The first reactions to Scream (or Scream 5, if you prefer) are in, and it sounds like we may have a worthy legacy sequel on our hands. The long-awaited fifth installment in the hugely popular horror franchise comes just over a decade after the last movie and will throw audiences back into the terrifying world of the slasher killer known as Ghostface.
“Scream freakin' slays!” says one reaction from someone lucky enough to have started their year with a healthy dose of horror. “It's a textbook example of how to revive and reinvigorate a franchise and do it in killer style. Brutal genius, it has the razor-sharp smarts of the finest entries in the series with a third act that absolutely nails it. Two thumbs way up!”
Another early reaction calls Scream “a bloody good time,” revealing that the latest in the franchise does exactly what you’d want a legacy sequel to do, adding that it, “serves as a touching homage/continuation to Wes Craven’s iconic franchise and features some of the gruesomest, most original killings of the series. Legacy cast perfectly blends with the fresh meat.”
While some reactions take minor issue with the pace of Scream’s first act, the general consensus certainly seems to be that Scream is well worth the wait, reigniting the slasher genre thanks to plenty of twists, turns, and brutal kills.
Some have even called Scream the best installment since the 1996 original, with one reaction adding that the sequel “Beautifully honors the legacy of the first film while bringing a fresh yet brutal new tone to the franchise.”
Directed by Ready or Not duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and with a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, Scream picks up twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders first shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro and introduces a new killer, who has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past. Even after all these years, it seems that the filmmaking pair of Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have found a way back into the slasher series that is equal parts self-referential, and future set-up.
Scream Brings Back Familiar Faces While Introducing Several New Ones & Could Start a New Franchise
Scream stars franchise newcomers Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, and Jack Quaid, with the likes of David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and Marley Shelton reprising their roles from prior movies. Franchise mainstay Roger L. Jackson also returns as the voice of Ghostface.
Scream may in fact result in being much more than simply a legacy sequel, with star Courteney Cox teasing a "new franchise" off the back of this fifth film. "This is the fifth one... it's not Scream 5, though," Cox explained. "This is Scream. The directors are incredible, they're making it absolutely...it's a new franchise... It's hip. It's scary. It's just a new Scream. It's not a reboot, it's not a remake, it's just a brand-new launch. I think it's gonna be fantastic."
Scream is scheduled to be released on January 14, 2022 by Paramount Pictures.