Friday, January 21, 2022

Scream(5)




The following review contains spoilers

I could not mask my joy attending a real theater again to watch this movie, no pun intended. And though inclement weather thwarted my plans to experience this film at an early showing with what I assume would be a much livelier audience, I still enjoyed this movie a bunch. I just had to stifle some of the moments that made me squee a bit, like hearing Dewey's theme when he decided to help our new main girl and learning that Sid is happy with babies and McDreamy. This is one film at least for me, where nostalgia alone could carry my enjoyment(But it is an exception. Movie execs please stop milking my cherished media memories for a buck. Thanks. Sincerely, Everyone) And while I assumed by the title alone which implies reboot that Sidney and the gang would not be the central focus, I was not expecting Cox and Campbell to be so relegated to cameos. (I did anticipate it with Arquette though. RIP Sheriff Reilly). But again, that did not make the movie a miserable experience, just not on par with any of the other Scream movies.

 I think one character even specifically says this new whodunnit is fanfiction and it did not surprise me to learn afterward that the directors were Scream fanboys. I knew Kevin Williamson was involved in the production and I had mistakenly hoped he would be involved more in the writing, although I can imagine his apprehension in writing for high schoolers nowadays. It was definitely a pale imitation of Williamson's clever writing who I think we can attribute to inventing the once novel trope of self-aware precocious teenage dialogue that has become hackneyed now due to overuse on shows like Riverdale. I just didn’t like any of the new cast except for Jenna Ortega’s Tara and Jack Quaid’s Richie. Tara especially employs the precocious self-aware teen speech to a T but wins favor from me in how well-acted her part is by Jenna Ortega. Many other viewers have noted that she is the true final girl, the survivor we’re all rooting for. She has the same tenderness and raw fighting spirit as Neve in Scream 1996. She evades death even though she’s framed as the film’s Casey Becker! But instead, the movie positions her sister, Sam as the heroine of this franchise. 

I actually like Sam’s backstory, it's an interesting one that mirrors Sidney’s.  The daughter of a town harlot becomes the illegitimate daughter of a serial killer, Billy Loomis(Carol J Clover would be impressed). She confesses this secret to her half-sister Tara in the hospital and it expectedly causes her to feel at odds with her identity much in the same way Sidney did after learning of her mother’s past. When she receives news that her sister has been attacked by Ghostface, she brings her beau Richie to Woodsboro, who is so obviously the killer, even the not so sharp Dewey, calls it. I also had my suspicions about Tara’s friend Maya the whole time who had surprisingly little screen time.
 
All of the new Woodsboro residents did and I wonder if that was the sacrifice that needed to be made to grant sufficient time for the legacy characters. I appreciated that but it does nothing to endear the newbies to me. For example, Mindy, one of the twins of  Randy Meeks, the beloved movie expert, and comic relief is positioned to fulfill the same role in this franchise but fell short for me in the humor category. Most of Tara’s friends had such little screen time, I can barely form an opinion about their character besides the gruff archetypes they obviously were meant to subvert at some point, but the subversions never really happened, unless you count their attacks/deaths being one. One exception is Dylan Minette’s Wes, while knowing very little about his Nice Guy character I was in constant dread in the scene following his mother’s death(RIP Sheriff Judy. RIP Lemon squares) thanks in large part to the score, and me watching 13 Reasons Why for way too long and being trauma bonded with any character played by Minette as a result. His existence and later death created an in-universe excuse for the characters to celebrate a  house party in his honor which was really an excuse for the filmmakers’ to celebrate Wes Craven(I have to give them mad props for that. It was a clever homage) 

The party is hosted by Amber whose parents just happen to own Stu Macher’s old house.  This house predictably is the climax of the film where we have our showdown with the big reveal: Ghostface is two and also fanboys. To quote the Sidney Prescott, it is very derivative. With all the Rian Johnson’s Last Jedi references the film makes, forgive me for having a similar response as Star Wars fans when I question the decision to make Richie and Amber nobody’s. They are once again motivated to kill so that they can inspire better material for the Stab franchise…? All around I enjoyed myself. I thought Jack Quaid and Jenna Ortega did a bang-up job. The direction evoked suspense in many scenes which have always been a Scream staple so kudos for that( I don’t know why people were acting like the Scream movies weren’t dark already.) and a few good laughs and heartwarming moments. I even like the backstory for the new final girl and I hope to see the actress’ performance improve in future movies. I hope my criticisms were not too cutting. I’d hate to be mistaken for Ghostface…

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