncomfortable? Afraid it might hit a nerve for the toxic fans? I would have hoped the film had the balls to go there, but it plays things mostly safe and very predictable.
What helps make Scream a perfectly decent watch is the commitment from its cast, especially in the younger ones. They’re largely giving earnest performances that are very much in tune with a lot of the more memorable characters we’ve gotten in this series, and of the returning players, David Arquette brings a lot of pathos that feels earned even if it relies on development that is left off-screen in between movies. And of course, the directors here know their way around crafting a tense and brutal sequence, the kills are bloody and often swerving between playful and menacing. If this series is your thing, I think this fits rather well in line with what the franchise has offered, and there’s definitely a lot to like here, even if I wish it didn’t pull its punches in regards to its look at fandom. Like I said, not my thing, but it’s fine, I didn’t have a bad time with this at all. There’s some fun sequences, good kills, and plenty of solid performances. Of the three big meta, self-reflective films to come out recently, this, The Matrix Resurrections, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, this is not my favorite, but for fans of the material, it will provide exactly what it needs to.
Scream is now out in theaters.