Ghostface Returns to Dissect Re-quels and New Victims

Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox 
in "Scream"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Twenty-five years ago, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson introduced a game-changer of the horror genre to moviegoers with their slasher film, “Scream,” which told the story of high-schooler Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends who are stalked by a masked killer with a love for horror movies.  With an ample amount of scares and laughs, this movie became the defining horror success of the ‘90s.

What soon followed was “Scream 2,” which focused on horror sequels; “Scream 3,” which dealt with trilogies; and “Scream 4,” which focused on remakes, with Craven directing all of them.  While the last two films weren’t quite as memorable as the first two, every installment has had memorable moments that have made this series a true force amongst horror movies.

With Craven’s passing in August 2015, it was difficult to think of how Sidney’s story could continue.  However, a way was found, one of which Craven would be proud.  In the fifth film, “Scream,” directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpen and Tyler Gillet bring us back to the town of Woodsboro for a brutal, funny, and thrilling installment.

After being away from Woodsboro for several years, Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) chooses to return to her hometown after hearing of an attack by someone in a Ghostface costume.  However, this person knows a family secret of hers and starts to come after not only Samantha, but also her friends.  The circumstances soon bring Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) back to help track down the culprit.

Similar to how Campbell, Cox, and Arquette fit back into their characters without flaw following the 11-year hiatus between the third and fourth installments, they return in full force after nearly another 11 years since the fourth film.  Despite playing these characters for as long as they have, there isn’t any trace of them phoning in their performances, as they still remain committed to doing what they can to make us care for this trio as much as we have in the past.

Barrera shows a full confidence with being a lead in in a long-running horror series.  She displays the emotional impact of what her past has done to her and exhibits how painful it is to return to the place where she has horrible memories.  The interactions that Samantha has with certain characters helps offer some layers of drama in between the scares and wit, and these scenes help exemplify how wonderful of an addition Barrera is to the series.

Although it’s great seeing the main trio return, the new cast members are still given plenty of time to have audiences get to know them and their varying personalities.  Besides Barrera, the rest of the newcomers include Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, and Sonia Ben Ammar.  Each of them is given a chance to be noticed in this film, with Brown being one of the standouts as Mindy, a character who’s similar to Randy Meeks (played by Jamie Kennedy in the first two films) and has an extensive film knowledge, which is showcased in a scene where she passionately and humorously describes the rules of a legacy sequel, or “re-quel,” which is a term for a movie that has the qualities of both a reboot and a sequel.  Aside from their individual performances, the chemistry that they have when they’re all together is one of the factors that makes this movie as entertaining as it is.

And, of course, Roger L. Jackson makes a superb return as the voice of Ghostface.  His voice is as unsettling as ever, particularly in the opening scene, where it seems like his voice slowly transitions from that of one person’s voice, all the way to the full Ghostface voice.  It’s a simple tactic that gets the chills going, and you see how, after 25 years, Jackson can still put us on edge the way he always has. 

The screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, the latter of whom was a co-writer for Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillet’s 2019 film, “Ready or Not,” carries all of the smarts that we’ve come to know in the “Scream” films.  The narrative includes analyses of legacy sequels (like 2018’s “Halloween”) and obsessive fandom, as well as little bit of entertaining dialogue about trashy horror vs. artistic horror.  The pop culture references are a lot of fun and don’t feel shoe-horned into the dialogue, and there are clever parallels to the original that also well-placed.  It’s one of those movies where you can catch many small things while watching, catch more as you think of certain scenes later, and will surely catch others upon a second viewing.  This series has shown a tremendous ability to throw in humor and nods that are both at face value and subtle, and the screenwriters are more than up for the task in when it comes to delivering these factors.  Although there’s a certain past-comes-back-to-haunt-you storytelling device that seems out of place with the tone of the rest of the movie, the intelligence of the story more than makes up for this misstep.

Right from the excellent opening sequence that’s up there with that of the original,  Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillet let us know that they’re going to do whatever they can to deliver an installment that lives up to what Craven built.  They maintain a terrific mix of horror and humor that made their last film, “Ready or Not,” so much fun, exhibiting the same talent that Craven had for being able to switch between these tones to offer an entertaining moviegoing experience.  And, just like how their “Ready or Not” cinematographer, Brett Jutkiewicz, was able to capture the details of that film’s setting in the giant mansion, he does just as well with the settings that he’s given for this film.  Jutkiewicz brings us through the interior of the characters’ homes in such a way that allows us to see the layout of these houses as we try to see from where Ghostface might emerge.

These films work best whenever they have something to say about the horror genre, so if there’s a new trend in a few years for this franchise to deconstruct, I’ll be ready to scream again.

Grade: A-