Latest Scream outing nothing to shout about

When Scream 5 was announced several months ago, I was both excited and curious. Part of me questioned why a fifth Scream film was even necessary. The last film premiered in 2011; why bother returning to Woodsboro after eleven years? On the other hand, if any horror series could return so late with something meaningful, it was Scream and its patented blend of meta and satirical humor.

However, it seems I may have overestimated the newest entry to the late Wes Craven’s beloved franchise. The opening scene is a fun update to Scream’s traditional opening trope, in which a lone girl is taunted over the phone by a menacing voice threatening to spread their guts all along the lawn. With the landline morphing into a cellphone and the house’s modern security system inadvertently turning against the victim, it is a promising start as the film eases you into the formula you’re expecting, while refreshing the idea enough to keep it from being boring. Unfortunately, from here the film begins to tread downhill.

Cut to: Samantha Carpenter, our newest heroine and estranged older sister of Tara, the girl attacked in the first scene. She left Woodsboro to escape the town’s bloody inclinations, as well as her own dark past: She is the secret daughter of Billy Loomis, one of the killers in the first film. She is informed by Tara’s friend Wes Hicks that Tara was attacked and is in the hospital. With supportive boyfriend Richie– adequately played by Jack Quaid– in tow, Sam heads back to Woodsboro, cementing the fact that this is her story, a first for the series. That’s right, we haven’t seen Dewey, Gale, or Sydney yet, and when they do show up, they mostly function as side characters. Why? Because this is a requel– Both a reboot and a sequel, and they’re the hot new thing in Hollywood right now.

Now, what does a good horror requel need? A cast of disposable teens. Our fresh faces come to us in the form of Amber, Wes, twins Chad and Mindy, and Chad’s girlfriend Liv. It is with these characters that the first issue lies: Aside from Mindy functioning as the horror movie expert of the group, emulating Randy of the first two films, these characters are entirely two dimensional. Scream has never been interested in making characters more than caricatures, but I could not for the life of me remember all of these kids’ names. For the entire film, I was left pining for Dewey, Sydney, and Gale. Yet when they do show up, the performances given leave something to be desired.

Dewey, having been stabbed in each film, is retired and once again no longer together with Gale. David Arquette’s signature over-the-top performance of the haunted small town sheriff is as perfect as ever. Sadly, both Gale and Sydney feel phoned in by alumnus Courtney Cox and Neve Campbell. Additionally, the attempts at having the weathered women function as mentors to our newest Woodsboro kids seems both hackey and forced, even for a film franchise known to use these traits to its ironic advantage.

Despite its shortcomings, Scream 5 does have its redeeming qualities. The universe these films inhabit is gorey, silly fun, and numerous easter eggs and callbacks from throughout franchise history make it a watchable endeavor for fans of the series. If you’re a newcomer to the Scream franchise though, there is little here to convince you to check out the rest of the series.