Given how much the series pulls from whatever horror trends are the most popular during its release, it's no surprise that the best “Scream” sequels tend to come out when the most time has passed in between releases. Case in point, while not as fantastic as the original or as shocking and precise as “Scream 4,” this latest entry, simply titled “Scream (2022),” is a worthy addition to the series, still providing plenty of fun and plenty of blood.
This newest entry instead chooses to follow Sam Carpenter, played by Melissa Barrera (“Vida,” “In The Heights”), as she deals with a new Ghostface killer hunting down her and her friends after her younger sister Tara, played by Jenny Ortega (“The Fallout,” “You”), was attacked. Eventually, she ends up enlisting in the help of Ghostface survivors and “Scream” series veterans Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell (“Scream (1997),” “Party of Five”), Gale Weathers, played by Courteney Cox (“Friends,” “Cougar Town”), and Dewey Riley, played by David Arquette (“Never Been Kissed,” “Eight Legged Freaks”).
In terms of balancing both likability and kill-ability, this new cast walks that tightrope line effortlessly. It’s not so brutal as to feel ruthless or heartless, but also not so blase as to remove any threat from the violence. It also has its fair share of new fan favorites, like Tara’s best friend Amber, played by Mikey Madison (“Better Things,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), or the movie loving Meeks-Martin twins, Mindy and Chad, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown (“Yellowjackets,” “Sound of Violence”) and Mason Gooding (“Booksmart,” “Love, Victor”) respectively. By extension, the strong cast helps to back up the mystery and makes figuring out “whodunnit” and the subsequent killer reveal exactly what it needs to be: the best part of any “Scream” movie.
Helming this newest entry is the directing duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, also known as Radio Silence (“V/H/S,” “Ready or Not”) and they know this material well. Having directed a few black comedy horror films before, they move through the proceedings like aged pros. Do they have as deft a hand as Craven? Of course not, few if any do. There are moments where a kill lingers a bit too long or is too over the top, but they nail it 95% of the time and it helps create a satisfying mystery.
Likewise, the script from James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac,” “Ready or Not”) and Guy Busick (“Urge,” “Ready or Not”) knows exactly when to play up the meta-narrative elements and when to focus on the moment to moment plot. In this age of horror films retconning everything after the original film to make a “faithful” sequel, “Scream (2022)” doesn’t go down that route but is plenty happy to satirize it. There are broad jabs and references to “elevated horror” like “Midsommar” and “The Babadook” as well as toxic fandoms and more specific Hollywood references throughout. Rian Johnson directing a highly divisive eighth installment in a beloved fan favorite franchise? I wonder what that could be referencing?
Just like the previous films in the series, Ghostface remains an extremely effective killer. Not only does the “whodunnit” aspect still work extremely well, almost like a grown up version of “Scooby-Doo,” but the embracing of the unmasking extends even to the promotional material, with the poster proudly proclaiming “The killer is on this poster.” But the physicality is also so refreshing in the age of superhuman foes. Seeing a potential victim trip up the hooded killer or stab them and see it hurt adds so much to the threat and the potential escape, heightening the excitement just as much as ever.
In the simplest of terms, “Scream (2022)” faithfully continues the series without feeling like a shambling corpse of itself. It’s still funny, thrilling, and scary, easily getting you invested in the cast of potential teenage fodder. It might not be as fresh as the original 25 years ago, and some of the beholdence to that original can come across as corny, but it's still an overall good time and just an all around well made horror film for fans and fiends alike. 4/5
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