A Scream Too Far

“Scream” (2022)
Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, based on characters created by Kevin Williamson
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout and some sexual references

Here's my short, spoiler-free review of “Scream,” the 2022 version, aka “Scream 5”* – They should have stopped at 4.

Scre4m was a neat way to revisit the franchise after a decade. I watched it the day before the new one, having forgotten just about everything about it except who was the killer.

I was optimistic heading into the new one, and not just because I was managing to watch movies on consecutive days. Maybe I should have spaced it out more, since the “Scream” series relies heavily on self-referencing.

I went back and forth as I watched the latest installment, thoroughly enjoying Arquette's return as Dewey Riley and intrigued by some of the ideas. There were things I could nitpick, but I didn't get stuck in a moment here. Eventually, though, it started to collapse under its own weight of meta commentary and references to the past.

From this point on, there are spoilers a-plenty.

I was mostly on board until Sidney (Campbell) and Gale (Cox) gleefully try to murder the teenage half of the latest copycat-killing duo. I mean, they had good reason to be enraged, but I tend to like my heroes a little less bloodthirsty. And yes, the Scream franchise has always included comedy and satire, but it also treated the violence as real, visceral and awful. Having this girl burst into flames in Rube Goldberg fashion** for laughs or shock value may have worked in, say, “The Babysitter,” but went too far here.

Then we have the twist of new main character Sam (Barrera) being the daughter of Billy Loomis, with Skeet Ulrich reprising the role in her hallucinations. Except eventually we get to Billy being an encouraging imaginary absentee father and Sam butchering the other half of the villainous duo, her boyfriend Richie (Jack Quaid), at his direction. Maybe this was some sort of meta reference to original villains being better than sequel bad guys, something referenced multiple times in this film?

I suspected Quaid more of secretly being Joshua Jackson than the killer because it's so obvious they keep making jokes about it throughout the movie. Of course, that's part of the Scream charm: the filmmakers know what you're thinking and try to get out in front of it, including my complaining about the title.*** But after five iterations, the gimmick is starting to wear thin.

I also feel the need to state my issues don't put me in the toxic fandom culture this movie skewers pretty well. I'm not mad about the new Scream and it doesn't affect my enjoyment of previous installments. I just didn't care for it in the end.

A sixth one is on the way, and I'll watch it eventually. I didn't throw in the towel on “Transformers” or “The Expendables."

But I hope they do something really different. For example...

Instead of making it about yet another obsessive movie fan seeking fame and/or vengeance by recreating the killing sprees, have the folks donning the Ghostface masks (which keep getting manufactured and sold a lot in a reality where they are constantly worn by mass murderers) be some random criminals in another state who botch a robbery and wind up on the news. Then have them hunted down by the understandably upset but hyper-vengeful Sidney, Gale and company, thinking there are new copycats on the loose. Maybe throw in some of those obsessive movie fans worried that these amateurs will ruin the legacy of “Stab,” the in-story adaptation of the original film's story.

Sure, it's a bit farfetched and a further departure in tone, not unlike what I complained about earlier. But if you're going to push the envelope, push it in another direction.

* - Or maybe 5cream?

** - A friend of mine once suggested “Rube Goldberg strikes again” as the tagline for one of the Final Destination sequels,
and that's now all I can think of when it comes to that series.

*** - It' not title malpractice on the level of not calling the next Vin Diesel carmageddon movie Fast10 Your Seatbelts,
but 5cream was right there.