Scream should not have made it this far. It was
created to be a pastiche of slasher films of the 80s and 90s and yet somehow
has stayed relevant through 4 decades despite the constant changes the horror
genre has undergone in that whole time.
Scream 5 (Let’s just call it
that for clarity) continues this impressive winning streak. Satirising all
modern aspects of horror such as the trend of ‘requels’, the concept of elevated
horror, and toxic fanbases,
Scream 5 is an unsubtle yet critical as its brethren
while being one of the more violent of the collection, so basically everything
you could want from a
Scream film.
At this point in the meta-textual wormhole of
self-referential storytelling the film has entered a state of immunity on being
able to guess the killer, we’ve now reached a point where the most obvious suspect
is the least obvious but that turns back around to make them the most obvious
but has that been twisted again to make them the least obvious?…It is this type
of thinking that only a franchise this deep into can get away with, and it’s
reflected in the characters as once again everyone is a suspect because there
is no such thing as too obvious or not obvious enough, yet once the film is
over and the killer is revealed, you think back on how many clues were left out
in the open to suggest the killer’s identity. In the meantime, it results in a
lot of character pointing fingers at each other over the slightest suspicion,
much like the audience.
An underrated aspect of the Scream franchise that
honestly sets them apart from the same slasher films they satirize is they
often have interesting ensembles of future victims. One of the elements of
slasher films that made them entertaining was the characters were simply body
bags to see get creatively dismembered, but Scream makes a habit of
making them appealing, well developed and expressive, so the audience doesn’t actually
want to see them get stabbed to death, bringing back that genuine sense of terror.
Scream 5 might have the best ensemble of the bunch, giving them
backstories, a variety of interests and a mix-match of personalities to make
them all standout. Combine that with the return of the legacy trio of Syd
Prescott (Nev Campbell) Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David
Arquette) who have been through this process so many times they know all the
right moves to make and yet have never become less interesting or vulnerable
because of it.
In fact, let’s take a moment to highlight Dewey, as out of
the trio he gets the most screentime and has had the biggest changes since the
last film. Dewey might be the best character in this whole series, he started
out as the deputy of a small town who faced no real danger, only to be assaulted
and traumatised consistently in each film; and yet, despite that, despite his
naturally soft and awkward demeanour, despite the disability he developed from
his injuries; he never runs away, he always makes protecting others his
priority and will take on as many Ghostfaces as he has to. With this film probably
putting him through the ringer more than others, with each other film showing
his life slightly improving after the events of the prior, this is the one that
has him at his emotional rock-bottom from the beginning, just adding another
level of disaster to his life, and yet what does he do when push comes to
shove? He takes what he’s learnt in the past, he risks his life, and he
protects others at all costs. God bless you Deputy Dewey.
There is no such thing as a bad Scream film, and yet
here we are 5 films deep, with new directors and a mostly new cast, and yet
this feels like the only one that can go toe to toe with the original. It hits
all the beats you want while also staying relevant, adapting for the times and
being a suspenseful, violent massacre. Great film to start the year.
-Danny
