Scream (2022) Review
“Something about this one feels different.”
Wes Craven paved the way for horror, not only once with the original Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), but once again with the metatextual horror-comedy Scream (1996). Though about a decade apart, the latter managed to capture the thrilling nature of slashers while subverting the genre itself with its characters, narratives, and themes all hinging on their own self-awareness.The result was a global phenomenon; spawning a franchise, numerous parodies, and inspiring the horror genre for years to come. Though the franchise has never quite reached the heights of the original, each entry still manages to justify its own existence while having a good laugh throughout – and Scream (2022) is no different. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not) have crafted a film that understands the charm of the original while revamping the context to a modern audience; arguably moreso than the last installment.
The base story remains the same; a new Ghostface hunts down a new cast of teenageers in Woodsboro. This time around, the cast feels a lot more memorable than that of Scream 4 (2011), with Jack Quaid (The Boys) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets) standing out to me personally. While the last installment focuses moreso on “reboot” rules – this one hammers down on “requels”; tying in new and legacy characters alike. That said, the film goes into some predictable territory, much like any other Scream film, and it still manages to feel grounded within the story world itself. With these “requel” rules too, it adds the highest sense of stakes within the franchise since Scream 2 (1997) . Off the bat, the film wants you to know that it’s evolved with the horror genre itself; with the opening girl citing that she doesn’t watch “shlocky horror” and prefers “elevated horror like Hereditary, The Witch, and The Babadook.” What starts as a goofy callout eventually ends up being the thematic basis for the killers this time around.
Scream (2022) is a callout of toxic fanboy culture and the negatives of being stuck in the past. However, for a franchise that thrives off indulging in its own history, the message somewhat ends up being convoluted in execution. This installment is no different than any other, and if I can commend one thing about this franchise, it has to be the consistency through all these years; props to the new directors for that alone. That said, for reprimanding this age of requels and even mentioning The Last Jedi, this installment feels fairly safe by the end. Though it’s a great time keeping up with the new cast and mystery this time around, along with one of the better reveals in the franchise, the core message gets lost somewhere in between. I love the metatextual callouts keeping up with this generation but I also personally would have enjoyed it more if Scream ended up being one of these requels that did subvert the audience’s expectations. And, in doing so, it would have actually been more akin to the original; one of the first horror movies to really change the way people think of genre completely.
If you’re a fan of this franchise, you’re going to enjoy seeing Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley all back together again. The film is very consistent with all the previous installments and though I wish it would have taken everything a step further – it’s still a very enjoyable film filled with laughs and kills alike. I don’t see this one in particular changing anyone’s minds on these films, and though it holds no candle to the original, I wouldn’t mind seeing this new cast come back again.
