Scream Franchise

[starri]

On 10/23/2021 at 11:05 PM, kiddo82 said:

And speaking of SMG, I'll take any chance I can get to praise her in that scene.  Her face is so damned expressive but it's never over the top. 

They even reshot the film school scene to beef up her part.  It was originally a different actress (the take is on the DVD, and SMG acts rings around her).  It's a real testament to her skills that Cici is such a strong character with such little screen time.

Same with Jada Pinkett Smith and Maureen.

2 has no business being as good as it is.

[Spartan Girl]

My friend saw 2 in a drive-in and liked it. She was glad that the original ending of Derek and Hallie being the killers was leaked and scrapped because it was too much like the first movie. Although it does make Hallie’s fate as The Black Friend Who Dies because Sidney was too stupid to run when she had the chance worse in hindsight. The writers really had no better options for her character? Either she was the villain or had to die? Ugh.

[Morrigan2575]

The 4th one must have not been very good because I barely remember it.  There are scenes and plot twists from the first 3 that I can remember vividly but, I'm mostly a blank in 4 except I remember Anthony Anderson and Sydney having a bitch publicist

[Racj82]

On 10/31/2021 at 9:50 PM, Spartan Girl said:

My friend saw 2 in a drive-in and liked it. She was glad that the original ending of Derek and Hallie being the killers was leaked and scrapped because it was too much like the first movie. Although it does make Hallie’s fate as The Black Friend Who Dies because Sidney was too stupid to run when she had the chance worse in hindsight. The writers really had no better options for her character? Either she was the villain or had to die? Ugh.

You could look at her as just a character as I'm sure the writers did. Basically every new character died so yeah, die or be the villain were her options.

I still love Duane Martin as the cameraman. Smartest horror movie character ever. 

Edited November 3, 2021 by Racj82

[Anela]

On 11/2/2021 at 8:52 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

The 4th one must have not been very good because I barely remember it.  There are scenes and plot twists from the first 3 that I can remember vividly but, I'm mostly a blank in 4 except I remember Anthony Anderson and Sydney having a bitch publicist

I watched the third one on Monday, because I couldn't remember much about it. I was surprised by how much I'd forgotten. I could only remember Sidney living on a remote property, with a fake name, working a hotline, and Patrick Dempsey as the cop investigating the murders. 

[txhorns79]

On 11/5/2021 at 6:29 PM, Anela said:

I watched the third one on Monday, because I couldn't remember much about it. I was surprised by how much I'd forgotten.

I watched the third one recently as well.  I was surprised at how ahead of its time the backstory on Sidney's mother felt.  Some parts of the movie come off as too silly, like the whole the killer uses a fax machine (which somehow still works after the power is cut) to threaten the characters, and the idea that Randy recorded a video shortly before his death to explain the rules of a trilogy to everyone.  There are good parts as well, but the movie feels somewhat muddled.  

[Bastet]

On 11/2/2021 at 5:52 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

The 4th one must have not been very good because I barely remember it. 

It drove home how old I'd become, since I didn't recognize any of the actors in the opening kill, no this is the opening kill, no, really, it's this one pre-title sequence.

I was excited to see one of my favorite actors, Mary McDonnell, but much of her storyline as Sid's aunt/Maureen's sister got cut for time, so that didn't pan out as I'd hoped (and I'm irked the deleted scenes aren't on the Blu-Ray).

But I still like it, especially for the "What am I supposed to do - go to college, work?!" commentary about the next generation of killers, and how fun it was for a bunch of us among the opening night cinema audience to say "Clear" along with Gale, having realized what she was going to do but not being rendered any less excited by it.

[starri]

12 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

There are good parts as well, but the movie feels somewhat muddled.

There's no getting around that it's hurt by Neve's availability limiting Sidney's involvement in her own story.  I think they only had her for about three weeks of the two-month shoot.

There is some good stuff in there, namely Parker Posey.  I also like the scene of them watching Randy's tape.  The set-up is a little contrived, but all of them--especially Gale--have these great reaction shots. Just a great mixture of fondness, sadness, and fear.  

It also kind of hangs a lampshade on one of the few things I don't like about 2, namely that we never get to see Dewey react to Tatum's death.  There's a moment where Gale is listing of Billy and Stu’s victims and when she gets to Tatum, she shoots Dewey an "I'm sorry" Look, and that's it.  I don't think Tatum is ever mentioned any other time after she dies, and Dewey really deserved a moment with his sister's murder.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, starri said:

There is some good stuff in there, namely Parker Posey. 

I love her.  I'd watched her on As The World Turns back in the day, and seen her in many an indie film, so it was really fun to see her turn up in a Scream movie - where she's an absolute delight as the movie version of Gale, so I particularly love the scenes she and Courteney Cox do together.  "Alright, easy Geraldo" makes me laugh every time, the scene with Carrie Fisher is great, and I love this exchange:

-What the hell are you doing?
-Being Gale Weathers!  What are you doing?
-I am Gale Weathers!
-Here's how I see it: I've got no house, no bodyguard, no movie, and I'm being stalked.  Because someone wants to kill me? No, because someone wants to kill you.  So, starting now, I go where you go.  So that if someone wants to kill me, I'll be with you, and, since they really wanna kill you, they won't kill me, they'll kill you.  Make sense?
-None!
-You know, in the movies, I play you as being much smarter.
-And as a sane person.  For you, that must be quite a stretch.

6 hours ago, starri said:

It also kind of hangs a lampshade on one of the few things I don't like about 2, namely that we never get to see Dewey react to Tatum's death.  There's a moment where Gale is listing of Billy and Stu’s victims and when she gets to Tatum, she shoots Dewey an "I'm sorry" Look, and that's it.  I don't think Tatum is ever mentioned any other time after she dies, and Dewey really deserved a moment with his sister's murder.

I love that little glance, too, for the same reason.  All the murders were traumatizing, but Tatum was Sidney's best friend and Dewey's sister.  Who spent all her time teasing him, but that's being siblings at that age -- bottom line is his little sister was murdered by the killer he was hunting, and, as you said, that deserved a moment.

Sidney discovered Tatum's body, so we got the payoff of her reaction in the original film, but the way the killings and final showdown proceeded - especially because Dewey was supposed to be dead but then that shot of him being loaded into the ambulance was added to leave it open for the sequel - Dewey's reaction didn't exist.  There needed to be a nod to that in the sequel, and Cox delivered it. 

[methodwriter85]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:18 AM, starri said:

There's no getting around that it's hurt by Neve's availability limiting Sidney's involvement in her own story.  I think they only had her for about three weeks of the two-month shoot.

The other problem going on was the reaction to the then-recent Columbine murderers...they had to cut back on the gore and thus it started becoming more on the goofiness.

I really liked 4 but my biggest problem with it is that none of the teen characters survive in it. Kirby was supposed to, but they dropped it when the initial Scream 5 plans were scuttled. I personally would have loved it because the slightly bitchy blonde girl is never supposed to be the survivor at the end. (Which is something that Happy Death Day explored pretty well.) It looks like they plan on bringing back Marley Shelton from 4 which just feels like a "wtf?" for me. 

I do think 2 is probably the strongest of the franchise.

Finally, as a childfree person, I kind of love that they never made the Trio parents, especially Dewey and Gale. That was apparently something they considered for 4 (giving them a kid that would have been born between 2000 and 2010)  but decided against it and that works. 

Edited November 9, 2021 by methodwriter85

[Josh371982]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:18 AM, starri said:

There's no getting around that it's hurt by Neve's availability limiting Sidney's involvement in her own story.  I think they only had her for about three weeks of the two-month shoot.

There is some good stuff in there, namely Parker Posey.  I also like the scene of them watching Randy's tape.  The set-up is a little contrived, but all of them--especially Gale--have these great reaction shots. Just a great mixture of fondness, sadness, and fear.  

It also kind of hangs a lampshade on one of the few things I don't like about 2, namely that we never get to see Dewey react to Tatum's death.  There's a moment where Gale is listing of Billy and Stu’s victims and when she gets to Tatum, she shoots Dewey an "I'm sorry" Look, and that's it.  I don't think Tatum is ever mentioned any other time after she dies, and Dewey really deserved a moment with his sister's murder.

About seeing Dewey React to Tatum's murder. I agree we never really got to see him react to that. I also remember Tatum always seeming bothered by him,not being nice to him at all and I wanted a scene at least in Scream 2 with Sidney and Dewey talking about Tatum where Sidney assured Dewey that Tatum loved him etc something like that. Cause she never seemed to be nice to him in Scream lol

[Bastet]

On 11/9/2021 at 1:25 AM, methodwriter85 said:

I really liked 4 but my biggest problem with it is that none of the teen characters survive in it. Kirby was supposed to, but they dropped it when the initial Scream 5 plans were scuttled.

What were the original plans for 5?

I liked Kirby; she was by far my favorite of the new characters.  I had no idea until the credits came up at the end that she was Hayden Panettiere, as I hadn't seen her in anything since she was much younger (and had really long hair).

[methodwriter85]

I believe the original plans for 5 was that 4 was going to end on a cliffhanger (I'm assuming the scene where Emma Roberts is brought to the hospital) and they were going to find both/one of Sydney and Kirby alive in the house, with Sydney having amnesia and Jill being an alive ghostface.

[Josh371982]

4 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I believe the original plans for 5 was that 4 was going to end on a cliffhanger (I'm assuming the scene where Emma Roberts is brought to the hospital) and they were going to find both/one of Sydney and Kirby alive in the house, with Sydney having amnesia and Jill being an alive ghostface.

I heard that Wes Said his orginal plan was to end on the shot of Jill being loaded into the ambulance, she was going to look at the camera, smile then Fade to black. Also it was going to look like everyone was dead but they find Kirby alive. Didn't hear anything about Sydney having amnesia though 

[methodwriter85]

8 minutes ago, Josh371982 said:

I heard that Wes Said his orginal plan was to end on the shot of Jill being loaded into the ambulance, she was going to look at the camera, smile then Fade to black. Also it was going to look like everyone was dead but they find Kirby alive. Didn't hear anything about Sydney having amnesia though 

I honestly think that movie would have made a lot more money.

[Josh371982]

Just now, methodwriter85 said:

I honestly think that movie would have made a lot more money.

Lol I loved Kirby and I know others that do as well lol. When I heard how Wes was gonna originally end Scream 4 I thought that it really could've worked. It would've been different for the franchise and probably stuck into Viewers minds. And yes probably made more money😁. He also apparently  said of course that it would have been a hook to set up Scream 5 as he did intend for 4 to start another Trilogy 

[BetterButter]

[Bastet]

I don't even recognize the people I presumably know; I assume that's Neve Campbell in the middle, I'm almost positive that's David Arquette to the upper right, and is that Courteney Cox to the upper left?  (I've got nothing for the rest.)

I'm still not at marinating in a movie theatre point of the pandemic so, since this isn't also streaming somewhere (unlike the latest Halloween entry my horror friend and I were able to watch "opening night" on Peacock), I won't see this for a while.  That's a bummer, but I'm still glad there's another entry and hope it's good.  At some point, though, diminishing returns kick in, and I hope they don't screw this up.

[Morrigan2575]

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

don't even recognize the people I presumably know; I assume that's Neve Campbell in the middle, I'm almost positive that's David Arquette to the upper right, and is that Courteney Cox to the upper left?  (I've got nothing for the rest.)

Yes on all 3. The only other one I know is Jack Quaid (The Boys), front left.

[calliope1975]

Kyle Gallner's in this but he didn't get his own poster (had to make one himself lol https://www.instagram.com/p/CXHHmC-OACi/) and I don't see him here so I'm very curious what his role will be.  

[BetterButter]

Your Favorite Scary Movie: The Oral History of ‘Scream’

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, BetterButter said:

Your Favorite Scary Movie: The Oral History of ‘Scream’

Nothing new, but I never tire of reading reflections on how it came to be - this little film that could, simultaneously a parody while also a great example of the genre being parodied.  Whatever came after (and I think the sequels are worthy, far more than many franchises, even if it not as fantastic as the original) and however it ultimately ends, this was really something.  

[starri]

I loved, loved, loved Brittany Murphy, but I cannot for a single second picture her as Sid.

If you ever want a master class in how to be in a horror movie, watch the first ten minutes of the first film.  It's Drew Barrymore acting against NOTHING, and selling the hell out of Casey's mounting terror.

[Anela]

On 12/14/2021 at 1:40 AM, Bastet said:

I don't even recognize the people I presumably know; I assume that's Neve Campbell in the middle, I'm almost positive that's David Arquette to the upper right, and is that Courteney Cox to the upper left?  (I've got nothing for the rest.)

I'm still not at marinating in a movie theatre point of the pandemic so, since this isn't also streaming somewhere (unlike the latest Halloween entry my horror friend and I were able to watch "opening night" on Peacock), I won't see this for a while.  That's a bummer, but I'm still glad there's another entry and hope it's good.  At some point, though, diminishing returns kick in, and I hope they don't screw this up.

I wish they would change their minds, and release it on a streaming service, too.  I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of going to the theatre, a month ago.  I’m definitely not now.  

Edited December 23, 2021 by Anela

[Bastet]

I think there's some interesting psychology in when horror movie characters try to save others and when they run away to try to save themselves, so I love the scene where Randy and Stu are each accusing the other, and Sidney grabs Dewey's gun, backs into the house, says "Fuck you both", and slams the door shut.

Re-watching the original last night (MTV2 ran a marathon of all four films, so I watched for a while), I thought about the fact Kenny's reaction to seeing the killer on the monitor is not to jump into the driver's seat and get the hell out of there, but to get out and start towards the house to help Randy (then, of course, he remembers the 30-second delay and that's the end of Kenny). 

Edited December 24, 2021 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I am so irritated this is only being released in theaters, with no streaming option.  Final trailer:

 

[Dr.OO7]

On 11/2/2021 at 9:45 PM, Racj82 said:

still love Duane Martin as the cameraman. Smartest horror movie character ever. 

"Brothers don't last long in situations like this".

He leaves town. . . and survives.

BRILLIANT.

Especially in a movie which perfectly lampshades the Black Dude Dies First trope by having two African American characters indeed be the first victims and having Sydney's Black Best Friend get killed instead of her.

[Morrigan2575]

Wow, that final trailer was great. The movie looks really good, I hope it lives up to her first 3.

Still worried for the OG Cast maybe take a look at spoilers before watching.

[Bill1978]

That trailer looks incredible and has convinced me that it is best I wait until I can view it at home. At midday with windows open and the ability to pause AND possibly even spoiled. I am such a wuss but I do love this series = only slasher films I am happy to watch.

[Spartan Girl]

I have a horrible theory on who the killer might be...but I don't want to share it because I really don't want to manifest it into reality. I'll wait until the movie comes out.

[Morrigan2575]

9 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

love this series = only slasher films I am happy to watch.

Pretty much the same. I hate Slasher flicks but, I'll watch The Scream series.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Morrigan2575

[AgathaC]

32 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Pretty much the same. I hate Slasher flicks but, I'll watch The Scream series.

Similar here. I do kind of like the first Halloween (which is nothing compared to later stuff) but that’s it. Yet, I love Scream. I think it’s the humor and the mystery angle. Most other slasher flicks, you know who the killer is. In Scream, figuring out who’s behind the mask is a big part of it.

[Morrigan2575]

13 minutes ago, AgathaC said:

Yet, I love Scream. I think it’s the humor and the mystery angle

Yep. I remember watching the first movie in a group and I was jumping and covering my eyes. Then we got to the end with the Billy/Stu reveal and I was LMAO.  

[tennisgurl]

Scream is definitely my favorite horror franchises and the one that is the most consistently enjoyable. Even Scream 3, by far my least favorite, has its moments. I was worried about this movie, as 4 seemed to end things on a strong note, but this does look really freaking cool. 

I think my favorite moment in the franchise is in the first one, where Randy is watching Halloween while Sid and Kenny are watching from the camera in the van as the killer approaches Randy in the house, only its a few minutes behind. Its all extremely tense already, as Sid and Kenny watch in horror as the killer sneaks up behind an unsuspecting Randy, but what really takes it to the next level is that, as Randy is watching Michael Myers sneak up on Laurie, played by Jaimie Lee Curtis, he starts yelling "turn around Jamie, turn around!" as Randy himself doesn't turn around to see the killer sneaking up on him...Randy who is played by Jamie Kennedy. Its everything I love about the franchise in a nutshell, it works both as a straight horror scene and a fun bit of meta.

Edited January 6, 2022 by tennisgurl

[Luckylyn]

Scream House Tour

 

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Scream House Tour

That was fun.  I'd never heard that about Skeet Ulrich actually getting stabbed with the umbrella because Neve Campbell missed the protective vest he was wearing.  Ouch.

[methodwriter85]

On 12/22/2021 at 7:53 AM, starri said:

I loved, loved, loved Brittany Murphy, but I cannot for a single second picture her as Sid.

If you ever want a master class in how to be in a horror movie, watch the first ten minutes of the first film.  It's Drew Barrymore acting against NOTHING, and selling the hell out of Casey's mounting terror.

Brittany did this weird, odd slasher comedy horror film called "Cherry Falls" where she played the Virginal Good Girl. You never quite buy her as that, but I think that's kind of the point. The whole film leans more on the parody side. The vibe of it actually kind of reminded me a little bit of the 1989  film Cutting Class with Jill Schoelen, Brad Pitt, and Donovan Leitch. 

It was edited and released on TV in 2000.

Edited January 10, 2022 by methodwriter85

[Racj82]

I love slasher movies and I love the Scream series. The perfect love letter to the genre.

If anyone here has t mobile, with t mobile Tuesdays today, there are giving 4 dollar movie tickets through atom. The online movie ticket service. It's easy to use. Doesn't cost you anything. I'm on vacation so I think I'm going Thursday night.

[JessePinkman]

I have a lot of feelings about this movie. I've grown up with the Scream franchise, the first one came out when I was 13 and it's one of the few series of films where I can watch them over and over and not get bored (not you, Scream 3).

Scream 4 to me is the beautiful love letter to the first one this one (5cream) tried to be. Unfortunately Scream 2022 did not hit the mark. And I think a lot of that comes down to who they cast as the lead, Melissa Barrera. She's beautiful, lovely but not a good actress, comes across as terribly inauthentic onscreen. I don't know who decided she should be the new lead but it was a mistake, especially when Jenna Ortega is right there, who was fantastic. And putting her next to Neve who has a very natural screen presence.

I just don't think this movie will stand up to rewatches. The reveal of the killers was rather lame, it felt very paint by numbers, this is a series where the killer reveals are my favorite part! I meeeeeean Billy and Stu, Mrs. Loomis, Jill Roberts, all of those reveals were fantastic sequences where I was completely engrossed. I just felt sort of deflated after this one.

 

[Racj82]

14 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

I have a lot of feelings about this movie. I've grown up with the Scream franchise, the first one came out when I was 13 and it's one of the few series of films where I can watch them over and over and not get bored (not you, Scream 3).

Scream 4 to me is the beautiful love letter to the first one this one (5cream) tried to be. Unfortunately Scream 2022 did not hit the mark. And I think a lot of that comes down to who they cast as the lead, Melissa Barrera. She's beautiful, lovely but not a good actress, comes across as terribly inauthentic onscreen. I don't know who decided she should be the new lead but it was a mistake, especially when Jenna Ortega is right there, who was fantastic. And putting her next to Neve who has a very natural screen presence.

I just don't think this movie will stand up to rewatches. The reveal of the killers was rather lame, it felt very paint by numbers, this is a series where the killer reveals are my favorite part! I meeeeeean Billy and Stu, Mrs. Loomis, Jill Roberts, all of those reveals were fantastic sequences where I was completely engrossed. I just felt sort of deflated after this one.

 

Disagree with most of that.

I thought it was very good. I would be down with rewatches. I didn't have a problem with the reveal.

I can see certain people deeming this movie as woke. A woman of color in the lead. Multiple races within the group which is all new for this franchise. Also, one of them gay or bi. Diversity equals woke you know! Sarcasm. Sometimes I do think it can be a bit of ticking boxes but not always. All the best new editions were people of color in the movie.

The reveal was very timely. It also feels like an extension of part 4.

I will agree that the lead was kind of bland but Jenny killed it. She's going to be a scream queen in no time between this and babysitter 2. The lead was flat on in the heights too.

People kept saying this movie was bloody and it is very bloody. Ghostface felt possibly the most intimidating they've ever felt. GF also seemed to enjoy the kills more.

I feel like this has elements of all the scream movies except for 3. But, I guess Hollywood in general seems to be important. But, part of the reveal reminds me of 4, how the killer is deciding who to kill reminds me of 2 and there are various callbacks to 1.

I kind of don't want anymore of the franchise though. This isn't like Friday the 13th with a impossible killer so you have to keep creating new killers and its going to keep feeling redundant after a while. The reveal is never not going feel like a pale imitation of the original. Part 4 found a way to break out of it by having Jill go so nuts. At least with this one, I genuinely couldn't figure out who survives.

More and more, I hate survivors of horror movies being killed off in later installments. For me, if you survive a horror movie, I don't want to see you killed off later. You made it! Moreso with the big lead characters. 

One big issue I will say is that our originals are barely there and superfluous except for Dewey while the new cast largely disappear for the whole second act. They really have not done a good job of establishing a core group of friends. It makes it harder to care about them. 

Part 2 is good  as individuals buy they don't really feel like a group of friends. Part 3, they are not friends. Part 4 everyone is boring except Kirby. 

In this installment, it's more like Scream 2. Fun individually but never gel as a group. 

The party made no fucking sense. Mostly because of why it ends. If you think about it, it makes the reveal obvious as fuck and I did guess who Ghostface was pretty easily. It's not the most important element of these movies but i can't see people too confused here. This is a try not to overthink who you think it is situation.

Neve and Marley have aged so gracefully. I wish Courtney could of too. David oddly felt so much more put together than he usually does in real life. As goofy as he can be, there is clear reason why David Arquette never has a bad word said about him and he keeps friends for a real long time. Friends with Luke Perry from 92 until his death. Still friends with Soliel Moon Frye over 30 years.

I miss the big screen slasher movie. 

Well, back to no movie theaters for me. Spider-Man and Scream got me out! I had zero people directly around me and never took my mask down. I'm not scared. I barely went to movie theaters as is by 2019.

[Sheenieb]

On 1/14/2022 at 4:15 PM, JessePinkman said:

I just don't think this movie will stand up to rewatches. The reveal of the killers was rather lame, it felt very paint by numbers, this is a series where the killer reveals are my favorite part! I meeeeeean Billy and Stu, Mrs. Loomis, Jill Roberts, all of those reveals were fantastic sequences where I was completely engrossed. I just felt sort of deflated after this one.

I agree. Like all of the Scream movies, it was fun, but I was disappointed as well. If they really wanted to raise the stakes, then Sidney should've been killed. I know this wouldn't have worked because it's impossible to keep things under wraps on the Internet, and she's on the movie poster anyway, but I would've liked it if Sidney's comeback was a surprise. She comes back to help Sam and the rest of the group kill Ghostface. I thought it was going to be like Nancy's return in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3. 

 

Spoiler

Besides Amber living in Stu's house, Richie had no connection to the first movie. The motive was wack. They were just superfans? Meh. 

 

[bettername2come]

In terms of quality, I'd say this one ranks 4th out of 5. I really don't enjoy Scream 3. And I appreciated that Tara was watching a horror movie ep of Dawson's Creek in the hospital, and I was so happy with the Kevin Williamson connection, that I completely forgot Scott Foley was the killer in Scream 3 and was just like "Oh, I forgot Noel was ever on that show." 

Jenna Ortega was the standout performance in this. And really, having the opening victim live through the entire movie is an exciting change to the structure of the films. If anyone should be the new Sidney Prescott it's her. And I liked Jack Quaid's performance as well. 

So I guess they implied Sidney married Detective Mark, despite no mention in the 4th one. Did they do a break up, get back together thing?

I was waiting for the reveal to be that there were 3 killers this time.

[methodwriter85]

14 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

In terms of quality, I'd say this one ranks 4th out of 5. I really don't enjoy Scream 3. And I appreciated that Tara was watching a horror movie ep of Dawson's Creek in the hospital, and I was so happy with the Kevin Williamson connection, that I completely forgot Scott Foley was the killer in Scream 3 and was just like "Oh, I forgot Noel was ever on that show." 

Jenna Ortega was the standout performance in this. And really, having the opening victim live through the entire movie is an exciting change to the structure of the films. If anyone should be the new Sidney Prescott it's her. And I liked Jack Quaid's performance as well. 

Jenna Ortega brought the emotional depth that you need for this series. (I enjoyed Scream 3 but I thought it lacked any kind of real depth, so I can see why you liked that one the least.) I did REALLY like Kirby in Scream 4 and thought the killer reveal in that one was much better than here, so I'm kind of with you in ranking this 4th out of 5. I also think the character development in 4 was better. I was also scratching my head about the mother- her youngest daughter is skewered and she's not anywhere around? They should have just said that the mother died a few months ago, but Sam didn't come to the funeral. (Jenna could have reasonably been 17 or 18 and therefore looking after herself by that point.) That could have been used to explain why they were so estranged- if I were Jenna, I would have been absolutely livid about my sister not showing up to our mother's funeral. 

The biggest downside to me is that Sam (I really don't get why she had attitude about being called Samantha- the woman is supposed to be 25-ish, not a teenager) was not played by a compelling actress, and I absolutely hated the Billy Loomis hallucinations. The series has always had a campy element but the Billy Loomis stuff was way too much, and way too inconsistent with the grounded feel of the entire series. There's always been at least somewhat plausible events here- having a "ghost" was way too much. Plus, as great as Skeet Ulrich looks, using CGI just will not make him look like he's 17 again. 

Ugh, I wish I could have recast Sam with Jeanine Mason or hell, Donna LaDonna probably could have worked this well. Oh, well- for a series that has had above average casting all around, the fact that they biffed it with the leading lady for 5 is kind of baffling. Then again, I do think of her as the "decoy" leading lady- the real star is Jenna Ortega. If they do a 6th they would be absolutely moronic not to use her.

I also thought that we should have seen Wes at least have a reaction to seeing his dead mother Marley Shelton- again, the character development in this was pretty bad, especially for the non-main characters. 

34 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

So I guess they implied Sidney married Detective Mark, despite no mention in the 4th one. Did they do a break up, get back together thing?

Marley Shelton never mentioned having kids in the 4th one and yet here she was with a full grown teenager who would have been at least 6 years old in 2011. They were pretty close to the vest about what Sidney was up to in 4- all that we really knew is that she had written a book. Sidney could have very well been married with Mark. In this she's pushing a stroller, implying that she has a baby, but she also mentions "dropping the girls off at school", which means she probably has older kids who are at least 5 as well. We don't actually see the kids which means they're keeping their options open, in terms of looks and probably age.

 

[Luckylyn]

My theory as I started watching Scream 2022 was that one of the killers was going to be the son of Stu who was bitter that Billy is the killer who gets remembered with Stu as an afterthought.  I was convinced that Tara not being able to remember Stu’s name in the opening sequence was going to be significant.

[Lady Calypso]

So, with theatres finally opening back up in Canada, I made the time to see Scream 5/Scream (2022) yesterday. And...I definitely have some thoughts on it.

In terms of ranking, I'd place this either third or fourth (Scream 3 is the weakest, but I actually have Scream 2 wavering with Scream 5 for the third spot; I actually liked Scream 4).

I was also underwhelmed by Sam/Melissa Barrera's performance. It could have equally been the poor writing surrounding her character (the scene where she's telling Tara about her biological father was...not a well written scene), but I do think it showed that it took the actress time to get into her role. There are some scenes where she does feel like she's connecting with her character more than other scenes, and I wonder if those scenes were filmed later. I don't think she's nearly enough of a compelling character to be the star of the films. Jenna Ortega, on the other hand, is quite talented and sold Tara very well. I did enjoy Tara surviving past the opening attack, even if I was a bit annoyed at first that we didn't have the infamous opening kill scene (I have grown to appreciate them subverting that trope because of Jenna). 

I also think the direction they took with the killers was fairly weak. I know the past killers have not had incredibly compelling motives at times, but the killers doing what they did because the last Stab films were terrible and they wanted to inspire a better Stab 9?

At least, in the previous films, the killers had somewhat of a personal reason behind it. Here, it's two young people, wanting to do it for fun, not because they have a vendetta against any of the people they're killing. Maybe a rewatch will clarify the ending and make it seem less...bleh as it was to me.

I also agree that this film did a poor job at establishing the friend group. Their first hang-out scene, sans Tara and without Sam/Richie, didn't really gel. Scream 1 fountain scene, it was not. Especially characters like Chad and Liv, who got some screentime, but not nearly enough.

Plus, yes, for half the kids being related to past scream characters, some of them don't make much sense. Judy was never said to have kids in Scream 4 and she never even hinted at someone who had a kid already in school. And the Stu nephew felt a little bit contrived.

There are some things I did appreciate about this film, though. They did try to subvert some of the classic tropes (the opening scene, Wes being the one to show nudity instead of the women, Mindy being the Randy-like character, which makes sense given he was her uncle). Speaking of Mindy, she was probably one of the positives for me. She had enough of a personality to stand out, had enough scenes to get me to root for her, but wasn't over the top with her reactions. While her brother, Chad, didn't really get a whole lot to do and I didn't root for or against him at any point.

I also really liked the character of Richie. I think Jack Quaid really sold the charm and charisma of his character. I haven't seen the actor in anything before, but I'd definitely tune in to some of his work again. Him, Jenna, and Jasmin Savoy Brown were incredible with the work they were given.

I also like the kill scenes more here than in some of the other films. It had the appropriate amount of gore and you can see how things have improved in horror films in terms of showing realistic blood and violence. Though I'm disappointed that this film had no real chase scenes. We had stalking scenes and tense moments, but no epic chases up stairs or out of houses.

I was sad about how little the legacy characters did. I know that that was the point; as was said by, I think, Mindy, that the legacy characters were simply supporting characters in this film, I still wish we had more Gale and Sidney. Dewey got enough to do, probably more than he's had in other films. And David Arquette certainly delivered.

I pretty much had Ghostface narrowed down by the end of the second act. I had my list already narrowed down significantly by the end of the first act.

I think, overall, I liked Scream 4's "reboot" better than Scream 5's. I felt like the characters gelled a bit better there and the overall ending was stronger than this one. This one just felt lackluster, while Scream 4's felt fresh. And I think that's my issue with 5 in general. Besides some subversion of tropes, they didn't really go all out like they could have. Imagine what they could have done with three killers, for example, or the death of the new lead. 

[pinkandsparkly13]

Just saw the movie last night, and Jenna Ortega was the standout?! Lol I thought she was the girl in the beginning before I saw it, but I'm not familiar with her. Then I saw it, and thought surely this isn't the girl people have been talking about as being so good in the movie. I didn't think her acting was very good at all when she was being attacked anytime. Maybe I just don't know good acting. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Lol sorry, I just didn't see it. I liked the movie overall, but wasn't crazy about the killer reveal. 

[txhorns79]

I didn't love it.  I felt like there were too many characters, and things dragged at times.  Also, someone in the effects department was clearly very excited by the idea that the knife could be shown going through someone's flesh and coming out the other end because I think they used that two or three times.

One thing that did bother me in particular was we saw Judy radioing for police to come to her home ASAP as she was frantically driving there to try and save Wes.  She then gets killed what would presumably be a few minutes later when she gets to the house.  Wes doesn't hear this because he is still in the shower.  Wes then has time to finish the shower, get dressed, set the table for dinner and have multiple fakeout moments where we think the killer could be there, but they are not, before being killed himself.  I get that this is supposed to be a small town, but how exactly long does it take the police to get to a scene where the Sheriff herself was telling them time was of the essence?   

[Zonk]

Scream 5 was fun, but the killers and their motives were a bit uninspired. Really the boyfriend and the creepy girl, because they didn't like the last stab-movie? Maybe the writers thought they were princessbriding us, but meh.

Dewey's death annoyed me. He was a cop for decades. He should know that you don't walk up to somebody you want to shoot. A gun is a ranged weapon. He should be good enough with one that he could have landed that shot from just outside the elevator. If you want to kill him, by all means. But don't make him stupid to do so. That just sucks.

Scream always was meta, but I think we might have gone a tad too far with this one.

I'll have to rewatch the other movies at some point, to see how this one ranks.

On 1/6/2022 at 7:38 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

Pretty much the same. I hate Slasher flicks but, I'll watch The Scream series.

Me too. Slashers just bore the hell out of me. I think Scream is different because a good part of it is a murder mystery, thus actually interesting, and because it's partially a parody.

On 2/1/2022 at 8:31 PM, Lady Calypso said:

I also really liked the character of Richie. I think Jack Quaid really sold the charm and charisma of his character. I haven't seen the actor in anything before, but I'd definitely tune in to some of his work again.

I can recommend "the boys" and "star trek: lower decks".

 

[4evaQuez]

I just rented Scream (5). I really, really, really did not like this film. I'm not someone who is against "requels," and I was looking forward to this. I saw reviews that said this was the best Scream since the original, and I went in excited and with an open mind. I even had wine and snacks prepared and closed my laptop and silenced my phone to give this my full attention.

I was mostly bored and rooting for Ghostface to kill people because I just wanted this movie to be over.

Like most people here, I was not a fan of Sam/the new ingenue/the new Final Girl. I would say she was boring, but boring implies she aroused an emotional response. She was there. Her being the daughter of Billy Loomis was pretty pointless, and I did not like the hallucination scenes. Also, if the parents weren't going to play a role at all, why didn't they just make JO's character 18. 

Mostly, I didn't feel like I knew the characters. Too many scenes were set in the hospital because of the Tara fake out in the beginning of the movie. I never got a chance to see them just gel as a friendship group. I didn't even learn most of their names. I also was not as big a fan of JO/Tara as most of the people on this board. She had more of a personality than Sam, but if I never saw her again, I would sleep well at night.

I thought the kills were boring and focused too much on gore and not enough on creativity. The profanity seemed ham-fisted. There was no tense chase scene. 

I didn't like Sydney - who is usually my favorite - or Gale - another favorite. They seemed inserted into the film, and they rarely showed moments of the stunning and dazzling personalities they portrayed in Scream 1-4 that made me love them. Sydney had the one line about the passing of the torch that literally made me laugh out loud. There was another moment were she was coaching Sam about this being her new life. Beside from those two moments, this was not the Sydney I love.

Everytime Mason was onscreen, I thought about how much his father is a more charismatic actor than he is.

Everytime Jack Quaid was on screen, I thought about his parents. The actual characters weren't worth thinking about. 

I thought the killers came out of nowhere, and I literally forgot the female killer was even in the film.

I was happy when Jack Quaid stabbed Sam because I didn't want her in a sequel.

This just was not a good film for me. 

I honestly think I'll rank this last, even after Scream 3. The humor and performances at least make that a fun watch. The chemistry between CC and PP alone was worth the price of admission. I found nothing fun or enjoyable about this. Even as a free rental on Google because I had a $7 voucher, I still would not recommend this.

I also hated the metacommentary. The first 2 Scream movies hit a perfect balance. This felt too much like someone ranting about internet trolls.

Anyway, I think this is the perfect place for me to bow out of this franchise. It's clearly headed in a direction that is not for me.

Edited March 2, 2022 by 4evaQuez

[BelleBrit]

I was pretty disappointed with this film too. Wow, so the killers are two psychos inspired by the movies...like Stu, Mickey, and Charlie. I really thought they were going to reveal a third killer with a "twist" motive. Don't get me wrong...the twists in the other movies definitely stretched credulity and had an almost Scooby Do quality by the end, but I felt like they would keep me guessing and added something extra to the movie. So if this was the best thing that they could come up with, what are they going to do for part 6? I was a bit lukewarm on Scream 4 when I first saw it, but I have grown to appreciate its writing and characters a lot more in hindsight. So do we think that Hayden would ever do another Scream movie and that they would ever write her in? I still find it hard to believe she survived, but it would get me more invested in watching another one of these. Agree that having the main three back was basically pointless. They could have at least had one scene with Sydney and her new life/family, and not just her running along the pier with a stroller.

Edited March 2, 2022 by BelleBrit