Scream (2022)
It’s always someone you know.
When I realized that tonight’s movie was out for streaming, you can bet your booty that I jumped right up on getting it suggested as the weekly movie to the cousin I’ve been watching the movies with lately. Considering how much he’s enjoyed the rest of the franchise, he was more than willing to jump in there. Now pulled into the trend of modern reboot-sequels, new and old once again clash in a familiar but not too similar train ride, and much like for ice cream or the stabbing, we all Scream.
So, first off, let me just say I hate it when movies do that thing where they just repeat the name used earlier without any kind of numeric or subtitle. Like, I prefer numeric - tells me the order it came out in, if nothing else - but at least a subtitle is handy because it prevents you from being like “Oh, have you heard of Scream?” and then both talking about different movies and feeling like a tosser when you realize one of you is babbling original and other is blabbing modern. Still, although a good name can attract or repel potential watchers, it really has no bearing on how good the movie is. You might feel it wrong of me, having used up so much of my usual first paragraph on that little side rant to jump straight into the plot - but here’s the deal. This movie is still kind of new, and although I try to stay away from spoilers even for most the old stuff, you really can’t get into twists and turns in newer movies or else it spoils things a little bit. If I said something like “oh that one character dies” when watching a new star wars movie, everyone is going to assume it’s one of the legacy characters and be waiting for it the entire time - even if they don’t know which one. So here it is - a wild Ghostface has appeared yet again in the same town which is seemingly cursed to relive these events ad nauseum as some psycho lunatic constantly keeps things on repeat. This time, we aren’t sure why the targets are the targets until the movie progresses and fills us in on things we don’t know - but in the interim, it’s a race to figure out who and why so maybe some of the group of kids and resident’s won’t need to die.
As mentioned, it does do that thing where it brings in some of the legacy characters. Actually, it brings in more of them than I would have expected. It also brings in a bunch of new blood, which also isn’t all that unexpected given the original cast not getting younger by any means - that said though, they still rock at their roles. The new batch does a fine job - I would say that each character has a moment to shine in some way or another with the exception of maybe one that’s just kind of there to pad out numbers or something I guess. That said, at least two of them also have moments where it’s not as great as they are most the rest of the movie - mind you, in typical fashion I’m not entirely blaming the actor or actress in regards to it, because most those spots are somewhat tricky to place on if it was intentional since it feels like it could be either way. Still, the batting average here is well above well done, so you needn’t worry about feeling like it’s a phoned in cash grab in regards to acting.
The characters themselves are relatively likeable in the time we get with them. Yeah, some we don’t get too much on, and it’s not like most of the side characters really get major character development, but that’s fine as it does enough with the characters that despite being somewhat shallow in development they all feel pretty natural. Yes, there’s a choice or two where there’s some questionable choices - if not logically at least as far as time placement goes - but for the most part it very well sticks to that classic Scream magic of keeping things pretty believable.
I love how often GF gets beat up by people.
Of course, that believability comes with some heavy winking and nudging, as the meta-nature of the franchise remains as well. Characters calling out the movie as what it is as far as being a rebooting-sequel, complete with descriptions of legacy characters and everything - even some good use of foreshadowing and parallel moments, and of course I’d be remiss to point out the playing with expectations. There are times where you legit might start getting annoyed at it pulling the same trick over and over, because you know that at some point it won’t be a trick anymore but they keep pulling a fast one on you and not making it the moment the trick isn’t a trick and delivers. Yes, there’s some silly references in there with some of the names, but it’s not distracting from the movie nor is it unlike a film to give those little shout-outs to other franchise makers and characters.
As far as costumes go, it’s nothing really all that new. I mean - it’s a modern movie, with modern attire. Yes, it’s done well and believable, but it’s also not something that calls so much attention to it that you become blown away by the attention to costume details. The rest of the effects are pretty well done, and there is some real brutal kills in this one - and some that don’t get to quite make it to kill but equally look pretty dang painful. That said, yes the savvy eye might pick out a few that look a bit on the fake side, but I can appreciate them giving the knife some menace instead of watering it down or sticking the tried and true collapsing-knife stabbing kills. I will also say, although it’s one of those “movie in the movie” moments, Ghostface 8 with the flamethrower is pretty baller - and as absolutely dumb as it would be, I’d totally watch Scream in space! starring Dwayne Johnson or similar muscle-bound dude as the Ghostface. I doubt it would feel anything like a Scream movie, but I’d be laughing my butt off in enjoyment I’m sure.
Audio is done well, but largely most of it escapes me afterwards. There’s one song I joked about being a theme song for the killer, what with talking about being a ghost and all, but it isn’t really his theme and most the music really just sort of slips into the background and helps with the scenes. You also don’t have to get annoyed or worn out by constant jump-scare fake stings or anything, so it’s nice on the horror front to not be too bludgeoned over the head. It was also fun seeing my cousin nail the baddy on the head after all characters were finally introduced, only to second guess himself the entire rest of the movie. When it comes to Scream, I try not to bother guessing who it is - they know I know what they know, and I know they know I expect them to try to trick me with the fact I know that - making a near impossible loop for me to nail it down without really just making a guess and pretending I had a good reason for it when it’s setting up so many possible players as actually being the killer.
Alright Scooby gang, time to unmask the killer!
Look, a while back I watched the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie on Netflix, and the biggest thing I took away from it was that regardless of if it was a good or bad movie, it didn’t feel like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This here Scream though? It knows what it is and what it’s doing, and regardless of if you find it good or bad you’ll sure as heck find it to feel like a Scream movie. It’s not just direct things like “oh that legacy character or location” either - sometimes even the little things like Ghostface eating crap because a door or chair or something add up to it. I had fun, the cousin had fun, and either one of us would say it’s a good movie - if you like the other ones then you have no reason to not check this one and will probably enjoy it at full purchase price even. If you haven’t seen any of them, it’s still a good movie but the layering of ties back to the original won’t have the same effect and you’ll miss out on a good deal of extra enjoyment from it even if it gives you an explanation so you won’t be lost at all. Overall, it’s a good darn movie, but you’ll definitely enjoy it more with a history of the movies. Between this and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, I hope more movies can keep up this trend of living up to feeling the same kind of movie for us older ones while bringing in a new generation to the fold of enjoyment.