I hated it. And it makes me so so sad to see a franchise that I love dearly being connected to a sequel like this. I loved the change of setting-that was a definite plus. The different intro was promising. Sidney's presence not being in the film is almost its own ghostly metaphorical character. Sidney is Scream, and her absence is painful to witness, so much so that you might as well not call this a Scream film. I hated the reveal as well, just a rehashed motive reminiscent of the motive in Scream 2. I LOVE Scream 2, it's my favorite film in the entire franchise, and Mrs Loomis is the best reveal/most underrated killer out of them all, but for the directors to talk about subverting expectations, they did the exact opposite regarding this film's motive. It does feel a bit too long, and I never thought I'd say a longer Scream movie would be a negative. The chase scene/call with Gale was great, though not as epic as the one in Scream 2. Much of the dialogue was cringey, including Gale saying that Sidney "deserves her happy ending." Really?! They made Gale say the most annoying comment used by fans online about whether Sidney should or shouldn't be involved? Ugh. Kirby, who's a character I've never cared for, was so underutilized (she should've been the killer/no survivor has ever been that, and it would've been a way to turn everything on its axis). These directors had the opportunity to create something fresh & great here, but failed.
