Movie Review: Scream (2022) 

Scream

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

R

1h 54m

CONTAINS SPOILERS - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

The fifth installment in the Scream franchise hit theaters last week on January 14th. It is the first movie in the series not directed by Wes Craven, who passed away in 2015. The film is simply titled Scream like the first one, instead of having a number five at the end.

This movie was highly anticipated by fans, with many beloved characters coming back eleven years after Scream 4. Neve Campbell reprises her role as Sidney Prescott, David Arquette returns as Sheriff Dewey Riley, and Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers. 

There was a lot of potential for Scream to be a fantastic addition to the series, but personally I think it missed the mark.

Scream, just like the original movie, begins with a phone call. Tara (Jenna Ortega) takes the call while she is home alone, and the infamous Ghostface forces her to answer questions about horror movies. The masked murderer threatens to kill Tara’s best friend if she answers incorrectly.

Ghostface viciously attacks Tara and she suffers multiple stab wounds. It looks like the last viewers will see of the teen, but Tara somehow survives after being left for dead. Her estranged sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) drops everything and rushes to the hospital in Woodsboro with boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid).

Tara’s tight-knit group of friends is also by her side at the hospital. One of them includes Wes (Dylan Minnette) who is the son of Deputy Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) from Scream 4. Twins Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) also join the cast as new additions. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) who died in Scream 2 was the twins’ uncle.

When Tara’s friends begin to get killed off one by one, Sam implores Dewey’s help to protect them. The former sheriff is reluctant to return to his old life, but eventually gives in. Although Dewey warns Gale and Sidney of the danger in Woodsboro, they just can’t stay away. The three original cast members team up once again to take down another version of Ghostface.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

The new Scream movie was a solid addition to the franchise until the ending. There was no shocking plot twist in regards to the reveal of Ghostface. The biggest surprise was revealing Sam to be the daughter of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), who was Ghostface in the original movie. Unfortunately, that information came too early on for it to contribute to a shocking end.

From the very beginning it was painfully obvious that Sam’s boyfriend would turn out to be one of the killers. Richie played the role of the overly concerned boyfriend by supporting Sam and Tara through their nightmare situation. He was even knocked unconscious instead of stabbed when Ghostface made an appearance at the hospital. I mean, come on.

Tara’s “best friend” Amber (Mikey Madison) was revealed as the other killer. This was teased a few times throughout the movie, so it wasn’t a complete shock. It turned out that the house she grew up in had previously belonged to Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) who was originally Ghostface alongside Billy Loomis. The fact that this sparked a desire in Amber to become Ghostface and kill her friends was hardly believable.

I hate to say it, but the ending was sort of a letdown. It seemed as if the directors chose two characters at random to be the killers. The motive Richie and Amber gave for the murder spree was their mutual hatred for ‘Stab 8’, one of the fictional horror films based on Sidney Prescott’s life. Upon being let down by the movie, Richie and Amber literally attempted to rewrite it.

After rewatching the four previous films in anticipation, I walked away feeling slightly disappointed. I was beyond excited to go see the new movie, but the feeling didn’t last. Scream may not have lived up to my expectations; however, there was still plenty of action, jump scares, and of course blood to satisfy horror fanatics.

Go see Scream in theaters soon to form your own opinion about the movie and try not to, well… scream.