Scream

This year's fifth entry in the SCREAM franchise is simply called SCREAM for some reason.  Not sure why "SCREAM 5" would be frowned upon.  This film, once again wearing its in-jokes and meta tendencies on its sleeve, even refers to this as someone comments on the movie-franchise-within-the-movie-franchise STAB, which is up to Part 8 but is simply called STAB.  This may be because, as another character states that this (the events of this story) is a "requel".  The movie itself, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, is in fact a continuation of SCREAM 4 and its predecessors, yet intended as some sort of reboot.  

We're back in Westboro.  Someone has donned the Ghostface mask twenty five years to the date after the events of the original massacre, again slashing teens after tormenting them over their landline and cell phones.  A young girl named Tara (Jenna Ortega) survives an attack and soon her estranged sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) returns to town to find out why It's Happening Again.  But she may already know, as she harbors a family secret that Ghostface seems to be wise to.   Are their friends in danger? Is one (or more) of them the killer(s)? Will we hear those "rules" again?

As before, we get a movie that shamelessly rehashes the earlier films' shtick and flippantly denounces itself.  Over and over.  Are we tired of this yet? Apparently not, as SCREAM 6 is slated for next year! It's a formula that has it both ways and has pleased at least three generations now.  I loved the first two installments, was cool towards the third, and enjoyed the fourth.  Those were all directed by the late Wes Craven with a verve that is even more noticeable compared to this movie, which just doesn't seem to know how to recreate the mad energy and effortless melding of comedy and horror.  Much of it is sterile and unimaginably filmed, even squandering a PSYCHO nod.  The filmmakers attempts at fake-outs also aren't too swift.  Matt and Tyler are competent, but need to study the old films more carefully if they are fit to be heirs and expect any further longevity with this series.

Also gone is screenwriter Kevin Williamson, replaced by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, who do a serviceable job of linking the new events to the old, even setting the finale in the same house as in the original, which was released in 1996.  They add some commentary about "elevated horror" - recent movies like THE BABADOOK and HEREDITARY, but only fleetingly.  The use of current technology and social media is also surprisingly spare.  And their new characters are bland, dull.   The young actors, led by Barrera, are attractive but one dimensional.  I never felt any real connection.  When Dewey (David Arquette), Gail (Courtney Cox) and good ol' Sidney (Neve Campbell) arrive they are more welcome than ever.  If there is ever a future SCREAM without them, it will suffer even more.  The smug savviness can only carry this so far, and for me we may have reached the finish line.

I was also baffled by the film's use of visions of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), one of the original Ghostface killers.  Specifically the final one.  No spoilers, but I found it odd and tasteless.  Speaking of which, some viewers might be surprised at how unrelentingly gory Part 5 is, with some surprisingly prolonged knifings and disembowlings.  The gore fiends will eat that up, but as always I'm more impressed with suspense than splatter, the ratio of which is not too favorable here.  

Generation Z viewers will rate this film much more highly than I do.  But I might have to agree with them that the finale, as they pretty much do in every SCREAM movie, kicks some ass.