Scream was the beginning of the end of the great era of Slashers. This is not an insult to the integrity of the film but a recognition of its significance in the evolution of horror. In the same vein in which Lucio Fulci poked fun at himself with a humorous highlight reel of his own career in The Cat in the Brain, Wes Craven took on his entire genre with the Scream movies.
Although the series started out strong with a unique concept and a notable cast, these movies seemed to dip in quality with every sequel. Scream (2022) is definitely not the worst of these sequels but the phrase, “Beating a dead horse” resonates well with this installment. The story is fun and satirical as expected but loses its steam with a new generation of cast members whose acting chops just aren’t up to par with the writing. I get that the movie is self-aware of the fact that it’s a movie, which is a cool concept, but the scenes where the new characters are referencing the film itself are pretty lackluster. A big part of what made the original Scream such a hit was the combination of a fresh concept, a legendary director and a strong cast of actors that were well seasoned in television. I sometimes find myself as an apologist for sequels because in theory, I don’t mind them, but there are cases where I have to wonder if the film’s legacy would be better off as a trilogy or a one-and-done. This brings to mind one of my favorite Horror Comedies, Student Bodies, as I wonder how a run of sequels of this brilliant film would hold up.
Scream (2022) defines itself as the antithesis of elevated horror in the opening scene of the movie as it references The Babadook and makes jabs throughout the flick at the Art House brand of horror that has gained popularity in recent years. It’s always good to have a clear sense of differentiating your brand and I’m glad to see that Scream is sticking to its slasher comedy roots. Even as the underlying tone of my review is that Scream (2022) is a bad movie, I knew what I was signing up for. You don’t go to Cici’s pizza and complain that there was no arugula on your slice. Going to see this kind of movie is like going to get fast food. It’s only going to be so good but it will fill you up and at the end of the day the best you can hope for is to not get a stomach ache. Although my stomach was mildly irritated after I left the theater I think it may have been from the candy I ate during the showing.
About Nathan Conrad:
He’s best known as the Nashville-based Hip Hop/Indie Pop emcee Spoken Nerd, but this isn’t your typical rap project. He rhymes playfully at times, singing and/or rapping, juxtaposing his style with real-life situations and subject matter. Occasionally Spoken Nerd will find inspiration in films and will put it into song. With eight full-length albums into his career, the rapper has built a healthy catalog of music, which doesn’t include the number of EPs and singles released.
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