With the “Scream” films, director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson examined and tore apart and subsequently rebuilt the conventions of modern horror films, ushering in a new form of horror that is still utilized today. Although the films in the series – which began in 1996 with the original Scream, and continued with Scream 2 (1997) delivering diminishing returns, Scream 3 (2000), and mercifully ending the spent series with Scream 4 (2011) – did re-energize a genre that had become stagnate with never-ending versions of the serial killer terrorizing kids just trying to “have a good time,” it eventually fell victim to the same fate becoming a parody of itself by the fourth film.
Now, eleven years later, the story is taken up yet again in the originally titled Scream, a disappointing and often painful film to sit through as it lacks any of the wit or creativity that made the initial film – and sporadic parts of the subsequent sequels – even remotely entertaining.
Taking place twenty-five after the killings in Woodsboro (that is, the events of the first film), the 2022 installment of Scream tells the story of a copycat killer who has taken up the Ghostface mantle and is dispatching teenagers to bring the town’s past to light. Initially targeting Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), the killer eventually sets his sights on her sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) and her friends. This leads the new group of teenagers to seek out the help of Dewey Riley (David Arquette) to survive the latest Ghostface attacks. It is at this point that Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) return to Woodsboro to offer their expertise in surviving the attacks they will all inevitably be facing.
Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox in “Scream.”
While directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett may be ostensibly trying to create an ode to Wes Craven’s tetralogy, what they and writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick have instead concocted is the very type of film that the original film was deconstructing. In that sense, the series has folded in upon itself. The story is a tedious slog that never finds any traction and instead moves predictably from one scene to another. Even the presence of series stalwarts Campbell, Cox, and Arquette cannot keep the film from descending into an almost painful display of self-parody.
Many fans of the series may look upon the new edition of Scream with nostalgia and adoration that should instead be channeled into renewing their relationship with the original film in some way. The film is dedicated to Craven. Unfortunately, he deserved far better than this.
| Producer: | William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein |
| Release Date: | January 14, 2022 |
| Running Time: | 114 minutes |
| Starring: | Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sonia Ammar |
| Writer: | James Vanderbilt, Guy Busick |
| MPAA Rating: | R (for strong bloody violence, language throughout and some sexual references) |
| Director: | Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett |
| Distributor: | Paramount Pictures |
| External Info: | Facebook / Instagram / Twitter |
