Since 2011 sinister Ghostface has been lurking in the shadows. His grand return comes in Scream (2022), a movie Wes Craven would be proud of.
Since 2011 fans of SCREAM thought that might be it for their beloved franchise but lurking in the shadows the Sinister Ghostface has been waiting — and now in 2022 we have his grand return. Scream (2022) truly is the best Scream movie since the original and a movie that Wes Craven would have been proud of.
Scream is arguably one of the biggest and most iconic horror franchises to ever debut into the movie sphere. There has always been this special cloud over it all – making it feel untouchable to remakes, reboots, and anything in that nature. Especially when you compare this to Halloween, Friday the 13th, and even Nightmare on Elm street.
These other three iconic horror properties have all gone through tons of sequels, tons of reboots, and one of them in particular also starting their own legacy trilogy. Scream (2022) debuts to show off how to perfect the legacy sequel and as well show off why it is one of the best horror franchises ever developed.
A little bit of context for me, I’m new to this franchise, as I never grew up with Ghostface and his many killers behind the mask. My journey began last Halloween, where my girlfriend sat me down to watch the original SCREAM for the very first time and in that fateful night I came to love this franchise. Then shortly after we binged the entire franchise and besides one installment I pretty much LIKED to LOVED each one.
A big reason for my love of the scream franchise is the way it dissects the horror genre and commentates on itself in a clever but meta way. Each Scream commentates on something in that period of time that it came out in and I loved that. Because for me I love more elevated horror such as It Follows, The Babadook, Midsommar, and etc… Slashers have sadly never been my bread and butter, but thankfully I can say now how much I love this franchise even if I was late to the party.
With this new context my excitement for Scream (2022) became more and more eager to see this film after having a marathon but also knowing the duo behind Ready or Not were taking the helm on this one. Ready or Not was a fantastic horror film that went very under the radar I feel for so many and thankfully because of them we are able to have the second best Scream movie ever created.
With every review I love to start with my PROS and one of the biggest things I WANT to give this film is the cast. Of course it is fantastic to see three of the most iconic characters reprise their roles. It’s filled with memories, nostalgia, and just in general good fun. Neve Campbell sinks back into the role of Sidney Prescott so easily, Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers is always great and of course David Arquette as the loveable Dewey is just as great as always.
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All three are given enough screen time to justify their reason for being there, while at the same time not detouring from the brilliant new cast. This is where Legacy Sequels fail at times is not giving enough time to the new cast for us to dive in and love. So many times we get a new cast and when we eventually get a sequel with them we don’t love or care for them as we should, since we spent a majority of our time with the original cast in their films.
Speaking of the new cast, Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega are HUGE Standouts. I have already fallen in love with both of them as performers, but in this movie it’s next level. Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Jasim Brown, and Mikey Madison are also very great and add new layers to this franchise that dives in and dissects what this sequel is all about.
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Just as in the other films, each one has something to say — and this might be one of the strongest meta commentaries yet. Scream (2022) tackles toxic fandom and what horror is today, mentioning the likes of how fan bases can be with their beloved franchises or even how slasher horror films aren’t the big thing anymore.
Scream (2022) does this all and more. I wish I could talk more about the references inside this film but those are spoilers and you need to see it for yourself.
BUT of course, Scream movies might have the characters you can route for and a meta commentary. There are two other elements that make for a pleasurable experience inside this franchise. Those two elements are the mystery at hand and as well the kills.
This new Scream film easily has three of the BEST kills ever witnessed in this franchise. They’re gnarly and brutal – just enough to get under your skin with the great tension building from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. This tension building that Olpin and Gillett do with the kills also resembles the who dunit murder mystery at hand. Most Scream movies besides the first were easy for me to guess who the killer was but I can thankfully say that Scream (2022) keeps that mystery running till seconds before the reveal — and what a reveal it is!
While I find this movie to be a perfect legacy sequel I do still think I have one nitpick that holds this one back from being the greatest SCREAM film of all time. That one little nitpick I have is sometimes there are too many plot conveniences or unrealistic elements that ghostface is able to do. I understand that every Scream movie has these, but this one might have been one too many. Again I can’t give many examples due to spoilers.
Other than that Scream (2022) is the real deal. It’s a must see movie to see this weekend and easily the second best Scream movie right behind the original. Wes would be so proud of what his franchise has been able to create and I think this only continues to solidify why Scream is one of the best Horror Franchises of all time. This film slices open the horror genre once again to reveal the fantastic meta commentary, some of the greatest kills ever, and even some of the best performances. If you LOVE Scream you are going to LOVE this.
Grade: A
About Scream (2022)
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, Cali A new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.
Scream (2022) hits theaters on January 14, 2022.
