Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Starring: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Marley Shelton, Dylan Minette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sonia Ammar, Mikey Madison, Mason Gooding, Heather Matarazzo
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Runtime: 114 mins. Reviewed in Jan 2022
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc

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Rating notes: Strong horror violence and coarse language

Twenty-five years after the original series of murders in Woodsboro, a new Ghostface emerges, and Sidney Prescott must return to uncover the truth.

SCREAM, US, 2022. Starring Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Marley Shelton, Dylan Minette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sonia Ammar, Mikey Madison, Mason Gooding, Heather Matarazzo. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. 114 minutes. Rated MA (Strong horror violence and coarse language).

Back again! Ghostface and the oldies, Sidney, Dewey and Gale (Neve, David and Courtney) – welcome. And also back are those clever tangles, and stories and people from the previous movies. For Scream fans, who could ask for anything more.

It is 25 years or so since the first Scream saga, from characters and ideas by Kevin Williamson (who produces here) and directed by the talented Wes Craven (to whom this film is dedicated) made such an impression. Two sequels came in rapid succession and a fourth film in 2011 with mixed reviews and responses.

So, now seems to be the time to resurrect the original, play with variations on the styles and themes, the young adult characters all under threat, the mysterious Ghostface and the slashings, how to discover whether there is one Ghostface or two (as in the previous film) and what are the police going to do – as well as Dewey, memories of so many stabbings in the past films, giving advice and deciding to help, is one Weathers (who eventually wrote about the events) coming home also bringing a TV team, and the recruitment of the original victim, Sidney Prescott.

The film opens in the familiar way, a young woman, a mysterious phone call, sinister threats, the playing of deadly games and a slashing.

This will be appreciated by Scream and film fans but, maybe, lost on any non-horror fans. The two screenwriters are obviously film buffs, horror buffs, always ready with a film reference (and some praise for Australia’s The Babadook), making the characters enunciate all the principles required for this kind of horror film, what should be said and done, what definitely should not be said and not done, indicating that the Ghostface killer has to be one of the young people. So, the characters trying to work it out after the various slashings. The audience trying to work out who are the most likely – and mostly, they would not be wrong.

So, a motley group of friends, the sheriff from the past reappearing, memories of the old days, even some of the characters actually watching the Scream films, and mutual fears and suspicions.

There are enough plot developments to keep audiences attentive, and clues to keep the mind busy and suspicions alert.

Judging by the immediate box office success of Scream in the US, it looks as though there are more Scream fans than might have been estimated, but, the fans of the original, maybe 25 at the time, are now 50 – so, multi-generational fans.

Paramount