Overview
Twenty-five years after a Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette-starring film about small-town murders thoroughly revitalised the slasher genre, the Scream franchise is back to take another stab at cinema glory. Because some things just won't die in the horror realm (see also: the Halloween, Saw, The Grudge, The Ring and Child's Play sagas), the Ghostface killer will once again be stalking Woodsboro, and also terrorising a scary movie that mixes slasher thrills with self-aware laughs.
An instant classic ever since the first movie became a box office smash back in 1996, the franchise has already delivered three sequels so far courtesy of 1997's Scream 2, 2000's Scream 3 and 2011's Scream 4 — plus TV spinoff Scream: The TV Series. Now, as announced back in 2020, it's returning with a flick that blends the old and the new. While a different bunch of teenagers are in Ghostface's sights this time, Campell's initial target Sidney Prescott, Cox's reporter Gale Weathers and Arquette's former deputy-turned-sheriff Dewey Riley all feature in this new version of Scream, too.
The series' latest flick is keeping things simple with its title, and betting on bringing back original cast members — both of which turned out rather nicely for fellow horror effort Halloween back in 2018. Yes, this series has always had a thing for Sid, and it still does. However, the new Scream is also putting The Boys' Jack Quaid, In the Heights' Melissa Barrera and You's Jenna Ortega in Ghostface's path, as well as Dylan Minnette (13 Reasons Why), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Love), Mikey Madison (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Mason Gooding (Love, Victor) and Kyle Gallner (Interrogation).
With filmmaker Wes Craven — who directed all four original Scream films — passing away in 2015, Ready or Not's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have taken the helm. Based on the just-dropped first trailer for Scream circa 2022, they've also taken more than a few cues from Craven. No one asks if someone likes scary movies in the initial sneak peek, but answering the phone while you're home alone definitely proves perilous. Rules for surviving are also mentioned, and it won't come as a surprise to anyone if the new killer is linked to either one of the past culprits or victims, or to the feature's new characters.
Story-wise, this iteration Ghostface brings Sid, Gale and Dewey back together to both confront the mask-wearing murderer and their past. As for where the film goes from there, that'll be revealed when it hits cinemas Down Under on January 13 next year.
Check out the Scream trailer below:
Scream releases in Australian cinemas on January 13, 2022.