Scream
PARAMOUNTAfter a ten-year absence and the death of its beloved creator, Wes Craven, in 2015, the intention and ultimately the creation of another Scream feature in the world of meta reboots and horror icons returning to Scream felt like its intention was for solely financial means – not to conquer the demand from its firm fan base for yet another sequel to this self-referential horror classic.
Granted, audiences of Scream have been here before with the last venture of Scream 4, released in 2011 and directed by its creator Craven, which was crafted to bring about a new trilogy of sorts. While it succeeded within its fan base, financially, it left a lot to be featured at the box office. Craven’s untimely death ultimately put a further precedent on keeping Ghostface away from cinema screens within MTV’s potential Scream TV series, taking the reigns for a short time to little satisfaction. Now in 2021, Ghostface is back in the horror realm and an even more meta and self-referential manner, targeting not only Sidney Prescot and co with a new, fresh cast on offer but sets its sights on the realm of sequels, reboots, prequels, and requels. While it leaves a little more to be desired in terms of plot and narrative, Scream 5 or Scream feels a worthy sequel to a franchise that has had its day.
First and foremost, the biggest worry and failure of many reboots and sequels to iconic horror classics is the new wave of characters and actors who, due to casting on looks and financial incentive alone, do so little in having an audience organically invest in the characters they play. Scream 5 is one of the few features of its kind to nail a new generation of performers to explore down the road further. Granted, its 2011 predecessor equally had a perfect cast list for the generation it was selling itself towards, and while only one character returns from that entry – with another blink and miss it reference to another – Scream 5 comfortably survives on its own two feet.
One of the significant surprising positives is that Sidney Prescot and co are most definitely on the back burner, and specifically, the character of Sidney acts as a third party almost to the events that unfold. Granted, this will undoubtedly be the biggest contention for fans of the franchise. Some will find it irritating that the golden goose is pushed aside, and others will argue that her existence in this venture alone is contrived and forced. In all honestly, the end result lands on the latter issue. While both Cox and Arquette respectively have a concrete and emotional core to the events themselves, Scream 5 finds little reward and reasoning for the latter emotive arc to be the source of Campbell’s return. While the trio does not have a significant scene with each other, they separately do justice to homaging and arching back to the franchise history as titans of this series.
Nevertheless, as aforementioned, the new cast swarms proceedings, and they are a breath of fresh air throughout. Hearing a new generation of nitpicking teenagers on the convention of genre cinema has never been this entertaining. Within the context of the Hollywood machine of rebooting and retooling everything remotely moderately successful, Scream 5 takes its place at deconstructing, analysing and, ultimately, toying with each respective genre convention imaginable. It does so for around two-thirds of its running time with clarity and decisiveness – but more on that later. What ultimately makes the thematics and core of these themes work are the performances themselves. Melissa Barrera, as the new Sidney Prescot, does excellent justice to not only the franchise DNA but crafts a compelling and confronting arc on the trope of mental illness in horror and the surrounding fallout of family ties. The two themes are not only poignant but deeply immersive in how they tie back into the ghosts of the franchise. Granted, many will find them contrived and brazen, but what could be more fitting in a feature that assassinates itself in such glee. Many of the newcomers equally do justice to their bit parts, and while the convention of the murderous antics of Ghostface is a clear implication that many if not all will not survive to the end credits, they are crafted with intrigue and depth from writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. Jack Quaid, Mikey Maddison, and Jasmin Savoy Brown all have great small but integral moments that reflect the fun and the conventions at hand but invest a sense of quality through character moments and, therefore, character arcs that craft emotive immersion and tension.
One glaring issue that this film presents by its existence is that iconic horror master Wes Craven sadly has no involvement bar, presumably, his estate. The cause for concern for such an integral instigator of this franchise not to be involved but for a studio to continue a franchise in their absence is a controversial and often morally ambiguous idea. This is a feature that idolises the house that built it, and creator Kevin Williamson returns behind the scenes to help steady the ship. Granted, Scream 5 does endorse certain controversial takes on the formula; it does so with the franchise's best interest and the whimsical nature in deconstructing and analysing convention. The results are constantly emotive and immersive with the handling of Ghostface, particularly feeling strangely more human and confirmed that constructs a more significant threat and atmospheric conditions for the characters to survive. The writers clearly love this franchise's whimsical albeit horror bravado, and while they honour the legacy of Scream itself, this venture is not afraid to dial up the frights and gore for a more desensitised generation regarding audience. Nothing is ever over the top but is nevertheless consistent in showcasing gore and violence in moments of thrilling and gruelling gravitas that Ghostface inhabits.
That being said, this entry is far from perfect, and while it hits most major keys in great succession, it is a feature, as mentioned previously, that for two-thirds finds balance but then for its final bow cannot seem to nail the landing. In context, this is regarding the reveals and true nature of its villains. While Scream 4 held a firm hand on the celebrity-indoctrinated society of its generation, this takes a more keen eye on the resulting fan base of franchises that lose grip on the heart and soul of what makes these things tick for their audiences. Within the notion and identity of this series and themes regarding the meta-rules one can play in this world, the result of Scream 5 is not that far fetched within the DNA strands of its predecessor. Still, it takes a colossal jump that might even be ahead of its time in terms of tone and historical importance while audiences and Hollywood together are living through the phase of fan base ownership vs producers. Time will only tell in terms of Scream 5 being arguably the first of its kind, and while it can just about justify the ensuring tone, it feels like a giant leap to take in the context of what narrative has come before it and what plan this evil has tried to commence.
That being said, within the era of exploiting the fan bases of old, Scream 5 does an honourable and justified job of crafting a new indictment and whimsical attack on the nature of horror with a whole host of thrilling set pieces and characters that provide immersion and a strong emotional core. It is a feature that homages and builds from the foundation provided and at times shoehorns its icons into proceedings but ultimately does so with a genuine reason of doing justice to this saga and giving fans an often brilliant balance of fresh, inventive twists and a strong foundation of the series past.
