Screaming for “Scream” 5 to end
Walden Sullivan, Staff Writer
The fifth installment of the “Scream” franchise, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, was released exclusively to theaters on Jan. 14. As the fifth movie in the franchise, it had a lot to live up to, and the film did not deliver.
The original “Scream” (1996) became a cult classic because it was one of the first horror movies to acknowledge and embrace overdone cliches. The movie brought a new perspective to the genre that would change horror movies forever. However, “Scream” five was desperately grasping at concepts that have been recycled and reused across the previous four movies without the nuance that the original had.
The film takes place twenty-five years after the first “Scream” mass murders in the small town of Woodsboro, CA. A new killer takes on the Ghostface mask and begins attacking a group of teenagers. A series of brutal bloody beatings occur across the town causing friends and family to turn against each other in order to discover the serial killer’s identity.
In hopes to keep the interest of original “Scream” fans, the plot pretty much directly parallels the first movie. The first killing happened over the phone, as usual, with the same iconic line “what’s your favorite scary movie?” This idea of mirroring the first film worked for the first five or so minutes, but after that, it went downhill. The movie became all sorts of crazy and unrealistic starting after the first attack. This attack involved a teenage girl getting violently stabbed (at least eight times) and ripped apart with that same knife. But somehow, after all of the damage, she survived. Starting the film with this ridiculous outcome really sent out a red flag to the audience. There were also several tiny details that took the audience out of reality. For example, during a murder scene, we see ghost face tear apart someone with his knife (which is covered in blood) and then 30 seconds later, that same knife is shiny and clean. It was little things like this that added up to make the film wildly unrealistic.
When the time came to reveal the killer, the outcome was not satisfying. As usual in the “Scream” franchise, there is a twist during the reveal. However, this twist felt lazy and predictable. They had been hinting to the murder the entire movie in a way that was supposed to throw the audience off, but instead, it made it easier to predict the outcome. The murder sequence that occured during the reveal also felt like a direct parallel to the original film, but not in a nostalgic way. Instead of it feeling like a homage to the first movie, it felt like they ran out of material and circled back to the start. They had some of the same characters, plot lines, and some of the murders were even held at the same house as the original movie.
“Scream” five definitely failed to add a worthy sequel to the franchise. With unrealistic plot lines, direct parallels and easy to guess outcomes, “Scream” five would only be loved by die hard fans.
“Scream” five ensemble movie poster showcasing the main family and the looming face of the killer. The photo is dark-hued and the characters look serious, keeping with the tone of the film.