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Scream (2022) Review

by Joe Joe January 17, 2022

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Scream (2022) Review

Is this really what you're going for?

Scream (2022) Review

Is this really what you're going for?

Not off to a good start, 2022. I anticipated this because I love Scream, Scream 3, and Scream 4. Part 2 is pretty good. This was also directed by the same guys that did Ready or Not, which I also loved. They better not be one-trick ponies because that would be a shame. Wes Craven wouldn’t be rolling in his grave over this since it’s not bad, but it’s the least of the series.

Ghostface is back and is wreaking havoc in Woodsboro yet again. After high schooler Tara is brutally attacked in a very similar fashion to all the rest of the franchise’s openings, her older sister, Sam, comes back from California with her boyfriend Richie to protect her sister and find out who’s behind these attacks. Good old Dewey is also back to help, as is Gale and Sydney.

Hopefully, this is the final installment because I realized that there is nothing more to do with this franchise as the end credits were rolling. The well has run dry. It’s not a bad movie, but it also isn’t good. Everything about it is less interesting than what has come before. David Arquette as Dewey is the best thing about this installment. He’s perfect as the character and is essential to the story, but neither Gale nor Sydney is needed. They could be completely missing, and it wouldn’t change anything to the movie.

If they make any more of these, I’m sure that Courtney Cox and Neve Campbell won’t return. So how are the new characters? Pretty bland and forgettable. None of them are nearly as good as the characters we got in every film before this one. The lead actress Melissa Barrera as Sam is all over the place in terms of acting and her secret surprise backstory is ridiculous. It’s just an excuse to bring back an old character that no one asked for, and it doesn’t work.

The plot itself feels direct to DVD and also rather CW at times. It is a little too soap opera for my taste and cheap looking. It’s also incredibly predictable. I wasn’t surprised when all was revealed and didn’t care, unlike all the other films. So if the story isn’t that interesting, how are the kills? Good for the most part. It’s gory, and the stabbings are the most brutal in this one. Ghostface doesn’t do enough running in this one, though. A nitpick, I know, but it makes it more exciting when he’s running after his prey. Something odd is that a surprising amount of people survive the killer’s attacks, so it feels like the body count is somewhat low. The phone calls from the killer with Roger L. Jackson’s voice are kind of disappointing also. I always thought the best phone calls were in the original Scream and Scream 4, but it’s not as memorable for me here.

Like previous Screams, the movie is very meta and still pretty clever with it. I enjoyed the new Randy of this movie, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown. She brings up all the stuff with horror and franchises these days, such as what a “requel” means. Toxic fandom is also brought up, and they cleverly use the franchise within a franchise, Stab, to replicate it. I liked all of this stuff, and it’s where all the humor comes from. However, this is the least humorous of the franchise. There are several times where it tries to be funny but fails. Kevin Williamson didn’t write this one, and it shows since some of the dialogue is pretty bad, and the inconsistent acting from almost everyone doesn’t help either.

When you find out the killer’s motive is where it jumps the shark for me. All of the previous Screams had pretty ridiculous motives that worked, in my opinion, but this one is the worst and makes the least sense. It fits with the times, but when it happens in the movie, all I could think was, that’s it? Is this really what you’re going for? I needed way more than that. It doesn’t work, especially when they try to connect it to the main character, Sam. a Very weak and unsatisfying motive.

Would I watch it again? Not nearly as much as the other Screams or not at all. As I said at the beginning of the review, I love the rest of them. Scream 2 was always my least favorite, but I still really like it. This new one, and hopefully last, is my new least favorite, and I don’t like it. Wes Craven should be the only one to direct these, but he’s gone, and movie studio dollar signs rule all. Disappointing, predictable, and forgettable, so just end the franchise, please, and thank you.