Scream Franchise

[KaveDweller]

21 hours ago, Bastet said:

*I wonder if Neve didn't like how Sidney was written, and asked not for a ridiculous amount but something she knew they wouldn't pay, so she could "we couldn't come to terms on salary" bow out without having to say she didn't want to play what they'd written for her character.  I do not at all have my ear to the ground on this; has anyone heard any scuttlebutt? 

I read somewhere (I think Facebook, so take with a grain of salt) that she wanted $2 million, which is what she got for the last one. And they wanted to pay her less because it was a smaller role/less scenes than the last one.

Supposedly even though it was less it was setting up a bigger storyline for her in Scream 7. No idea if that is still on the table.

[blackwing]

On 2/28/2023 at 3:57 PM, Anela said:

I can't remember everything that happened, but they wasted time trying to paint the main character as one of the killers. All of the visions of her father, one of the OG killers. I hope they don't keeo going there in the next one, if I even watch it. I don't know if I will. They should have given Neve whatever she was asking for.

 

On 2/28/2023 at 10:55 PM, Bastet said:

Seriously; I highly doubt she went crazy and demanded $10 million or something, so fucking pay her.*  The thing that saved 5 from being a weak entry in the franchise was how the OG's were integrated even though not the focus, and it still shook out to just fine, so now, especially, with Dewey gone, how they used Gale and Sidney in this one was again going to be a huge factor in my enjoyment of 6 since I am not invested in Sam and only mildly so in the other survivors.  Kirby was my favorite new character in 4, so I'm glad she's back, but she's no Sidney.

I don't have high hopes for this, but that means it will be quite a pleasant surprise if I wind up digging it.  As I said before, if I like it, I hope Gale lives, but if I hate it, I hope Gale dies so I don't feel the need to watch any additional sequels.

*I wonder if Neve didn't like how Sidney was written, and asked not for a ridiculous amount but something she knew they wouldn't pay, so she could "we couldn't come to terms on salary" bow out without having to say she didn't want to play what they'd written for her character.  I do not at all have my ear to the ground on this; has anyone heard any scuttlebutt? 

 

14 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I read somewhere (I think Facebook, so take with a grain of salt) that she wanted $2 million, which is what she got for the last one. And they wanted to pay her less because it was a smaller role/less scenes than the last one.

Supposedly even though it was less it was setting up a bigger storyline for her in Scream 7. No idea if that is still on the table.

$2 million for Neve Campbell and they refused to give it to her?  Cheapskates.  She IS the face of the Scream franchise.  What are they thinking?  This terrible actress that plays Samantha isn't going to carry the franchise.  Why would they have cast her as the lead and not Jenna Ortega?  I could easily see Jenna Ortega carrying the franchise especially after her Wednesday popularity.  They should have switched those two actresses for the Samantha/Tara roles.

Hayden Planetarium coming back to VI is a plus.  I thought Kirby died in 4, but if the twin brother and the twin sister can survive after being brutally stabbed, I guess the rules have changed and a stabbing in Scream isn't as fatal as it used to be.

I hope they still leave the door open for Neve to come back in VII.  Ideally, Samantha dies.  Tara becomes the younger face of Scream and Kirby, Sidney and Gale are the elder guard in VII.

[methodwriter85]

On 3/2/2023 at 11:54 AM, blackwing said:

This terrible actress that plays Samantha isn't going to carry the franchise.  Why would they have cast her as the lead and not Jenna Ortega? 

I saw VI. I thought the people who did the movie realized that Melissa Barrera just isn't that much of an actress because it felt more like an ensemble than V did. I thought they did a better job with working within the limits of what she's capable of.  I also thought they did a better job with Mindy's character in making her feel more like a real person instead of just a black lesbian clone of Randy.

Also, Jack Champion is the most adorable nerdy twink to ever twink.

Edited March 13, 2023 by methodwriter85

[MaggieG]

Scream VI is out now, are we allowed to talk openly about it or should be spoiler tag? I saw it yesterday and I'll put my thoughts in spoiler tags just in case. I will say, I liked this one better than V.

Spoiler

The opening was great. When Jason took off his mask, I was thinking that the twist of this movie would be that we know from the beginning who the killer is. And then Jason and his roommate getting killed by the actual killer was another great twist. 

The scenes in the gas station and the subway were great scenes, very tension filled. As well as the scene in Tara and Sam's apartment with them trying to escape on the ladder. And Gale fighting Ghostface was a good one as well.

While I liked the Core 4, at least one of them should have died. I thought that would have been Chad but I guess he survives a brutal stabbing yet again. Also, idk how the killer (I'm assuming that was Quinn) didn't finish Mindy off while they were on the subway. She could have easily slit her throat after stabbing her, we saw that nobody noticed. 

I thought the killer reveal was great. At first I was like "not Kirby" so I'm glad that wasn't true. The scene where we have the 2 Ghostfaces stabbing Chad and they both turned around and wiped off their knives simultaneously was maybe a bit cheesy but I enjoyed the visual. I also liked that both Sam and Tara got their kills in. How nice for Richie that his entire family was just as messed up as he was. 

I did miss Neve and I wonder if the story would had been different if she was a part of it. These killers weren't after her and their motives had nothing to do with her. It was all about getting to Sam. 

 

[txhorns79]

On 3/15/2023 at 11:46 AM, MaggieG said:

I did miss Neve and I wonder if the story would had been different if she was a part of it. These killers weren't after her and their motives had nothing to do with her. It was all about getting to Sam. 

I think Sidney would have been like Gale, where bringing them down would be less about the killer's ultimate plan and more about giving the killer bragging rights.  I mean, up to Scream 6, they've survived what, 9 Ghostfaces?       

[methodwriter85]

On 3/17/2023 at 5:18 PM, txhorns79 said:

I think Sidney would have been like Gale, where bringing them down would be less about the killer's ultimate plan and more about giving the killer bragging rights.  I mean, up to Scream 6, they've survived what, 9 Ghostfaces?       

I did appreciate Sidney getting the hell out of dodge. She's a mom with small children. None of them are over 11 and at least one was young enough to still be in a stroller. Her story feels complete, at least until her daughters are old enough to anchor a movie. LOL

[JessePinkman]

On 3/19/2023 at 12:29 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I did appreciate Sidney getting the hell out of dodge. She's a mom with small children. None of them are over 11 and at least one was young enough to still be in a stroller. Her story feels complete, at least until her daughters are old enough to anchor a movie. LOL

I'll say it until I'm blue in the face but if Sidney ever goes out of her way to be involved in one of these killing sprees I will wash my hands of the entire franchise. She's too smart for that and if they would have had her hop on a plane to go to NY I'd scream (pun only kind of intended).

Scream 6 wasn't great but it was better than 5 so we're headed in the right direction.

• I liked the twist on the opening kill.
• Chad got pin cushioned last movie and this movie and survived somehow. And will have no long term effects from it. Dewey had a limp after one attack but apparently plot armor has had some refinement over the last 20 years.
• I knew as soon as Quinn mentioned her brother that she was Richie's sister.
• I found it very odd that no one ever questioned the men that Quinn had in the apartment while they were trying to avoid Ghostface. Everyone was just like "oh yeah Quinn's just loudly fucking some random in the next room.

[methodwriter85]

5 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

Scream 6 wasn't great but it was better than 5 so we're headed in the right direction.

I really think they realized that Melissa Barrera isn't really capable of leading the franchise because they did a much better job of getting around her blank emotionless face and doing more of an ensemble.

[Avaleigh]

Husband and I finally saw this on Paramount+. We thought the opening was great. In terms of the franchise's signature opening phone/kill scene, I think VI ranks second right after the original. I'd put 4 third. The others are tied for last. To be fair though I barely remember what happened in 3.

I enjoyed the gag of having a cinema studies professor who apparently specializes in the slasher genre doing all of the things the "dumb blonde" does right before she gets killed. She basically did go and investigate a strange noise (in a dark alley no less!) Lol.

I loved the first twist of seeing the killer rip off his mask in the opening scene. Then to have that guy go from killer to being the one who is toyed with and hunted was a fun second twist. It was nice to see a the change where the person being stalked was an evil asshole who got the tables turned on him. 

One question I have, what was the point of the scene in the convenience store? If the killers planned on framing Sam then how does that work if there are multiple witnesses who saw a masked killer attacking Sam and her sister? That store would have had cameras, etc. I don't get that whole sequence. 

I was onto Quinn from the jump but I couldn't decide if Dermot's character was in on it or not. It was the decision to not show her being stabbed that was a red flag. That and the killer standing over her but not doing anything. 

Mindy survived because of plot armor because the killer could have easily cut her throat. I'm glad Mindy survived though because they bring a nice amount of humor.

Gale's scenes were good. I'm glad she survived. Loved Ortega punching her in the face. 

I thought the end lost a little steam but all in all I think this might have been the best of the sequels. 

[Glade]

This was the best of the Scream sequels, it felt fresh and innovative, so many steps above the last film; I hope we never go back to Woodsboro again.  I especially loved the opening where we however briefly followed the perspective of the killer, which was fascinating; hopefully that will be taken further and we'll get a film where Sam is the killer and we see it all from her POV.  Gail was really stupid to leave that room; she could have just waited for help, the killer wasn't going to open the door knowing they'd get shot.  I also question why everyone seemed to favor hitting the killer once with an object, then throwing that object away to run ten more feet...why don't you bludgeon them to death with what you're holding, rather than continuously abandoning your weapons and giving the ghost-face time to recover?

There is seemingly no medical justification for why some people live or die after these brutal attacks; apparently you can be shot seven times, stabbed in the brain or stomach (or even both!) and still be walking around five minutes later if it suits the plot, but if it doesn't, you're 100% dead. 

[Bastet]

I watched this on Paramount+ last night and figured out two of the three killers (didn't see the third one coming, even that there would be a third one this time) -- I knew the cop dad - the guy who supposedly transferred to the NYPD to follow his daughter to college, because he was so paranoid about her safety after losing his son - was up to something when he inexplicably did not send his daughter to the middle of Montana as soon as it became clear her roommates were being targeted by a serial killer.  Then when I thought about the son/brother being dead, and how the calls to Sam were coming from Ritchie's number, I figured Ritchie was the dead son/brother, and the two of them were teaming up to get back at Sam. 

That sounded a little too I Know What You Did Last Summer obvious to be right, but when Ghostface just stood in Quinn's room for so long without doing anything/her noticing, and then when we did not see Quinn get killed, I figured that was indeed it.  I confirmed that guess with the "Kirby's the killer" call because of how long had passed since he'd asked another detective to look into her; if it was true she was no longer an agent, he'd have known before then, so I knew he was lying.  Plus, all that stuff being pilfered from evidence lockers in multiple cities -- that had to be a cop's doing.

(Plus, it makes sense -- if V was a "requel" to the original and this is a sequel to 2, there we had Billy's mom coming after Sidney and here we have Ritchie's dad coming after Sam.)

So my only surprise was there being another Ghostface, with the dork being the other brother and taking that role.

But, I will say, despite figuring it out more than I ever have, this was pretty good.  Definitely better than V.  The pacing was absolutely terrific throughout -- right up until the reveal, which I thought lagged in places.  While I will always miss Sidney and Gale interacting, Sidney noping out this time around made perfect sense with the early killings believed to be about Sam, not Sidney or anyone closely connected to her or any of the original Woodsboro murders.

Like in V, the violence in this one is just ridiculous overkill, and so different from the first four.  Yes, those are slasher films, but with these new guys at the helm, everyone gets stabbed a dozen times with tremendous force. 

And often in crowded places (at least there was no broad daylight killing with the cavalry on the way yet not arriving like in V).  Yet pretty much everyone survives.  Come on.  Gale would likely be dead; only because she got immediate medical attention can I roll with that one.  Chad, though?  Really most sincerely dead.  (As he would have already been in the last one [as would Tara]; I went with that, but this is just too much.)  Mindy could have survived that second injury, yes, so that part is believable (although not so much running around right after), but what's not believable is Ghostface not injuring her in a way that finished her off, since no one on a crowded subway train paid any attention to what was happening and she couldn't scream.

I couldn't do anything but laugh at how Sam assured Kirby she'll get help, but then after she and Tara butchered the Ghostfaces, they sat down to have a chat.  I said aloud to the TV, "Hello -- Kirby's bleeding out somewhere.  Maybe do that whole get help thing now."  But, of course, Kirby, too, popped back up with a kill and a quip. 

But I liked bringing her back; she was my favorite of 4.  And I love Gale being told she's an FBI agent and replying, "She's a child.  Since when do they let kids be federal agents?"  And then Kirby says she's 30.  It was perfect, because, just like Gale, I have her stuck in my mind as she was in 4, and even though I intellectually understand a long time has passed since then, emotionally it doesn't seem like long enough ago for her to be an FBI agent.

I liked the twist on the opening, where we see who did the first kill (and love the taunting about how you teach horror tropes, and then seriously just walked into a dark alley because of a stranger), but then he turns into a victim.  When he raised his mask, I was shocked and rather annoyed at the thought we'd know from jump who at least one of the killers is, so relieved when he got the call and I knew he was going to be another victim.  (Kind of a twist on the "This is the opening kill -- no, this is the opening kill" beginning to 4.)

I did yell at Gale when she cleverly called the killer's phone (I loved "can you hold on a minute?" or however she phrased it and Ghostface's confused reaction ) to know where to shoot, but then stood there dazed at the open door and lost the gun.  And at all the times someone hit Ghostface in the head with an object then threw it down and ran away.  But that's horror for you.

Mindy pissed when she thought she'd gotten it wrong again about the dork being a Ghostface, and then pissed again when it turned out she was right but didn't figure out the rest, was funny.  She was one of my favorites of V, and I can totally see Uncle Randy in her.  I like the "Game recognizes Game" chat with Kirby.

(Ha - I see another poster and I had the same complaint at the same time, about people whacking Ghostface in the head but then dropping their weapon and running away.)

Edited April 27, 2023 by Bastet

[oliviabenson]

Every one is so old looking! Jeez they all look like the parents lol.

[PurpleTentacle]

What has Hayden Panettiere done to the hair and makeup people? It must have been something horrible, for them to enact such gruesome revenge and give her that haircut.

How does nobody have a gun? All these characters should be armed to the teeth.

Gale at least has one, but keeps it in a safe? Seriously? I can see that day to day, but when you already know that a new ghostface is on the loose?

Also "travel in public?". I hope my prediction is right and that the cop is one of the new ghostfaces. But why would anybody take such a stupid suggestion. Travel by car, not in public transport, you dumbasses.

2/3 through the movie and now they think it's Kirby. Of course it's not Kirby. The cop just straight up lied.

3 minutes later: aaaand I was right. These idiots. Know that they are in a slasher movie and can't see the blatently obvious.

Nobody ever finishes the killer off. It's so annoying. Gale could have just kept hitting with the frying pan. Cast iron is heavy. At other opportunities they could have just kept stabbing. Scream was supposed to be the franchise where people are wise to these tropes and didn't make those mistakes. Is it really too hard to ask that the writers work within these limitations?

Nice that none of the core 4 died and even Gale is still alive. But come on, most of that stuff wasn't survivable. I feel Scream also used to be better about that. One person surviving one stab wound, okay. Multiple people surviving multiple stab wounds, come on.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 4/26/2023 at 9:01 PM, Bastet said:

I watched this on Paramount+ last night and figured out two of the three killers (didn't see the third one coming, even that there would be a third one this time) -- I knew the cop dad - the guy who supposedly transferred to the NYPD to follow his daughter to college, because he was so paranoid about her safety after losing his son - was up to something when he inexplicably did not send his daughter to the middle of Montana as soon as it became clear her roommates were being targeted by a serial killer.  Then when I thought about the son/brother being dead, and how the calls to Sam were coming from Ritchie's number, I figured Ritchie was the dead son/brother, and the two of them were teaming up to get back at Sam. 

That sounded a little too I Know What You Did Last Summer obvious to be right, but when Ghostface just stood in Quinn's room for so long without doing anything/her noticing, and then when we did not see Quinn get killed, I figured that was indeed it.  I confirmed that guess with the "Kirby's the killer" call because of how long had passed since he'd asked another detective to look into her; if it was true she was no longer an agent, he'd have known before then, so I knew he was lying.  Plus, all that stuff being pilfered from evidence lockers in multiple cities -- that had to be a cop's doing.

I didn't even think it through that far. The cop just seemed blatantly obvious. I mean who else would be a good killer? They didn't introduce that many new characters. The boytoy from across the hall had too little screen time.

Also as you say, him not sending his daughter away was also a red flag.

I probably should have seen it coming that the daughter was in on it, but tbh I was fast forewarding through parts of the movie and so didn't really have time to think about it. I just figured he either murdered his own daughter, because he's just insane like that, or faked her death somehow.

Horror movies in general bore me. I somehow don't get the suspense. For me it's "boring, boring, boring, jumpscare". The first two Scream movies didn't used to be that way. They were interesting in their own right. Even the third one I kinda liked. But that went out the window with 4 and 5. It actually got better with this one, but not so much that it could hold my attention all the way through.

But anywho. Good catch with the cop and his daughter.

On 4/26/2023 at 9:01 PM, Bastet said:

I did yell at Gale when she cleverly called the killer's phone (I loved "can you hold on a minute?" or however she phrased it and Ghostface's confused reaction ) to know where to shoot, but then stood there dazed at the open door and lost the gun.  And at all the times someone hit Ghostface in the head with an object then threw it down and ran away.  But that's horror for you.

I mean yeah, that's horror, but Scream is supposed to be the one franchise where that doesn't happen. Especially with legacy characters. Gale should have caved that killer's head in with that pan.

So I'm still surpremely annoyed. I don't think these new writers/directors get what Scream is.

[Miss Bones]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:20 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Nobody ever finishes the killer off. It's so annoying. Gale could have just kept hitting with the frying pan. Cast iron is heavy. At other opportunities they could have just kept stabbing. Scream was supposed to be the franchise where people are wise to these tropes and didn't make those mistakes. Is it really too hard to ask that the writers work within these limitations?

That is not always true.  The characters in Scream were aware of the tropes, but sometimes still made the same mistakes. In the original Scream, Sidney says to the killer on the phone (re: Horror films): "They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It's insulting."  Moments later, ghost-face is chasing her around her house, and where does she run?  Right up the stairs...

[PurpleTentacle]

29 minutes ago, Miss Bones said:

That is not always true.  The characters in Scream were aware of the tropes, but sometimes still made the same mistakes. In the original Scream, Sidney says to the killer on the phone (re: Horror films): "They're all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It's insulting."  Moments later, ghost-face is chasing her around her house, and where does she run?  Right up the stairs...

That's why I said further down "especially the legacy characters". They should have learned by now.

Also it's not like a character can't make a mistake, but if they are making all the typical horror movie mistakes, while supposedly being genre savy, it's just ridiculous.

[ShadowHunter]

The opening kill in Scream 6 was very brutal. The movie started really good  and different. I was excited after the first kill because I thought they were revealing the killer in the beginning and we were going to see the movie play out through the killers pov. That has never happened before but it all got thrown out the window. Not for nothing but the way Mindy was stabbed on the train and we dont even see her at the Hospital she just shows up with the group at the end. Please. Some of these characters kept getting up like they were Jason,Freddy,and Michael.  It was great seeing Kirby again but that was about it. 

[BetterButter]

Christopher Landon to Direct ‘Scream 7’

[Amello]

I don't know if I'm about to express unpopular opinions, but I just watched Scream VI (finally!) and have to share my thoughts. (Sorry if there's a separate individual thread for the film, but I couldn't find it if so).

1) I thought Scream 5 seemed like the perfect denouement to the OG characters (Sydney, Gale, Dewey) and passing of the torch to the new generation that Gale's inclusion (and Sydney's if contract talks had went more swimmingly) was unnecessary. Of course, it's always good to see her, but she could have used a rest. 

2) Only randoms and the killers died. Why? I love to gaze at Mason Gooding as much as the next homosexual, but if you're going to write a scene of him being stabbed a million times, then kill him. Why did Mindy survive? She's one of my least favourite main characters from any of the movies. Plus, Kirby surviving felt like a fitting nod to being the next Gale/cat with nine lives of the franchise, so Mindy/Chad also not dying felt repetitive and like TPTB were treating the audience with kids gloves. Now, I think it would have been horrible optics to kill the two black people, so I would have the survivors be Tara, Chad, and Kirby. I think most people would have been ecstatic at that outcome.

3) Dermot Mulroney felt like the killer right away, but I was genuinely surprised by the Quinn twist. Also, he gave an awful performance. Another shocking moment, I guess.

4) Lastly, and least interesting to note probably, but I have say Jack Champion is freaking adorable. He seems staged to be a star if he wants to be, IMO.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Amello

[Anela]

 

[BetterButter]

Melissa Barrera fired from Scream VII, producers call Israel comments “hate speech”

[Tenshinhan]

16 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Melissa Barrera fired from Scream VII, producers call Israel comments “hate speech”

Spyglass can fuck right off.

[Anela]

18 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Melissa Barrera fired from Scream VII, producers call Israel comments “hate speech”

https://deadline.com/2023/11/jenna-ortega-scream-departure-melissa-barrera-wednesday-1235634200/

Jenna Ortega isn’t going to be there, either.  They’re claiming scheduling conflicts. 

[methodwriter85]

They might as well just cancel it and go back to the drawing board. The Meeks twins are not enough of a draw to center a movie around. 

[Anela]

I wonder if they’ll find that boost in salary for Neve Campbell now. 

[BetterButter]

‘Scream VII’ Loses Director Christopher Landon: “A Dream Job That Turned Into a Nightmare”

[BetterButter]

Scream apparently found the money to get Neve Campbell back