About the film (courtesy of Paramount Pictures):
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.
Let’s get this out of the way since I’ve been stewing on this controversial (at least to me) creative decision for a few months since I learned of the news. The popular slasher franchise made its theatrical debut in 1996 while spawning three sequels over a span of 15 years. Wes Craven, the late horror film icon, directed the first four entries and the titles were pretty straightforward; Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011). Well Scream 5 is NOT the official name for the latest story to be shared, but rather simply, Scream. Kevin Williamson, creator and writer of the franchise, shares his thoughts on why he chose this direction with Us Weekly. Still not a fan, but let’s talk about the movie.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the duo most recently behind the entertaining and extremely violent horror comedy Ready or Not (2019), bring their unique style and passion to Scream. Coupled with a solid legacy cast of David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell and to some extent, Marley Shelton, all reprising their roles from previous films with newcomers such as Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Sonia Ammar and Mikey Madison to help balance the old with the new, there’s a lot of moving parts to keep audiences on their heels.
Scream follows a very familiar blueprint as this story progresses, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes certain approaches just work no matter how predictable or familiar they may seem. As long as it’s done in an entertaining manner, why hate on the process? There’s only so many ways to prepare a hamburger, but if it’s tasty, that’s all that matters. The best fast food restaurants make billions of dollars using this philosophy to appease consumers, why should the film industry be any different?
With a runtime of just under two hours, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have the luxury of allowing Scream to establish itself while intricately setting the table for the main course. Weaving in familiar faces with already-known backstories helps with the pacing as new layers, discoveries, twists and reveals are mixed in. It’s great meeting the more mature and experienced Dewey, Gale and Sidney while also wondering who’s hiding some secrets. Better yet, who’s under the Ghostface mask this time around and in what creative ways will plotlines interconnect.
Only our second week into 2022, and Paramount Pictures is already providing audiences with a reason to get back into the theaters. Scream is a great option because it works best in a shared experience setting. It may be winter outside, but the vibe in a dark theater will be that of summer slashing fun (even though the plot doesn’t take place in the summertime…but you know what I mean). If you’re a fan of the horror genre, this selection should bring you a little joy. If you aren’t, why not? You’re missing out of some fun.
Scream is in theaters only Friday, January 14 with early showings Thursday evening. Go have some fun, fright and nervous laughs.
