What’s It About

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

To put it simply, there was no way I thought Scream (2022) would actually be this awesome. After Wes Craven (the creator of the franchise) died in 2015, I think a lot of horror fans just kind of accepted the fact that the Scream franchise died with him. However, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett came into that legacy and picked it up off the floor (dusting it off before putting it into our hands), but way sharper than before. That takes guts, that takes talent, and for the most part, these guys pulled it off. The film starts out identical to how the original Scream began back in 1996, with a young female all alone at home when she gets a phone call, and we know who it is on the other end already (dude, it’s Ghostface). Right off, the directors made their statement; they are not running from the original film, they are actually running to it. That choice sets the complete tone for everything that follows. The film centers around Sam Carpenter (played by Melissa Barrera), who comes back to Woodsboro (the fictional town of Scream) after her younger sister Tara (played by Jenna Ortega) just had a horrific encounter with Ghostface. After this (like in all Scream films), there’s a tight group of friends who begin to question who is wearing the mask. But this film adds something the others did not fully explore: the danger of obsessive fan culture. When a fandom stops being about love and turns into something that punishes anyone who thinks differently, it becomes a form of cruelty. Scream (2022) says that out loud and does not apologize for it. That commentary is the most interesting thing this film brings to the conversation. In an era where people attack actors, directors, and each other online over movies, watching a Scream film hold up a mirror to that behavior is both uncomfortable and necessary. One of the characters actually comes out and says, “How can fandoms possibly be toxic? It’s all about love.” That line sounds like both a punch line and a warning. If you’re someone who has seen how online communities can tear themselves apart over one casting decision or one plot point, this film will hit home for you. I absolutely love how the new cast totally kills it in this movie. They’re so energetic and clear! You can tell Ortega’s designed to play Tara because of her passion; the way she acts in her very first scene separates her from every other woman in the SCREAM franchise who’ve died in the first scene. She’s not just a victim, she’s dangerous, even when backed into a corner. Jasmin Savoy Brown has a way of making me feel good whenever I see her. She makes comments about horror movies that come across as supernatural. I feel like when she talks, it’s like she lights up the whole place. And when Jack Quaid and Richie show up together, it’s cool because Jack’s viewpoint helps me to better see the main idea. Just look at how he reacts to Stab, it’s completely how we would think of it! On the downside, Barrera sometimes gets lost since Sam’s such a central theme. The dialogue Sam gets is very surface-level and doesn’t hit home hard enough. She’s given such an emotional burden, yet not a lot of emotional support to carry the weight. Besides Barrera having an internal struggle with a familial dark history in relation to the person behind the original murders, nothing in the script elaborates on it. Therefore, her character ends up being pretty much in the middle of both extremes, and that’s not where a SCREAM lead can afford to be! The three principal characters that have been present since the beginning of the Scream franchise, Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, and David Arquette as Dewey Riley, have returned and bring something sonically evocative. Arquette, in particular, brings an almost surprising humanity to the character of Dewey. In this film, Dewey has lost much of what made him feel young and hopeful. After five films, he’s been put through a lot, and watching how he copes with his current situation is one of the movie’s complete emotional successes. When Sidney and Gale finally appear in the theater, the audience reacts the same way they have in the past-unadulterated excitement and appreciation. These three actors know exactly what they are doing, and the film is wise enough to use them purposefully rather than just as decoration. Technically, Scream (2022) is confident work. Brett Jutkiewicz’s camera positions the viewer inside the tension rather than simply watching it.  The angles draw together when appropriate and then retract at just the right time, giving the audience a mesmerizing rhythm to follow along with as the scenes unfold. Bryan Tyler’s score complements that rhythm and does not overwhelm it. The cuts provide precise movement, with quick cuts when a scene has to be fast-paced and long cuts when a scene requires that the tension has settled into the room. The kills have an immense effect on the film’s rating within the horror genre and have both brutal violence that serves a defined purpose rather than being overly violent. Each kill has a different meaning for the victim. Achieving that level of storyline development in a slasher series is not an easy feat, yet this slasher film accomplishes it quite well. The first half of the film consists of very few body count kills; however, the last act of the film features a significant number of body count kills, which helps generate a real sense of escalation. Where the film earns the most respect is in how it discusses the horror genre from inside a horror film. When characters reference Hereditary, The Witch, Halloween, and even Hitchcock, it does not feel like a list of name-drops. It feels like a conversation between people who actually care about cinema. This movie carries on the spirit of Wes Craven (the man behind and director of many great horror films), who loved his genre enough to explore it honestly, but Scream5 is not an exemplary film. There are times in the movie where you can see who the killer is sooner than the writer/director intends to let you see them. Some of the characters in the movie get to the end of the movie before their time, which makes it difficult for the audience to become invested in them. Even though the Ghostface outfit is instantly recognizable, there are some scenes where it looks a bit off, which may distract from the scary parts of the movie, but that’s a minor issue at best. However, Michael and Tyler, the directors, should be credited with bringing to life one of the most difficult horror franchises (Wes Craven was its original creator) with a big box office audience that has very high expectations from a film that’s been out for 30+ years. They created a film that is clever, gory, self-aware, and genuinely fun to watch. They respected Wes Craven and had an understanding of what made his films good (i.e., it wasn’t just about the killing, but the questions behind the killing).  Scream’s back! And it knows exactly what it is doing.

OUR RATING – A STAB-WORTHY 8.5

MEDIA

• Genre – Horror
• Street date
• Digital – March 1, 2022
• DVD/Blu-Ray/4K –  April 5, 2022
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size – 2.39:1
• Sound – English: Dolby Atmos
• Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras

• Audio Commentary – Both directors and writers, along with one of the executive producers, come in for an audio commentary track. Everyone on this audio track made the excellent film Ready Or Not, making this a lively, energetic, and fun track to listen to. They discuss some information and anecdotes from the set and some of the creative decisions.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 3 Mins.) – A trio of extended and deleted scenes, none of which add to the overall story arc. Each scene though features David Arquette.
• New Blood (HD, 8 Mins.) – The cast and crew talk about the original Scream movie and coming back for this new reboot. With interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and clips from the film, this feels like an EPK type of extra, but it’s fun nonetheless.
• Bloodlines (HD, 9 Mins.) – More of the same from above, but features the cast and crew talking about each Scream film and how they brought elements of each movie to this new one.
• In The Shadow of The Master (HD, 8 Mins. ) – Another set of interviews with the cast and crew that focuses on working with the late, great Wes Craven with clips of onset footage from the original films.
• Scream 1996 Trailer (HD, 2 Mins.) – The trailer for the original film from 1996 in HD along with its 4K release.