I’ve been a fan of horror movies for as long as I can remember.
That being said, it was more for classic horror and science fiction horror from the 1970s-80s.
Things got a bit boring during the 90s horror flicks and I wasn’t even interested in the original “Scream” film in 1996.
However, I got reacquainted with the Scream franchise in college and have come to enjoy the films.
Still, it always feels like the more installments in a series the less interesting it becomes.
So, I was worried about “Scream” this week – also known as “Scream 5”.
Color me pleasantly surprised with this movie and I’m actually excited to see if they create another one or finally let the series rest.
Scream is a slasher film directed by Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.
It is technically the fifth installment in the Scream film series.
Though billed as a re-launch of the film series, the film is a direct sequel to Scream 4 (2011) and is the first in the film series to not be directed by Wes Craven, following his death in 2015.
The film is dedicated to Craven at the beginning of the closing credits.
The film stars Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Brown, Mason Gooding, Sonia Ammar, Kyle Gallner, and Jack Quaid, alongside Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell, who reprise their roles from previous installments.
Scream is rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, and some sexual references and is 114 minutes long.
Twenty-five years after Billy Loomis (Ulrich) and Stuart Macher (Lillard) terrorized the town of Woodsboro, a high school student named Tara Carpenter (Ortega) is home alone when she is attacked by Ghostface and left hospitalized.
While out of town, Tara’s older sister Sam Carpenter (Barrera) is informed by Wes Hicks (Minnette), about her sister’s attack.
Sam returns to Woodsboro with her boyfriend Richie Kirsch (Quaid) to visit Tara at the hospital where Sam is reunited with Tara’s friend group; Amber Freeman (Madison), twins Chad (Gooding), and Mindy Meeks-Martin )Brown), and Liv McKenzie (Ammar).
Liv’s summer fling Vince Schneider (Gallner), who is later revealed to be Stuart Macher’s nephew, is next to be killed by Ghostface.
After Sam’s arrival at the hospital, she is later attacked by Ghostface, and tells her sister Tara that she’s been dealing with hallucinations of Billy Loomis.
Sam then tells Tara that Billy is her biological father after discovering the truth years prior, which resulted in their parents’ separation and why Sam ran away from home and her.
The next day, Sam and Richie pay Dewey Riley (Arquette) a visit, who has been depressed since his divorce from Gale Weathers (Cox).
The pair ask for his help in stopping the killer and he refuses to help, but later contacts Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and Gale, warning them about the return of Ghostface.
Dewey then joins the teens at Mindy and Chad’s home and is reunited with the twins’ mother Martha, the sister of the late Randy Meeks.
With the three attacks being on people related in some capacity to the original killers, Sam is accused of being the killer.
Ghostface then murders Wes and his mother Sheriff Judy Hicks at their house.
There, Dewey reunites with Gale who has arrived in town to cover the story.
I think the best part of any of these films is figuring out who the killer or killers are before the rest of the cast.
This Scream film definitely works to tie together the older characters with the new generation and still leaves the series open for more installments.
I’d still rather watch it on the big screen to get the full gruesome death scenes than try to wait for it to come out on DVD or streaming services.
