The king of slashers and self-referential material is back. But as "The Metrix Resurrections" have shown, not all franchises that are trying to make a comeback can be successful. Luckily, the 2022 rendition of "Scream" balances the old and the new pretty well. It was able to provide that same crazy feeling from watching the original 1996 "Scream" while setting up for a possible new era for the franchise. Call this a "requel" or whatever but we are all in.
Twenty-five y ears 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 seemingly targeting those who have a connection to the town’s deadly past. Soon, Dewey Riley (David Arquette), the town's former sheriff decides to help the kids investigate and find out who Ghostface is. In fact, he thinks Ghostface is probably one of them. But as the kills start to ramp up, there's no stopping the past from coming back to Woodsoro as Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) converge with Dewey and the teenagers to stop Ghostface one more time.
Out of all the classic film franchises being remade, rebooted, or having sequels, "Scream" 2022 easily takes the top spot. As expected, viewers shouldn't expect it to outshine the original but what it does well was it was able to capture the same magic, same thrill, and same vibe to the 1996 film. As one of the characters in the film mentions, films of this ilk have failed because either they try to force the old characters to be so relevant in the film or completely put them off the film. "Scream" was able to balance this so well as old and new characters turn out to be equally interesting. But admittedly, some may feel that the film overdoes its nostalgia at times especially with its meta and self-referential material. It was fun the first time, funny the second, but became a little bit tired by the nth time we hear about one.
One of the most satisfying aspects for the new film was its kills. Deaths will come endlessly and quickly and unexpectedly and part of the fun was never really guessing who would be next. The guessing game of who Ghostface is was also fun like the original films but it became a bit predictable by the end of the film. And while the kills are gruesome, the lack of horror and scare might turn off some. While the all new "Scream" may not be perfect as a film, it was the perfect showpiece for a legendary franchise.
Rating: 4 reels
Why you should watch it:
- brutal and gory and unrelenting violence
- captures the magic and feel of the original film
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- it's thrilling but not scary
- some may find the self referential bits used a little too execssively
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