Scream (2022) Review (Film, 2022)
content warning: violence against women, violence against children, gun violence, blood, gore, foul language, mental wellness, grieving
The new Scream film, which we’ll call Scream (2022), is a return to the original format of the series. This is a meta-horror film reflecting on the trends happening in contemporary horror. The difference is Scream (2022) is aware of the impact of the Scream series in the real world.
The plot is what you would expect. The opening sequence sees Tara, a teenager living in Woodsboro, answer a phone call from an unknown number. The voice on the line wants to know about her love of horror films. They’re especially interested in the Stab series, inspired by Gale Weathers-Riley’s book from the 90s about Sidney Prescott and her friends facing a serial killer. Ghostface is back and they’re targeting the next generation of teenagers related to the original murders.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett of Radio Silence, the directors/producers of V/H/S, Southbound, and Ready or Not, bring their particularly dark and brutal aesthetic as the directors of Scream (2022). This is the most violent Scream film yet. There are elements you would expect—Ghostface still falls, the victims always have a chance to fight back or get away, the lead into a fight always misdirects you until you have no choice but to laugh, etc.—just amplified to grotesque new heights. I don’t think I’ve seen a slasher film in a long time where so many people have knives go completely through their limbs and bodies while still putting up a fight.
The screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick focuses the meta-slasher series on two elements. The first area of critique is what they call “elevated horror.” Tara is a fan of this sub-genre, citing films like The Babadook and The Witch among her favorite horror films. Most of her friends agree with her that this psychological, suggestive, art film-leaning style is the scariest kind of horror. Ghostface disagrees and seems to have a vendetta against anything but the classics.
This meta-text doesn’t hit as hard for a really simple reason. This is recognition of a perceived trend rather than commentary on what’s happening. If you’ve been around here long enough, you’ve seen plenty of articles and reviews on films Scream (2022) would call elevated horror. I’ve probably called them arthouse horror or psychological/suspense films. They’re indie psychological horror films. The only thing connecting Midsommar to The Night House to The Lighthouse is a focus on mental states and quiet as part of the scares. It’s best to just view this as a generational gap, one that I frankly haven’t witnessed in my days teaching high school students. My students are talking about Fear Street and the Chucky series, not Hereditary and A Dark Song.
The second meta-text is on the “requel” trend. That’s a term I haven’t heard thrown around, but it makes a lot of sense. Horror remakes and reboots are nothing new. Take an old franchise and try to revive it in a new way. We’ve seen it in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Child’s Play, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and countless other well-known or forgotten properties.
A requel is a reboot and a sequel combined together. Scream (2022) is poking at films like Halloween (2018) and Candyman (2021). These are the tentpole horror films that are sequels to the original films but also new series. This part of the film is a lot more rewarding. It examines Halloween (2018) specifically and explores the trend through the Stab series, now on eight films and counting. No one likes that last super goofy Stab film that feels nothing like the original and everyone has an opinion on how to save the series. Some want to remake the original story. Others want to bring back the surviving cast and connect them to previously unknown relatives and friends in the same town. Scream (2022) dissects its own identity while still being a very unpredictable slasher film in its own rights.
I’m intentionally being vague about the plot of Scream (2022). The foreshadowing in the film is great and I don’t want to ruin its impact for you. This is a slasher sequel that reflects on its own past while telling a rewarding story in its own right. It’s the 2022 version of the original breakout meta-slasher from 1996.
Scream (2022) is playing in theaters.
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