One of the underlying themes in Scream to me was this feeling of parental loss and guidance, something that was repeated from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Then again, one could say most of Craven’s teen-oriented horror films are pretty absent of parental figures and Craven treats some teens as adults making adult decisions. The teenagers are given an innocent yet unfiltered view versus the parents in Craven’s films where secrets are hidden under the rugs at home and memories get clouded. Given the ending of 1996’s Scream, writer Kevin Williamson delivers more of a whodunit mystery reveal yet Craven makes the damsel-in-distress Sidney’s dad while also the outcome of two killers that seem to lack the parental supervision and in one case the direct motive that drives him to kill. Some even see 1996’s Scream as a possible warning sign into what would come three years later with Columbine.

With 2022’s Scream, we are getting the first film in the franchise not directed by Wes Craven – which the fact that he directed four entries in a franchise is another amazing feat. Luckily, Scream (2022) directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett must have had some otherworldly conversations with Wes Craven from beyond the grave because they nailed what I think Wes would’ve done stylistically.

Another attack happens in Woodsboro by someone dressed up in the Ghostface costume and current teens find out that they have connections through their history in these attacks. I want to give this film a very spoiler-free review so I’m probably going to stop there regarding the plot and setup.

Our characters are smart and defy the generic horror character stereotype. Sure, there are some throw-aways here but for the most part, these characters are all in peril and as the audience, we’re pretty invested in them as they feel real. Once all the family tree connections start coming out, it feels like the film is not only celebrating the accomplishments of Craven’s creation but acts as a reunion to characters that fans have stored a kinship with. The meta-commentary is also here, which again is an attribute that has been carried throughout the franchise. Even better is how current it is as the commentary doesn’t feel like an obligation but keeping the spirit alive and consistent.

There’s also a great effort by the Director of Photography Brett Jutkiewicz to recreate the cinematography of the franchise with this new entry that fuses the eye of DPs Mark Irwin and Peter Deming’s anamorphic suburban-sleek anamorphic nightmare that Irwin established and Deming carried through the film franchise. Let’s face it, the look of the Scream films is unique and was often imitated.

All these loving tributes can only carry you so far though. Scream (2022) becomes a bit repetitive and likes to really elbow-nudge you more than it should make sure you know that everyone is a fan of the franchise. It also falls into the same pitfalls the sequels seemed to make, by the time you know you are about to get the killer reveal, you either don’t really care or you already figured it out. I will say that this mystery is not hard to crack [insert Columbo GIF].

While the ending almost feels like a rush to the finish, they do pepper it with a few interesting things but mainly it does feel like we’re only watching it to get the final outcome of our “legacy” characters.