THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Making another sequel for Scream felt unnecessary when the fourth film didn’t make enough money and Wes Craven passed away. Even though the television series was entertaining, it was obviously lacking the original spirit. In 2022, the spirit returned bigger than ever.
PLOT
The sequel of the same name takes place more than a decade after the last Ghostface massacre. A new perpetrator tends to repeat history near the 25th anniversary of the original Woodsboro massacre. It begins in the same area, showing teenage Tara Carpenter get attacked by the new masked figure. She was able to survive the attack due to the police chasing away the antagonist. When Tara's older sister Samantha finds out, she returns to her hometown with her boyfriend Richie. When she visits her in the hospital, she reunites with her sister's childhood friends: Amber Freeman, Chad & Mindy Meeks-Martin, nephew and niece to Randy Meeks, Chad's girlfriend Liv McKenzie (Sonia Amer) and Wes Hicks (Dylan Minnette), daughter of Sheriff Judy (Marley Shelton). That same night, Vince Schneider (Kyle Gallner), nephew to Stu Macher, gets killed by Ghostface outside a bar. The killer would then attack Sam at the hospital, but would quickly escape from authorities again. Sam would then confess to Tara that she has been having hallucinations of her biological father Billy Loomis and when she found out as a teen, it caused their parents to separate, making her become estranged to her sister. She and Randy then decide to visit Dwight ‘Dewey’ Riley, a survivor of the past Ghostface attacks, who has retired from the force and has divorced his wife Gale Weathers, who now hosts her own morning show in New York. He gives his own advice of surviving the situation she is now in: Don't trust the love interest, the killer is connected to the past and is within the group of friends. He reaches out to Gale that a new killer is on the loose. He also shares this information to Sidney Prescott, the original survivor of the first Woodsboro massacre. She has settled down, married with twins, who has no intention of going back. Dewey joins Sam & Richie to talk to Tara's group about the killer. Based on Mindy's knowledge of film, she believes that the killer's motive is to create a 'requel', a sequel that revisits the subject matter of the original film but is not remake. After this conversation, Ghostface makes the next move by killing Judy and Wes. When Gale returns to do a report on it, this gives her the chance to talk to Dewey again, who makes clear that he ended the relationship because he felt that didn't belong in NY. However, Sam worries that Tara has no extra security due to the sheriff's death. Her suspicion is proved right when Ghostface attacks her sister at the hospital, killing an officer and injuring Richie in the process. Sam and Dewey make it to the hospital and the latter is able to shoot down the killer in the chest. However, Dewey chooses to stay behind to shoot him in the head while the others retreat. However, a phone call from his ex wife distracts him, causing the killer to get the upper hand and kill him first, revealing to have a vest underneath the costume. Sidney returns to Woodsboro to give her condolences to Gale. She then meets Sam who asks for her help to stop Ghostface. Sam chooses not to as she tends to leave for good with her sister and Richie. Sidney however puts a tracker on Richie's car, to keep an eye on her. On the way to Modesto, Tara is unable to find her inhaler, which worries her due to her asthma condition. She convinces Richie to take her to Amber's house, knowing that she has a spare there. Upon arrival, Amber wraps up a party in memoir to the Hicks family. However, Chad gets lured and attacked by Ghostface unbeknownst to the partygoers. The only other people to stay after the party are Liv and MIndy. Sidney discovers that Sam is at the house that once belonged to Stu, calling her that she is trapped. Ghostface then attacks Mindy, but Sam is able to intervene. Amber reveals herself to be the killer by shooting Liv. causing Richie and the girls to split up and hide. When Sid and Gale arrive, Amber quickly shoots the latter in the stomach, causing the original final girl to go in alone. Sid does scuffle with Amber, briefly incapacitating her. When Sam gets out of hiding, Richie reveals to be the accomplice by stabbing her in the stomach. Richie and Amber reveal themselves as obsessive fans of the Stab franchise that is based on the events of the first film. Disappointed with the eighth film, they intend to use their new killing spree to act as source material for the next film and defend fans from toxic fandom. They intend to frame Sam as the killer, but Tara attacks Amber and the older sister fights Richie. Amber then fights Sid and Gale, who smash a bottle of hand sanitizer on her and shoot at her, causing her to get caught on fire near a lit stove. Sam ends up brutally stabbing Richie before finishing him off with a gun. Amber tries to attack one last time, but Tara shoots her down. As Chad & Mindy are shown to survive the attacks and are escorted to the hospital, Sam thanks Sid and Gale for their help. As Gale vows to write a new book that tributes Dewey, the film ends with Sam gong to a different hospital with Tara, whereas the media reports about the new murders.
THOUGHTS
As a fan of this franchise, I owed it to it to see it as soon as possible, and despite having prior doubts, I gotta admit it was a blast to see it in theaters. The Radio Silence group that includes Directors Tyler Gillett & Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and writers Guy Busick & James Vanderbilt were able to recapture Craven's original atmosphere and make a bloody trip throughout. Like Ready or Not, it is intense yet entertaining which works in this whodunnit perspective. This film came out at the right time like it’s predecessors, not only for boosting its graphic violence, but also during what felt like a resurgence for slashers since Universal/Blumhouse brought back icons like Michael Myers and Candyman in 2021 theatrically, while Chucky stacked his body count on television. Although art house horror defined the 2010s and brought pure terror, it felt fresh to see the return of this sub genre. Thanks to its clever layer of meta, it was able to explore a relevant theme so cautiously, that is toxic fandom. This is just as important to discuss like the past themes because it brings out the worst part of people over personal opinion, which gets outta control quickly over any franchise. And sometimes, the result of this are obsessive fans that choose to think their actions are valid, no matter how cruel it'll get. You get this message crystal clear through the new Ghostface duo. While Roger Jackson's voice gets creepier the older the actor gets, both Jack Quaid and Mikey Madison definitely caught me off guard as they fool us well as creatively have 180 performances, first portraying Richie and Amber as overprotective/caring to the most psychotic in the room. These two were definitely standouts from the past villains because while Richie is the mastermind that kept Sam at bay, Amber does all the executing, which made her the most dangerous. Even though these two are rid from this world, it is scary to realize that even they succeeded with their goal to create source material, which'll make them just as immortal as their predecessors. Going into the rest of the cast, we all knew that this film would not work without the return of the legacy characters, which made it a relief to see them again. Neve Campbell still makes Sidney Prescott a relevant icon because in her new life as a mother, she is calmer of the tense situations and is only more determined than ever to end the new spree. She gets involved not just for avenging Dewey, but as a mother, she feels like it is her duty to protect people that are in the same danger she was in. It's great to see her step in because I'm not sure if the Carpenters would've made it. I had a hard time imagining David Arquette and Courteney Cox returning due to how they broke up after the release of the fourth film, but lucky for us, they still had the same chemistry from before that made Dewey and Gale special characters to this day, which only made their relationship stronger. Arquette shines as Dewey for the last time for showing how broken he is on his own and desires to help people like he always did as a cop. As said before, he ended it with Gale because he didn't belong in NY like he did in Woodsboro. But that didn't mean he stopped caring about the woman he loved the most. So seeing her again during the given circumstances was a blessing for him because it proved how she still felt the same as well. Cox was also to show Weathers as one who is truly past her old ways and is now more caring than ever. She may have not gotten along with Judy, but she never hated her. She returned to Woodsboro not just for work purposes, but to get the chance to reconnect as well. And seeing her avenge the man she loved proves how strong it was between them. Going back to the new characters, Melissa Berrera shined bright in the role of Sam, who is in the role of something that is deeply ambitious. She worries that the past define her, that she is destined to be a killer like her twisted father Billy Loomis. Although she did not hold back when killing Richie, she is not going to remembered as the daughter of a serial killer, but as one who was protecting her sister. On the plus side, it was pretty cool seeing a de-aged Skeet Ulrich play Billy one more time via hallucinations. Jenna Ortega leaves a good impression as well because she portrays Tara as one who sadly happens to be in the middle of Sam’s conflict. While she is mad that what happens to her is due to her sister being the main target, she does come around to understanding that it’s not her fault. And on top of that, she doesn’t let her injuries hold her back from defending herself. So when she hits Amber with the crutches, I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that was cool to see. I also got a good kick out of Mason Gooding & Jasmin Savoy Brown who were great together as the sibling duo, Chad & Mindy. These two were entertaining to see because they both had Randy’s genes, being suspicious, self aware of what movie they were in and mostly on guard. I mean it felt genius to see Mindy unintentionally recreate her uncle’s attack. Since they survived, there is a good case that they could be a helping hand in the next rodeo. While this film is about as smart as the past, it still had its moments that held it back from being as great as the first. Like for instance, I am already on the edge of my seat when Tara gets attacked, but how did Ghostface not finish her off in time? Again, I ain't trying to root for the villains, but if they were so determined to get the Carpenters, they should've avoided playing games and just went for it. It was smart of Amber to throw shade at Wes since he has a crush on Tara, but I don’t think anyone would gamble calling the landline if they have a crush. That was honestly then noticing that Tara hadn’t already locked the doors when the threat is on. The weirdest thing is that Ghostface’s plans pay off based on luck because Sam could’ve ignored Tara or she could’ve forbid Richie from coming with her, which would make it harder from him to be off the suspect list. If one of those things had happened, it would’ve been a massive backfire for the villains. They even kill Judy in public broad daylight, like how the hell did they get away with that? Even if the town would prefer staying indoors to avoid being next, it’s not like they wouldn’t go out to get mail. So I have to repeat myself when I say these villains are living on a whole lot of luck. I was indeed bummed out when Dewey died, but I am completely disappointed that it happened from such a rookie mistake by getting distracted and not killing Ghostface. One moment and he could've lasted another sequel. I then wonder why would Richie watch Stab in front of Sam? Yeah he's watching it on his phone and that foreshadows that he is one half of Ghostface, but even if he is telling her he wants to be prepared for the worst, he should be trying to give her comfort than throw her off with a false disconnection. I'm even bummed out when Judy and her son get killed off as well, but why would she have the day off in the first place? There is a murder spree going down and since she was involved investigating the fourth spree with Dewey, both of which had no day off, should not have kept her guard down like that. That bothered me more than not already putting Tara on a private floor when first attacked. And why the hell did Wes leave the door open when he came back from his workout? I don’t care how tired you are, you should not make your sheriff mother worry anymore than she already was at that point. That’s dumber than showering with open windows. It was tense when Ghostface attacks Sam at the hospital, but how the hell did Amber avoid getting caught by the cameras? I know we’re supposed to be under the loop until the climax but it would’ve not hurt if they bothered explaining that like Richie simply revealing he hid the inhaler. I'm even twisting my legs in fear when Tara gets attacked in the hospital, but I know she could've avoided further harm had she just locked her door. And even if Richie got there, she should've waited for Sam. And even I have to admit that the empty hospital is copying Halloween II big time because there should’ve been at least one nurse to check on Tara and investigate the lights going out. Also, when exactly did Sid put a tracker on the car? She gives 100% eye contact when talking to Sam, and I don't think she was close enough to the car anyway. I know we need her to be involved in the climax, but this was an odd way to get it done. And am I the only one who thought it was weird that she didn't acknowledge her brother Roman for truly starting these sprees, instead of Billy. I know Scream 3 is the weak link, but even Gale knows the truth, so it's odd for their conversation to play out like it did. I was pretty bothered of Liv throughout who begs for attention. She was so dumb antagonizing Mindy for no damn reason since she wasn't even Ghostface. There is no point of scaring someone if you got nothing to gain in the long run. I was freaking the hell out when it was revealed that the climax would take place in Stu’s house, but how the hell did none of the new characters know that? If not Sam, then definitely Chad and Mindy should’ve known because they live in the damn neighborhood and their mother should’ve told them where the first spree concluded. I understand that Sam is in a rush to leave Woodsboro, hence entering Amber’s house to get the inhaler, but how did she & Amber not give Amber a heads up on the way? They may not know who she is yet, but that doesn’t mean alerting someone is out of the question. In a murder spree, alerting/informing someone of your arrival is a must. And lastly, I thought it was a cheap reveal for Amber to say she found out of Sam’s past because her mother drunkenly said it. It bothers me a lot because if she is drunkenly telling everyone in town, then Tara should’ve known by now. Bringing her up in the climax only bothered me more because she doesn’t return from her trip in London to check on her daughters at all. If this series was able to show off Sid’s family, then the same should be said for Sam since she is the new Sid. However, I still find this movie entertaining to get through when ignoring these issues. In conclusion, 2022's Scream is a great kickstart to this unique year for being a requel done right. If you're still a fan of this whodunnit franchise, you'll enjoy this one as well.
Kommentarer