With Hollywood firmly in its "requel" era - when popular films are rebooted as a direct sequel to the original, often featuring legacy characters and fan-favourite elements that made the original such a success - the horror genre is particularly golden ground to mine. The likes of Halloween, Child's Play, Saw, Candyman are just a handful of the IPs that have pulled into the 21st century and given a fresh coat of paint, to hugely varying degrees of success. Wes Craven's Scream, released in 1994, is the latest title to undergo the reboot-sequel treatment, some 25 years after its first stab at the genre.
A new killer wearing the infamous Ghostface mask begins a renewed wave of terror in Woodsboro intent on revealing dark family secrets, which brings a number of familiar faces back to the town to end the torment once more. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett take the directorial helm with James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick penning the screenplay.
Operating with great reverence to the film that birthed it, 2022's Scream is a legacy sequel in every sense of the word -- paying homage to the franchise, genre and wider landscape of film. Brutally directed, indulging in the gory thrills and violent slashes that fans of the series have come to love, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are two more-than-assured pair of hands to carry the torch, gleefully delivering a flick respectful of that which proceeded it, while adding in a few new flourishes and bringing it up to date. Metatextual, played with a wink and nudge, the filmmakers have crafted an immensely playful and thoroughly enjoyable celebration of the elements that make a successful slasher, understanding what the fans of the series are after while attempting to elevate it with strong thematic underpinnings.
While not every twist and turn sticks the landings, the majority are executed skilfully, keeping audiences gripped and engaged for the duration of its generally well-paced 114 minute runtime. If the characters are too broadly sketched, it's rarely to the detriment of your entertainment; after all, who has time to build characters that very well may end up with a knife in their throat? The screenplay's ropey dialogue is unfortunately showcased mostly through the newcomers, who are oftentimes stranded with cheesy one-liners that aren't executed with the charisma needed but the commentary is where this script mostly shines, which results in an especially strong third act.
With key members of the legacy cast returning alongside a new legion of characters, Scream also has something to offer for those approaching the series with fresh eyes. The screenplay's ropey dialogue is unfortunately showcased mostly through the newcomers, who are oftentimes stranded with cheesy one-liners that aren't executed with the charisma needed. However, if anyone deserves to be applauded, it is Jenna Ortega, who is quickly becoming one of the most promising rising stars, delivering a performance laced with real depth and empathy. Of the returning legacy cast, it is as if Courtney Cox's Gale Weathers and Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott have never been gone, showcasing their dynamic and chemistry fantastically well; the writers are definitely more comfortable in evolving the established characters overwriting new ones into the universe.
2022's Scream is a blast, a reinvigorating, enjoyable franchise extension that magnificently toes the line of evolving the series while never straying too far from what the audiences are looking for in a sequel to the Wes Craven original. A brutal, meta examination of the genre that deconstructs the slasher while never removing the enjoyment of such a fun concept, Scream ticks a lot of boxes, and proves that "requels" can indeed work; where so many reboot horror franchises have failed to justify their return from the dead, Scream makes the resurrection so damn enjoyable.