James Vanderbilt

It has been 25 years since the Woodsboro killings. Woodsboro high schooler Tara Carpenter is home alone when she gets a phone call that turns out to be from the newest Ghostface killer. Although she's badly wounded, she manages to survive, and Sam, her estranged older sister, comes to see her.

In this movie, Mindy and Chad, the twin children of Randy Meeks' sister, are the huge horror fans, and Mindy theorizes that the newest Ghostface killer is following the rules of a "requel," a franchise continuation that draws heavily from the plot of the original. Based on this, Tara's friends figure that the ones most in danger are those who have a direct connection to the original killings. With Tara, the connection lies in a secret her sister Sam has been keeping from her for years.

Based on some searches I've done, I have unpopular Scream opinions. For example, if I were rating all the movies from best to worst, the order would be: Scream (original), Scream 3, Scream 4, Scream (2022), and Scream 2.

From the sounds of things, most folks liked this installment in the franchise more than I did. In terms of killings, it definitely went for the gorier and more brutal side of things - not really my cup of tea, but that's just me. And hey, several of the previous movies had on-screen intestines, so it's not like the gore in this one was that unusual. Big biggest issue with this entry was the whole "requel" thing. I mean, yes, there had to be something tying this movie in with the franchise's "meta" aspect, but this just seemed so...weak.

I say this as someone who recently watched Ghostbusters: Afterlife and literally watched the "requel" rules play out. I just refuse to accept that "requel" is a real thing, so the way it was used in this Scream movie came across like a celebration of being creatively tied down by nostalgia and a reluctance to take risks.

Whereas Scream 3 and Scream 4 felt like an overly extended but still proper "goodbye," this movie just felt tired and unnecessary. In a lot of ways, Dewey was the embodiment of the franchise, worn out and unable to move on.

It boggles my mind that a sixth movie is being made. Just let the franchise go.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (more)