Good production values, great story telling, poor/uninteresting story
I am a fan of the Scream franchise, and reboots bore me because, as stated in this movie "no one buys it". I didn't know what to expect here, and like many reviewers on the site, I had low expectations. But the reviews here seemed to be very strong so I made the trek to the theater. Well, I wish I hadn't.
This is not a bad movie. It look more expensive than it is; the production values are outstanding. Direction is great (big fan of Ready or Not) and the cast is better than the mostly mediocre early 2000s PG-13 horror movies that dipped heavily into CW TV pool. However with all that decency behind technical values, the movie feels like another boring, gasp, predictable horror movie and it certainly does not feel like a creative or imaginative Scream 're-quel'. Bringing the old crew so they can be cardboard cut outs of their original selves (Sidney and Gale look bored; I thought at some point Sidney was going to roll her eyes) doesn't homage make. I thought the Dewey bit was strong though.
One of the other things that bothered me most was the kills. With the exception of a few, they were quick and not interesting. The fighting back we expect from clever victims were just not present.
The biggest bother for me was the screenplay. While full of clever banter, it just didn't make sense most of the time. Espcially in the 3rd act - it was rushed (maybe because it made so little sense) and it approached the action as if two simultaneous battles in the last bit were not happening in the same space. I assume when killers chase someone, they can also hear other loud shenanigans happening in the same setting/space (that impact their plans).
Couple of other examples of dumbassary: I don't think people without superhuman strength can lift grown man - with two knives no less- especially after you find out that they were half the size of said grown man. Oh and when I suspect a family member might be cut up by a murderer, I don't just sit and continue watching TV, especially if I am the kind of person that gives horror movie advice to others in a movie that is all about cleverness, but maybe that is just me.
P. S. While competent, I didn't see as much potential in Sam character as the next Sidney (as a lot of professional critics had stated). I am not familiar with Ms Barrera's work but I felt that other actors were stronger in general. I am rooting for Ms. Ortega to have a bigger role in the sequels. Her character seemed more like a force to reckon with.
This is not a bad movie. It look more expensive than it is; the production values are outstanding. Direction is great (big fan of Ready or Not) and the cast is better than the mostly mediocre early 2000s PG-13 horror movies that dipped heavily into CW TV pool. However with all that decency behind technical values, the movie feels like another boring, gasp, predictable horror movie and it certainly does not feel like a creative or imaginative Scream 're-quel'. Bringing the old crew so they can be cardboard cut outs of their original selves (Sidney and Gale look bored; I thought at some point Sidney was going to roll her eyes) doesn't homage make. I thought the Dewey bit was strong though.
One of the other things that bothered me most was the kills. With the exception of a few, they were quick and not interesting. The fighting back we expect from clever victims were just not present.
The biggest bother for me was the screenplay. While full of clever banter, it just didn't make sense most of the time. Espcially in the 3rd act - it was rushed (maybe because it made so little sense) and it approached the action as if two simultaneous battles in the last bit were not happening in the same space. I assume when killers chase someone, they can also hear other loud shenanigans happening in the same setting/space (that impact their plans).
Couple of other examples of dumbassary: I don't think people without superhuman strength can lift grown man - with two knives no less- especially after you find out that they were half the size of said grown man. Oh and when I suspect a family member might be cut up by a murderer, I don't just sit and continue watching TV, especially if I am the kind of person that gives horror movie advice to others in a movie that is all about cleverness, but maybe that is just me.
P. S. While competent, I didn't see as much potential in Sam character as the next Sidney (as a lot of professional critics had stated). I am not familiar with Ms Barrera's work but I felt that other actors were stronger in general. I am rooting for Ms. Ortega to have a bigger role in the sequels. Her character seemed more like a force to reckon with.
- tonyazici
- Feb 7, 2022