Review: "Scream"

The original Scream struck a chord among horror fans alike that spent time thinking about John Carpenter’s Halloween and other slasher films and how all of them had similar pitfalls. The original Scream was horror-comedy at its finest along with how it made fun of the genre. Kevin Willamson and Wes Craven created some unique in a failing genre. Fast forward from 1996, to now, and the conversation about the genre has again shifted. The slasher films have become less popular in favor of thought-provoking horror, however, this installment of the beloved series comes off as a “re-quel” that acts as a love letter to the franchise and to Wes Craven the original director. Clearly, James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick crafted this film with the original Scream in mind to pay homage to Craven, who passed away but they wanted to do so in such a way that feels consistent with Williamson and Craven’s voice but also distinct enough with its own flare that is more in line with the times. At times, it works well, but mostly, it feels largely too familiar and predictable.

The plot takes place twenty-five years after the original attack on Woodsboro and it begins with a young woman named Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), who is viciously attacked by the Ghostface killer when she is home alone. Tara’s attack forces her sister, Sam (Melissa Barrera), to resurface in Woodsboro. Sam had left her hometown due to a horrifying truth she had uncovered years ago, but she pushes it all to the side to make sure all the people she cares about are safe. In doing so, she brings old faces back in for help to unmask this terrifying new killer.

The entirety of the plot could easily be mistaken for a spoof on the original, but it is aware of such a thing leading to conversations that seemingly belong in a Discord channel or a Reddit forum by younger people that are filled to the brim with arrogance on a field that is above their pay grade. It is the self-aware meta bending satire-horror that made the series so popular in the first place, but here, in an attempt to be more in line with the times, it feels forced and hard to connect with. Gone is the care and talent of Craven, replaced with a cast of characters that don’t seem to be giving their all into their respective performances either. By the time the final act begins to rev up into a complete bonkers ending, it is difficult to care as we already have seen this movie, in fact the “legacy” characters of Dewey (David Arquette) even tries to warn the characters of the likely killers which is a dead give away to the audience.

The performances are uneven, which is surprising, as some of the newer actors of recent have proven themselves to be good actors. It is hard to fault the actors as the script and direction left a lot to be desired and they did their best with what was instructed of them. Although, Jack Quaid as the doting boyfriend to Barrera’s Sam seems to have understood the assignment the best as he injected his character with plenty of humor, which seems to be his strong suit from his work on Amazon’s “The Boys”. Barrera as the lead character is noticeably horrible in her performance who has to do a lot of heavy lifting of the more dramatic moments. Her on-screen younger sister is the much better actress in Jenna Ortega but it's a small role for the rising actress. In another form of admiration for Wes Craven, Dylan Minnette plays a young man named Wes. When he, unfortunately, meets his end, his high school friends decide to throw a party dedicated in his memory as they yell, “For Wes!” The love for what Craven had done for the genre is abundant throughout.

A big draw to the film would be the return of the original characters of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette). Arquette has a bigger role than the other two as he is the only one that stayed behind in Woodsboro terrified of the ghosts of their past returning in some form or another. Sidney had moved on as has Gale as she is a successful morning show host now. The scenes between the three are often heartwarming but they are largely secondary characters that don’t drastically affect the plot. Beyond their inclusion, the big draw of course for most will be the actual horror which doesn’t leave much to write home about. Most of it is predictable and even reminiscent of the original once more. Overall, if you are a fan of slasher films and the original Scream, you might enjoy the film a bit but overall it feels largely unnecessary.