Scream

The gap between the fourth and the "fifth" film was filled by the MTV series, but unfortunately, it didn't work. So, after 11 long years, we get another great Scream. The main trio is back - Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Marley Shelton (and a few other casting surprises) from the fourth film. Current topics are requels, legacy sequels and elevated horror. Among the new faces, actresses Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Mikey Madison (that girl has Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Addams Family in her filmography, unreal), and Jasmin Savoy Brown did great. I also enjoyed it a lot thanks to the perfect atmosphere and the accompanying program in Edison. (01/25/2022)

The resurrection of Halloween made a fortune, so let’s try to resurrect Scream. This franchise is handicapped by the fact that it can make a killer out of anyone without any sophisticated motive, and that it is thus only a matter of a hiding place with would-be cool references to other horror movies and would-be sophisticated plays on genre clichés. The first one from 1996 was innovative in this respect. But the resurrection after 26 years without any progress in imagination is able to satisfy only with a decent number of slayings and the nostalgic return of the trio of original stars. Don’t expect effective scares and don’t be surprised if the characters continue to function relatively well after being stabbed in the gut with a big knife. Was there such silliness, delivered with a straight face, in the previous instalments? (03/19/2023)

(Spoiler alert!) For the fifth time, we hear "What's your favorite scary movie?" on the phone, and right at the beginning you ask yourself the question: Does a film, built on the same genre structure as its four predecessors, even have the potential to surprise and lure audiences into the theater anymore? The fifth Scream, and also the first without the late Wes Craven, has that potential. It should be mentioned beforehand that those who have not seen all the previous episodes cannot appreciate the latest outing of ghostface. The creators managed to artfully incorporate moments referring to the first four films into the story, while playing with genre expectations in a great way (close a door – nothing, close a closet – nothing, close another door – still nothing ... and suddenly you are stabbed), so despite the template-like structure, the latest Scream doesn't feel formulaic and manages to surprise. The identity of the two killers was not so surprising and you basically discover it during the attack in the hospital, which unfortunately convinces us that everyone is deadly. Yes, a couple of the murders really hurt! But the shocking revelation of the killers wasn't so much the point as paying homage to Craven and his legacy. Plus, it was good to see the old trio back together (the Gale-Dewey line really had an "onion" vibe), without which the younger and half-unseasoned cast couldn't have pulled off the film. Last but not least, I was surprised by the return of a character from "the other side". Three and three-quarters stars! PS: "Don't f*ck with the original!" PS2: Anyone who has seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will experience déjà vu at the end. (01/15/2022)

The Scream franchise was bound to come back at some point even without Craven, so there is no reason this could not happen. This movie is a solid continuation of the franchise, even if it does not bring much new to the table. I was slightly shaking my head at some of the creative decisions. Plus, with one specific creative decision, I even said I might not count it as canon (and I am not going to). However, this is still a very entertaining slasher horror movie that is undeniably meta. Some of the dialogue makes you laugh, and it is entertaining with fine new characters, among which Jack Quaid clearly stands out. Plus, there is Kyle Gallner as the white trash redneck who should have been in there a damn sight more! With the next installment, the movie’s producer will just have to go down a very crazy route, so it is not the same thing over and over again, so I expect at least the return of Matthew Lillard, who probably only has minor scars on his face from the first Scream. (02/04/2022)

It laughs out loud at The Babadook, The Witch, and Hereditary for being pretentious bore and then lets us spend two thirds of the film watching close-ups of uninteresting people dealing with family relationships. It comes across as XXX-parody, because the film comes across as terribly cheap (like there's no money for extras at a high school or hospital) and the actors look like porn actors. And I don't mean that as an insult – they do really look like that. (04/12/2022)