Scream SPOILER-FREE Review (2022): A “Requel” for You, Me, and Gen Z
- Beanie White
- Jan 21, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 7, 2022
“Do you like scary movies?” Horror fan or not, these 5 words might well send a shiver of 90’s nostalgia down your spine… No? What about if I mentioned “Ghostface,” perhaps the easiest Halloween costume of all time (ya hear that Squid Game)?
It has been a fair few years since our last visit to Woodsboro (Scream 4, 2011) and not much has changed aside from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett taking over directing duties from the legendary and greatly missed Wes Craven. A new generation of high-school teens (horror does love overaged casting, a couple of them are older than me and I’m certainly not a teen) are terrorised by the latest iteration of Ghostface and, once again, it seems pretty personal as the killer targets those related to the original killings. We follow the character of Sam (Melissa Barrera), a young woman with a dark secret, as she fights to save her loved ones from the particularly stabby (a lot of through-the-fingers-watching from this horror aficionado) blade of one of horror’s most famous killers…
Right from the very opening scene, a hark back to the iconic opening of the OG Scream (1996), this movie subverts audience expectations and plays with classic horror tropes and clichés in a way that still seems fresh and unexpected, even after three previous sequels. It also does a great job in transposing the core dark comedy of the Scream franchise into a Gen-Z setting; the teens are obnoxiously self-aware and contrastingly clueless in much the same manner as their 90s counterparts. One stand-out scene has Mindy Meeks-Martin (played fantastically by Jasmin Savoy Brown) watching a movie from the meta in-universe horror franchise “Stab” warning the character to look behind him, whilst blissfully unaware that her own Ghostface killer is creeping up hoping to perform their very own grisly re-enactment.
The level of self-awareness in the Scream franchise is what makes it such an iconic addition to the horror genre and this latest version certainly doesn’t shy away from that. The “Stab” movies in the Scream universe, which are based on the Ghostface killings, present the driving force of the plot throughout. The story and characters also reference interesting ideologies such as “toxic fandoms,” and pay fitting tribute to horror that has gone before (Halloween, Friday the 13th) and the “elevated horror” that currently dominates the genre (It Follows, The Babadook, Hereditary). My only gripe is that the movie name-dropping becomes a little cringe at times, but maybe that’s just because I’m guilty of doing the exact same thing in my daily life (it’s like looking in a mirror).
The return of several Scream legacy characters won’t be a surprise, but it is certainly a welcome addition to the story. However, I’m pleased to say that even without the appearances of characters like Gale (Courteney Cox) and Sidney (Neve Campbell), the young cast are clearly able to carry this film, and if anything, I would have liked to see a little more of them. Some of the most enjoyable moments for me are the suspicion-filled interactions between the teen friendship group as they attempt to navigate their own horror movie and unmask Ghostface.
As an avid horror consumer, I always prefer a film within the genre to have a message or a core relatable theme. Maybe Scream doesn’t share the same level of depth as the “elevated horror” that it references but it does follow the journey of a fractured sisterly relationship, and this is another standout element for me. I cared about Tara (Jenna Ortega) and Sam, and I was invested in their triumphs and struggles as they came to grips with familial secrets and the alarming matter of becoming Ghostface’s main targets…
If this entry to the franchise is billed by its own characters as a “Requel” I have high hopes that the Scream universe has more stories to tell. Especially because the ending (don’t worry I won’t spoil it) appears to set up a couple of new potential killers ready to don the Ghostface mask. Nostalgia and newness join forces to spawn a subversive addition to a beloved horror series and a fitting tribute to one of its creators. In short, if Scream (2022) still makes us scream then why stop? Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Was this movie a worthy addition to the Scream franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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I’m not the biggest horror/thriller fan, but I do love the original Scream (though I’ve not seen the ones that came after). I really enjoyed this “requel” though. I know exactly what you mean by “through the fingers” viewing haha. I’m excited to see where they go next (and maybe I’ll watch the others in the series).