Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Scream 5 

This is the best scream film since the 1996 original! Now I have been waiting for a scream Sequel since the 2011 sequel as I felt their was so much more places you can bring the characters from a narrative point of view. As the ending of the 2011 sequel was shocking and honestly a brilliant final act and so I know their had been rumours of a 5th film for years and sadly in 2015 when Wes Craven passed my hopes for a scream film died as he’s the one who brought those films to life. It also would be odd to have a scream film not written by the man who had been attached to every scream film leading up to his death. Then a couple years ago their was talk a 5th film was in development and that Neve Cambell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette would be returning to reprise their respected roles. Now my question was how would they be able to do a Scream film that felt in the style that Craven created without him involved now after seeing the film holy crap I had no need to worry as the people behind this project crafted a scream film that not only would make Wes Craven proud but actually deliverers with the Meta humour scream was known for with on the head social commentary while giving shocking twists and turns that are earned and you don’t see coming. 

Firstly, This film has a hell of a strong story to tell. So what this film does strongest is it acknowledges it is a legacy sequel. Theirs a brilliant moment in the film where they break down how Hollywood has been giving what’s called a Legacy sequel where it’s a soft reboot of a franchise with the original cast members that come back and it’s so dead on and I’ve not seen any film horror or non horror really discuss this so openly. I’ve been talking about that very thing that Hollywood has been doing for years through my reviews but at no point did I think I’d see Scream have a legacy sequel where they acknowledge the genre of sequel they are literally playing into not only is that meta as hell but it is exactly the kind of 4th wall breaking humour that made the first scream film so brilliant. As it plays into the genre it so openly is making fun of and giving fantastic points about sequels while also giving a fresh story that brings the characters into new territory’s emotionally. Now a lot of times they bring these original characters back only to kill them off and they also comment on that and in this new film their is a very big character death and it isn’t just done for shock value but it works in its favour as it shows just because your a main character or a original character from the other films dose not mean you can’t get killed off. It brings that unpredictability of anyone who’s anyone can get killed off and not only does that make the story more engaging it keeps you on the edge of your seat because then you genuinely have no idea what could happen and I haven’t had that unpredictable nature about characters deaths in a film in a while especially in the horror genre. The film is able to make everyone in the film have strong enough motives that anyone can be the killer as the last murder who done - it that did it masterfully well was Knives Out. Now I’ve had issues with scream about their revels in the past because with scream one they got away with it because that whole film was openly making fun of the tropes of a horror film within a horror film which made the revel work to its advantage all the while still having a shocking ending. The sequels that followed kind of didn’t have that same shock value where when the person was revealed you were genuinely surprised as from scream 2 and 3 had the killers be people that you could of seen from a mile away it wasn’t until scream 4 where they had a truly satisfying revel that you genuinely were shocked by and anyone who says they saw it coming is lying. Leading to the new film their are some moments in the film where they could of fleshed  out more of the characters who are the potential killers as they focus on about 3 people for the most of it and the other characters do get screen time and their is a great sense of mystery that it could be anyone and they layer that really well my only critique would be to add more time with those characters. So then I would be more invested in them emotionally so if their in a deathly situation I would be more into the moment instead of being dead meat for the killer besides that one flaw they did a great job at making everyone questionable all the while giving fantastic scares and thrills that felt greatly done in a way that didn’t feel repetitive. 

Secondly, the film has fantastic performances from the whole cast! You have members from the original cast returning in not just blink it or you miss it cameos but actual roles that have a big part to play in the narrative. As David Arquette returns as the loveable and this time rough around the edges Dewey. He definitely has the strongest performance in the film now don’t get me wrong Courtney Cox kills it as Gale once again giving a fantastic emotional performance of the beloved character but it’s David Arquette who steals the show for me in terms of performance as he brings a tough and really worn and torn quality to Dewey that is genuinely striking to watch. The rest of the cast all give terrific performances including the always fantastic Neve Campbell who brings that tough hard shell Attitude that we love about Sidney and she eats the scenery with her charismatic energy every opportunity she gets. The new characters are solid as well especially Melissa Barrera who blew me away last year with her breakout role in In The Heights and now is taking on a big franchise like Scream I’m glad to see her getting big roles. She deserves all the success coming her way and she crushes it in this film with her performance giving a emotionally vulnerable performance while also giving that strong grit it takes to stand toe to toe with Ghostface you can’t take your eyes off her. Then theirs Jasmin Savoy Brown who gives a scene stealing performance of this witty and sarcastic film nerd that really is this generations Randy. She brought such a fun quality to her that the film needed as she gives great moments of dry humour but also is Able to give strong emotional depth when the moment calls for it she was a definite highlight of the film for me. Overall everyone gave solid performances across the board. 

Lastly, Scream 5 gives a fantastic sequel to this franchise by brining a fresh narrative that pokes fun at itself while giving that 4th wall break self aware comedy we love about the franchise in a really fresh and interesting way. All while giving great scares and twist and turns you don’t see coming and delving deep into the characters we’ve come to love and showing them in new places emotionally  that will have you on the edge of your seat. Scream comes back to its roots and knocks it out of the park this may be a 25 year old franchise but it shows that even after all that time it can still surprise you and give a knockout film with fantastic thrills scream 5 is an absolute blast. 

This film centres around the ghostface killer coming back to tournament once again and they call back the originals who defeated him but will the support of the original people that took him down be enough to stop his reign of terror for good?

Rated R : Some Sexual References|Language Throughout|Strong Bloody Violence

David Arquette : David brings a raw sadness to Dewey in a fantastically gripping way! This man has given us this character 4 times now and every time he brings something new to the character that is peeled back in a way where we see new sides to him and I love that. He never repeats the same kind of perfume of Dewey from the previous film he always finds a new way of looking at him and showcasing how he’s evolved overtime and so to see him Here is definitely the most emotionally gutted we’ve ever seen him as well as really worn from the trauma of what ghostface has done to him over the years. As when we see him he’s very paranoid, in ways bitter and extremely exhausted emotionally as Dewey was always the one that had that giddy optimism despite the darkness that lurked. Here he’s a shell of who he was from when he first witnessed the horror of Ghostface he has no care for going back to that life and you can see in his eyes and through his speech how much pain he’s gone through and that he’s in. David shines in this film as he chews up every frame he’s in with such raw emotion you can feel every wave of every line he is saying. David had a bigger role then I thought he would and he steals every scene he’s in with his fantastic ability to peel back such depth and layers of Dewey in raw heartbreaking truth you can’t take your eyes off of him and David Arquette I think gives his best outing of the character in this film as we see his arc truly come full circle and as sad as it may be it feels satisfying. You can feel the pain and regret through his eyes and heart and Arquette gives one of the finest performances of his career in a sparkling performance that is honestly the heartbeat of this film as the moment he comes onscreen you are amazed by what he’s giving onscreen what a truly outstanding performance by David giving a very worn and torn performance on this character we love showing the emotional mileage that’s been put on his heart in a emotionally captivating performance. 

Matt Bettinelli - Olpin & Tyler Gillet : These guys did an amazing job! Now I loved what they did with Ready Or Not the small horror film with a simple premises but truly blew me away with its sharp writing and fantastic performances and style. Now to see that they are taking on a big franchise like Scream is no easy feat as Wes Craven had such a specific style when writing and directing these films even the not so great Scream 3 still felt like Wes’s style and to try to get that kind of style he wove into these films is not something just anyone can do. They took characters from previous films and found a way to connect them into this story in a way that didn’t feel like straight up fan service but made them integral to the story in a very big way. As i respect that they only brought the original cast back if they had a legitimate reason to bring them back in terms of the story. As they also have a fantastic self awareness to the film which is what Wes was brilliant at doing with the previous films as it tackles toxic fandoms and the whole purpose of what a legacy sequel is and having it poke fun at how Hollywood does soft reboots with bringing original cast members back that’s something I haven’t seen any film comment on in any capacity and they don’t hold back they criticize it and make fun of it very bluntly. Now not only is the forth wall break commentary fantastically written and utilized but the scares are so incredibly affective as yeah you have your classic misdirects in the film for sure but the way they are able to generate the scares from the audience in such a purely unexpected way was fantastic as theirs tons of times in the film I jumped. They also up the stakes hugely by making the film unpredictable in the sense that anyone can be knocked off and this tactic was used in scream 2 when a big character was killed off and as much as I hated the  character dying I gave Wes credit for having the courage to kill a big character off. Because by doing that you show the audience anyone can be killed off no matter if your the main character or came  back for a sequel and have been in 3 films everyone is fair game and to bring that sense of unpredictability to this film was fantastic because you truly were on edge the whole time thinking who’s next and it made for fantastic  horror tension that was created so brilliantly. Then the story which never felt like it was repeating the same thing that came before it but rather it pushed old and new characters into new territory in a way that kept the murder whodunit in their without it feeling tropey or repetitive. The film gives a strong solid story that has you engaged from start to finish and for that I would say this is why scream 5 is the best scream film since the 1996 film Wes Craven would be so proud and if they ever do another one of these films if these guys are back you can sign me up because they did an outstanding job with this film.