WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SCREAM 2022, DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

25 years ago, a movie directed by Wes Craven was released called Scream. The movie depicted teenagers being terrorized and murdered by a killer called Ghostface, given the name from the white ghost mask the killer dons. We follow a girl named Sidney Prescott, whose mother was murdered years prior, as she is being stalked and attacked by this faceless killer. The killer turns out to be her own boyfriend, Billy Loomis, and his friend Stu Macher. More movies were released following the first one, with different culprits putting on the mask and terrorizing the town of Woodsboro. Scream was originally meant to be a humorous take on horror, but ended up becoming a cult classic and Ghostface becoming a household name. Wes Craven unfortunately passed away in 2015, and everyone believed that that would be the end of the beloved classic. However, everyone was shocked when they were given a teaser for a new, modern Scream movie. The movie was meant to release in 2021, but was delayed and set to release on January 14th, 2022. The film stars the original actors Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette reprising their OG characters, as well as a series of new faces to give a breath of fresh air to the franchise. Apparently in this film, Ghostface leaves no stone unturned, and he becomes more brutal with his kills. Yesterday, me and my friend Spencer went to see the newest addition to the franchise, and we were not disappointed. 

Hannah’s Review: I loved it. I love the Scream franchise, and I was super excited for this new film. Not going to lie, I was sort of nervous for the gore, but it turned out to be not that bad as some people had claimed it was. It was very easy to tell that it was fake, but it was realistic enough to make it seem all gross. For example, in a scene, Ghostface slid a knife through the skin of a man’s neck, the tip of the knife poking out from the other side. In the beginning scene, a girl named Tara was attacked in her home, and Ghostface stomped on her leg, breaking it. The jumpscares themselves could have been better, but I personally love Ghostface. Speaking of Ghostface, can we talk about for a second how he’s probably one of the most realistic killers in slasher movie history? In every single Scream movie, we see him trip, hit his head, fall, all of it. I think that’s what makes him so beloved. He can be terrifying, but at the same time, he can be extremely clumsy. The modern adaptation still kept the charm and classic formula of the other Scream movies, and the killer reveal was by far the most shocking. (MAJOR SPOILER IN THREE…TWO….ONE..) I did not expect it to be Richie. Not at all. But the other killer, Amber, was extremely predictable, since she was extremely suspicious throughout the movie. However, Dewey dying was an extremely emotional scene. A beloved character in the franchise suddenly dying was hard to watch, but the scene itself where he walked the halls of the hospital loading the gun was really cool. It was action packed but in silence. And we see the shot of the Ghostface coming out of the door. Chills. Literal chills. And let’s not forget the return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott and Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers. The two actresses were unforgettable in the previous films, so it was awesome to see them reprise their roles. In an interview, the two actresses claimed that it was really hard to work on a set again after Wes Craven’s passing. However, they knew that they would want to honor his memory by acting again in another Scream film. All in all, the movie was extremely good, and I highly recommend it to any horror fans or those who just want to visit the 90s again. 

Spencer’s review: Coming from a perspective where I’m personally not familiar with the “Scream” franchise, the movie individually was certainly up to par for recent horror standards. However, I feel as if the only way the movie truly stands out is if you know the storyline of the previous movies within the franchise, and how this recent installment fits within that storyline. For instance, Dewey, a character from much earlier movies, is now older and dies within the movie. Not only is this used as an extremely emotional scene within the film that uses the history of Dewey’s character within the franchise, but it also is a cornerstone in bringing back two more characters from previous installments, Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers. This movie didn’t particularly stick out as scary to me, as most of the jumpscares were… predictable to say the least. There are a lot of moments with tension, some even silent tension, but you’re still able to feel when to anticipate the jumpscare, and I feel like that takes away from the true scare factor of the movie. However, the movie withholds as something that both casual horror fans and first time viewers of the franchise alongside seasoned veterans of both horror and the “Scream” franchise can both thoroughly enjoy.

At the end of the day, Scream is a great movie. Whether or not you’ve seen the original films, anyone can enjoy it. Will we get a Scream 6? It is possible, but we’ll just have to wait and see.