Cinematography:
Brett JutkiewiczComposer:
Brian TylerCast:
Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid, Mikey Madison, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past. (Paramount Pictures)
Videos (2)
Reviews (12)
The resurrection of Halloween made a fortune, so let’s try to resurrect Scream. This franchise is handicapped by the fact that it can make a killer out of anyone without any sophisticated motive, and that it is thus only a matter of a hiding place with would-be cool references to other horror movies and would-be sophisticated plays on genre clichés. The first one from 1996 was innovative in this respect. But the resurrection after 26 years without any progress in imagination is able to satisfy only with a decent number of slayings and the nostalgic return of the trio of original stars. Don’t expect effective scares and don’t be surprised if the characters continue to function relatively well after being stabbed in the gut with a big knife. Was there such silliness, delivered with a straight face, in the previous instalments?
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Ghostface is wreaking havoc again in Woodsboro, and the local kids cannot keep up with him. Not only veterans but also a young heroine with a dark secret have returned to the town. Is it possible that people are dying because of it? The new Scream comes with a new creative team and plenty of fresh ideas. Ironically, it's a bit lacking in the horror aspect, and the new characters aren't very engaging, but it makes up for it with a clever script that bends horror clichés in a very interesting way, plays with the genre, and this time even with the viewers and fans themselves. Very clever and very entertaining, probably the best thing we've seen in this franchise since the first one.
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On a certain meta-level, the film’s protagonists excuse the fifth Scream for being a mere recycling of several worn-out formulas and motifs (which it is), because that’s what devoted fans want. And it is possible that that might actually be enough for fans of the genre, particularly fans of this franchise. Nevertheless, such a hackneyed film that serves viewers practically the same thing as its predecessors and has no need to distinguish itself in any way is hardly saved by the fact that its creators are aware that it’s worn out and humorously point that out in places. The protagonists can endlessly make snarky comments about the various rules of the horror genre and all of the mistakes that horror-movie characters make, but what good does that do if they themselves can’t avoid making the same mistakes? To a certain extent, however, there is still some entertainment value in the game of guessing which character is the killer while the possibilities gradually dwindle. Otherwise, neither the new (and not particularly likable) characters, the return of old familiar faces nor the gory (though unimaginative) murders hold much appeal.
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All the participating creators obviously love Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven, so they pay them a hundred and one tributes, dig to the very bottom of the homage and really present a new Scream in all its glory. But the whole time you can tell that it's not exactly right, just like it wasn't right in 2000 when a different screenwriter came for the third installment and the lightness started disappearing immediately. Thanks for the return of all the legends, thanks for the fact that the meta flip of everything is still here, but maybe less would be more. The discussion about the direction of the genre, the point, and the fandom takes up almost half of the running time and undermines the series itself too much. Despite one fitting jump scare and a few nicely tuned moves, I am ultimately disappointed with the lack of tension, freshness, and overall novelty that even the underrated fourth one was bursting with. Additionally, the series resorts to steps it didn't have a reason to take before, and when discussing all possible identities of the killer at the end, it suddenly didn't matter anymore because any potential surprises had already been revealed. I don't welcome the planned sequel, it's terribly early as far as keeping healthy boundaries is concerned.
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Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are a proven duo (Southbound and Ready or Not were no fluke) and the return of the famous slasher franchise is a great success. Those with knowledge of previous episodes have an advantage, I've forgotten most of it, but thankfully it didn't detract from the viewing experience. New youngsters are introduced and old friends return, Ghostface is in great shape (the high bodycount is a plus) and he definitely knows how to use a knife, he makes his victims uncomfortable and in all different ways and angles, so definitely a nice show. The nice thing about Scream is that it's one of the few slasher films that follows absolutely all the rules of the genre, even shapes and plays with them. The detective-like hunt for the killer, where absolutely everyone is a suspect and nobody can tell with certainty who Ghostface is until the finale works very well here. The various allusions and winks to other horror films and the the occasional wisecrack are nice, and the explanation of why Scream is a Legacy-seqquel and not a sequel or prequel was downright brilliant and very apt. It's not a horror film to be scared at, although the suspense works, but as entertainment it's almost impossible to fault. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 3/5. 8/10.
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