Many fans would say the original “Scream” (1996) revolutionized the horror genre, but every film since has failed to live up to the classic’s quality. To which any true “Scream” buff would say: now there’s your motive.
Early into “Scream” (2022) the characters hypothesize that the latest killer’s motive is to “fix” the off-track “Stab” meta-film franchise that was inspired by the events of the first “Scream” movie by providing new material for writers to draw from. Similar to the critical reception the “Scream” sequels found in real life, the “Stab” sequels within the movies disappoint fans more and more over the years.
But in the fifth “Scream” installment, everything goes back to the original. While fans who’ve been watching since the ‘90s will recognize and appreciate these gestures toward the past, new watchers will be eased through the references by genre-savvy characters sharply critiquing the horror culture that’s derived partially as a result of “Stab’s” influence.
As a group of characters living in a city made famous by gruesome, vengeful murders, they’ve been desensitized to the shock of their situation. Their back and forth wit captures both the jaded mentality of youth being bombarded daily with devastating news bulletins and the classic cynicism seen in “Scream’s” (1996) main characters that bewitched audiences.
Fans in the Central Valley in particular may be uniquely amused by the film’s sudden transportation to Modesto, California, where viewers meet the film’s protagonist who estranged herself from her family after running away from the fictional town of Woodsboro years before.
While Modesto is only seen briefly, it’s name on the big screen attracted cheers of recognition from attendees at Maya Cinemas near Fresno State’s campus.
Just as in the first “Scream,” a group of tight knit friends begins to suspect that one or more of them could be beneath the Ghostface mask. Only this time, each of those characters has some sort of attachment to the original — called “legacy” — characters.
For much of this time Sidney, Gale and Dewey are only mentioned, not seen, onscreen as murders begin to terrorize Woodsboro again. This works to the film’s advantage, allowing suspense to build.
The moment we see each familiar face on the big screen again is a nostalgic moment, often bolstered by segments of the original soundtrack playing softly behind them.
Seeing David Arquette stumble onto the screen as Dewey Riley while his theme plays will touch any longtime fan.
Unfortunately, some remnants of the past elicited other emotions. Questionable CGI shots of a classic character — you’ll know it when you see it — are supposed to connect the audience to the past, but are more laughable when in action. The entire plot begins to unravel when you think too hard about it, but it’s hard to tell if “Scream” is reveling in that as an inevitability of horror films, or merely stumbling into a common pitfall of the genre. Either way, the film walked a delicate line between heavy-handed and on the nose that might leave viewers feeling either way.
At its core “Scream” is a horror movie about horror movies. “It’s always someone you know,” the film’s tagline reminds us, and just as its predecessors this movie is still a whodunnit daring viewers to guess who’s behind Ghostface’s mask. Only this time, nobody is quite safe along the way — no matter how many movies they’ve been in.
Co-Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had large shoes to fill taking the helm of Wes Craven’s iconic franchise after his death in 2015, but managed to approach the film with the same humor and gore that earned them high reviews for their horror film “Ready Or Not” (2019).
The tongue-in-cheek, meta comedy from the 1996 “Scream” hit is what many fans were hoping to see from this latest sequel, and Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett deliver.
“Scream” entered theaters Jan. 14 and is still showing. It can be seen at theaters around Fresno, including Maya Cinemas at Campus Pointe. It is rated R.