Scream (2022) Review

Twenty-five years after the original Woodsboro Murders, Ghostface has made his return, this time picking out a slew of high-schoolers connected to the victims twenty-five years later. Sydney & Gale return to Woodsboro to help Dewey and the unlucky set of teens on the chopping block to uncover the identity of Ghostface and his motives.

Since its birth back in December 1996, Wes Craven’s Scream redefined the horror genre as we knew it, adding a meta subversion into its DNA to deliver a self-referential and intelligence piece of genre magic. Many imitated its gold from the late 90’s onwards, to what mostly felt like the Claire’s Accessories to its Swarovski. Scream was utterly unique and to this day remains unmatched with its seamless blend of clever wit, fun storytelling and glorious slasher slayings.

The highly underrated Scream 4 plays better by today’s standards than it did back in 2011, and whilst it was truly ahead of it’s time 11 years ago, this new instalment has never felt so current. Radio Silence’s Scream executes this with near perfect balance, exemplifying exactly why 2022 needs a fifth film and reminding fans exactly why they missed it. Without giving too much away, Scream has not lost its sharp wit, cleverly weaving the evolution of modern horror of subtextual complexities or ‘elevated horror’, a term the Gen-Z canon fodder coined with such ilk as Hereditary and The Babadook into its parodic POV.

Commenting on Hollywoods trigger-happy re-quel exploration with Green’s Halloween and DiCosta’s Candyman, Scream intelligently laces this into zero’s and one’s all whilst cross-referencing its tie in to the Stab franchise for one of the most subversive and wink-wink nudge-nudge Scream‘s of them all. It’s a perfectly fitting perspective for this new installment to take without ever losing it’s meta-edge and genre smarts. So if you wonder why Scream missed the mark on yet another numeral pun like 5cream (I’m looking at you Scre4m) then here’s your reason why.

Let it be known that this is not Scream 5 as it’s quick to remind you, and whilst it does feel the least Craven of the five entries, his spirit is very much alive as Radio Silence provide the well-deserved revamp and polish the franchise needed to continue on thriving. Whilst avid franchise fans might find a hard time adjusting to its focal change in protagonist perspective (this is essentially Sam Carpenter’s story, not Sidney’s), Craven’s essence is still present as Radio Silence honour him through a fun, fresh and captivating lens. Whilst I was thrilled as both a genre and Scream fan, above all it’s an entry Wes himself would be proud of.

The appreciation for Craven’s four-film franchise is launched at us in bucket-loads, treating its devoted fans to a slew of fun easter eggs, returning characters and plenty of references to past instalments both visually and narratively. The fan service here is impeccable, littering the movie with plenty of visual and dialogue cues to that which came before; from the swing Drew Barrymore hung from dangling in the first victim’s garden to the party in Stu Mauker’s old murder house, the references here are simply too mouth-wateringly good to ignore. 1996’s Scream gets the most appreciation here as 2022’s Scream prides itself on its new set of rules established from the repercussions of the slayings of Ghostface’s past.

The Stab franchise also plays a much bigger role this time around, being the butt of many comedic moments and a beacon for Radio Silence to execute some seriously inventive meta commentary. Where 2022’s Scream works best however is in its ability to point the finger at anyone and everyone, playing the suspect card like an unhinged game of Uno. Whilst we have seen stronger reveals in the past (which is a hard bar to surpass) it is nevertheless is a nifty and sharp game of suspicion and deception, one that will have you guessing right up until its final act.

The character’s are always Scream‘s selling point, delivering chaotic slasher energy without detracting from well-earned character development. The new set of ‘elevated horror’ loving teens are a blast, in particular Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy who plays the lovable and hilarious cousin to Randy Meeks. When Savoy Brown wasn’t stealing the show, Melissa Barerra’s Sam Carpenter was certainly able to carry the narrative along as Tara’s tough but likeable older sister who’s very much able to carry the torch if required. Whilst the remaining cast are a fun bunch to be saddled with, it’s ultimately the legacy cast as to why we continue to come back for more. Whilst the return of Sidney, Gale and Dewey certainly filled the little Ghostface-shaped hole in my heart, they are not the focal point here, and very much only come into play when s**t really hits the fan. Their consistent presence was undoubtedly missed as I yearned for more Dewey/Gale quips or Sidney take-downs, but the legacy cast were woven into this new narrative in a manner that felt neither forced or unnecessary.

The problem with such a likeable set of kids is the inevitable carnage that will soon ensue, and oh boy is it vicious. Ghostface is as manic and sadistic as ever, rapidly knocking off its cast in inventively gruesome and bloodied fashion; one might wonder just how many ways is there to die by knife, but Ghostface is here to show you exactly that. It’s ferocious and unyielding violence does at times make for a jarring pace particularly around the middle act, but it’s nonetheless a frantically fun time whenever Ghostface makes an appearance, and a scary one at that. If we are lucky enough for this to be the start of a new direction for Scream, then buckle up as this is one hell of an introduction.

A brutal, unrelenting and often hilarious 2022 re-quel; Radio Silence’s Scream is a near pitch-perfect love letter to the Scream franchise, with enough violent creativity and heart to solidify it as both a worthy follow-up and a great start for a new direction. “What’s your favourite scary movie?” Ghostface taunts; well, this year it might just be Scream.

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