‘Scream’ (2022) Review: The Ghostface Awakens
Spoilers for Sc- oh you already know what I’m gonna say
Watching them so closely to each other, it’s kind of weird that Scream 4 and Scream (2022) are back to back rebootquels. Obviously this isn’t the case with the time release; funnily enough, both of these came out roughly 11 years after its predecessor. But where Scream 4 plays out more like a statement that there is no replacing the original crew, Scream plays more like a passing of the baton to a new generation. No, our trio can never be replaced, but maybe this franchise can find new core crews to terrorize.
A lot of what I like, and I do really really like this one, is similar to what I liked about Scream 4. But at the risk of being repetitive, I’m going to keep these parts brief. To start, the new cast rocks. Make no mistake, while Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott is in this movie (and she delivers as always, even in her brief time), she is no longer our final girl, thank goodness. I love Sidney Prescott, but even by 4 it felt her journey was at an end. Instead it’s Melissa Barrera’s Sam Carpenter who’s our central character, and she is fantastic in it. I’ll admit, it felt a little silly having her be the daughter of Billy Loomis, but it makes for fun cameo appearances by Skeet Ulrich, and it makes story sense with our killers’ motivation. Barrera’s just so good in this, combining scared, protective, hesitant, and badass seamlessly.
Surrounding Sam is a whole new slate of characters, and they really are all great. The standouts being the sibling duo Chad and Mindy (Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown). They provide the biggest laughs of the movie (and this one is pretty hilarious), and Mindy breaking down a requel and all the hurdles franchises have to jump through to appeal to psychotic fanbases had me cracking up. Gale and Dewey even get to have great moments, even if they are more in the background. Dewey becomes a Han Solo in The Force Awakens guide, and it works well. I know I expressed my annoyance at him and Gale starting every movie separated, but this time it felt believable that it didn’t work out, despite their love for each other. Dewey’s death, even if you could see it coming, definitely does hurt, and Gale getting revenge on the specific Ghostface that killed him had my fist pumping. They really did a great job with the old characters and their use of them. They never overshadow our new main cast, but boy do they all get their chances to shine.
Speaking of Ghostface, let’s get into that third act, which is right up there with the original. When it’s revealed that Richie (Jack Quaid) and Amber (Mikey Madison) are the killers, this movie moved up a whole level for me. I said before time in between these franchises might be a key ingredient to keeping the meta aspect fresh, and it is as great as it’s ever been here. I absolutely loved how much this movie directly attacked toxic fandom, and the weird entitlement some of these fanbases get. It’s a very real problem that only seems to get weirder. The love fans have for their favorite franchise can also be an issue, as they scream and cry anytime that franchise tries to do something different. It’s what makes so many play it safe and become boring, keeping everything the exact same. Yes, the movie ends up retreading much of the original, all the way up to the third act being in the exact same house, but it does so with such funny and biting self awareness, it’s just awesome in general. Jack Quaid especially shines when he rants about how fans deserve to have their wants met. It rings too true to how a lot of fans are these days. Mikey Madison is equally as good here, and I love her little Psycho bit she does. It makes these Ghostfaces stand out high in the franchise.
Safe to say I think every Scream entry has been fun at least on some level, but I think this one might be my favorite sequel. The commentary is just so good, and so fresh, and the old cast mixes well with the new cast. I think Wes Craven would’ve been proud of Radio Silence’s new take, which confidently moves forward while also giving a big hug to what came before. More importantly, they do a great job of capturing the spirit of the franchise. Scream (2022) felt like the start of a new direction for the franchise, and it starts off on a great note. Specifically with its new characters, especially Sam Carpenter. It’s no easy feat taking the Scream Final Girl mantle, but Melissa Barrera proves she’s more than up to the task right out the gate. It’d be a shame if the studio got rid of her for some stupid fucking reason.
