Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Starring: Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid

Primary genre: Horror

Secondary genre: Slasher

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In “Scream 4” (2011), Wes Craven and franchise creator Kevin Williamson did a legacy sequel before this was even a thing (e.g., “Halloween“ (2018), “Terminator: Dark Fate” (2019); a successful meta commentary on the state of horror that saw the rise and fall of horror remakes. “Scream 4” managed to wrap up the stories of Sidney, Dewey and Gale in satisfying fashion so a fifth entry seemed unlikely, particularly after the passing of Wes Craven. Yet the enthusiasm of directing duo Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett of the enjoyable “Ready or Not” (2019)) was enough to revive an interest for the series, bring back the original cast and receive Williamson’s blessing (who serves here as an executive producer).

The now called “Scream” again establishes a more sinister tone than its predecessor with a brutal (but not necessarily tense) opening scene, attempting to dissect the obsession for the original entry in horror franchises. We are being reminded of the rules and how they can (still) be subverted in expository meta discussions. However, the script by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick does not have the polished flair or the wittiness of Williamson’s pushing its characters to commit grievous mistakes that savvy individuals in the previous installments made fun of.

Despite a clear love and respect for the series and its characters with homages, Easter eggs and audio cues, its several efforts to connect the large cast of old and new characters come at the expense of the main whodunit story which gets crushed from the weight of pointless subplots and hypothetical motivations. While the film tries to bring things full circle again (something that the fourth entry already did by passing the baton to a new generation and set again in Woodsboro), its few interesting ideas do not get fully explored. Mirroring the original’s structure almost beat to beat, the script attempts to balance its cast through intercutting set-pieces that do not have the impact they think they have (e.g., a murder in a parking lot is a blink-and-you-ll-miss-it moment). The killer reveal might be entertaining to some but after the rug was pulled off under our feet so many times from a franchise that toys with anyone’s expectations, it is hard these days to be really shocked.

Although the directing duo brings a certain level of energy on the screen with some appropriately nice shots, the absence of Wes Craven and his strong emphasis on psychological torture (nobody can forget the close ups of Drew Barrymore’s face) accompanied by Marco Beltrami’s unique orchestral score (replaced here by Brian Tyler) is strongly felt. For a series that prides itself on novel sequences of hair raising tension in our most vulnerable moments, besides a few well-executed jump scares, there is no Ghostface creeping behind an unaware Cici (“Scream 2“ (1997)) or a “closet” standoff (“Scream 4“), just a knive-happy Ghostface with fantastic voice acting by Roger L. Jackson

The new cast comes as self entitled generation Z prototypes that bear no likeability and recognizable traits (e.g., as opposed to a Randy, Jennifer or Kirby). The main lead (a paper thin Melissa Berrera) is a poor substitute for the ferocity and vulnerability that Neve Campbell brought to her Sidney with subpar acting and Jack Quaid is the telegraphic comic relief that we have seen so many times in the last ten years. Only Jenna Ortega manages to bring some gravitas in her survival attempts having perhaps the best scenes in the film. Yet, these newbies are outclassed by our beloved veteran trio which after so many betrayals and murders, offer a hardened version of themselves to the bloody proceedings without becoming a walking parody five films in. David Arquette is doing most of the heavy lifting and Cox is vibrant and sassy as ever; but it is still Campbell that reigns supreme as the ultimate scream queen, every time exploring a different aspect of Sidney’s ever growing character.

“Scream” is not a bad movie but it is pretty average according to the franchise (high) standards. Even the much maligned “Scream 3“ (2000) has a certain level of panache (the Hollywood setting is ingenious) and memorable elements (e.g., Parker Posey) to be remembered. The level of respect and love for the series is clear and admirable but perhaps in the inevitable sixth feature, if Bettinelli and Gillett choose to return, they might do so with a more (ahem) original voice.

+Good to see the legacy cast back, still awesome five films in

+Solid jump scares

+Interesting ties to the past

+Good direction

+Roger L Jackson’s voice performance

-Boring/annoying new characters

-Mediocre acting from the main lead

-Lack of tension

-No Marco Beltrami in score

-Meh opening scene

-No standout sequences