REVIEW: ‘Scream’; too many movies or not enough?

“Scream” has once again prevailed at the box office and led fans into the theaters for another movie. This is the fifth movie of the “Scream” franchise, released on Jan. 14 , 2022, and many people have been questioning whether enough is enough and if the series needs to end. The fourth installment released in 2011 and the installment before that a decade before. Not unlike many viewers of the “Halloween” franchise, many are urging them to come to a close, and not just because Micheal Myers is getting a bit old for this. Although this opinion might be shared by some, the newest release couldn’t have been a better addition to the series with all the references, call backs to the originals, and overwhelming twists to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. 

Many star characters reprised their roles and made a return to this new adaptation, such as Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, Coutney Cox as Gale Weathers, and David Arquette as Dwight ‘Dewey’ Riley, all of which starred in all five films. 

The dynamic of “Scream” was set in a different light than the others to display the ties, relevance, and loyalty of blood and your actual family. Not only did this film follow in the footsteps of a classic slasher movie, but it also dove into the main characters’ backstories, family history, and secrets as well. This was used as a tactic to build trust of the characters making it even more shocking to find out the killer during the home stretch of the movie. As always Scream’s intro consists of an unsuspecting young woman home alone at night answering the landline to an unknown caller with the infamous line “what’s your favorite scary movie” and always ends in a blood bath… up until now. In past movies, this opening consistently sets the tone of the killer and is only the beginning of horror that is about to purge the town’s high school once again. 

Although the film had many parallels connecting to the original to cue OG fans when things are about to happen or hype the suspense, this new adaptation also had differences as well. Whilst all “Scream” movies are different in their own ways, writers specifically changed running parallels from the classics to set the tone of hesitance and distrust of characters and situations. All of the opening scenes thus far had been no more than a bloodbath to start the film off, but now we have a survivor, one who was strong enough to fight back. Was that planned by Ghostface or an unforeseeable outcome? 

The only attribute of each killer in all the films that coincide is the fact that the person/persons have a personal vendetta against the main target and friend group. This is proven time and time again with Billy Loomis, Mickey, and Roman Bridger all having personal contact to the main victim/target Sidney Prescott or in the case of “Scream” (2022) main characters’ descents, adding family history into the mix once again.