By Ryan Schreiber
I first came upon the trailer of “Scream 5” getting ready to dive into the movie “Spiderman: No Way Home.” As I watched the trailer I immediately got excited because Scream is one of my favorite horror franchises.
In the days leading up to the movie’s release, I attempted to buy tickets for opening night. But to my surprise, all showtimes were sold out.
It wasn’t until four days after the release day that I was able to see the movie at a local theater. As I walked into the theater I had high expectations of this being a great horror movie. I was extremely excited as I walked past the usher and joined the line of eager people waiting to get their popcorn while enjoying the thrills of the movie.
In my mind, if this movie is like the rest of the Scream movies, it was going to be exciting. After getting my popcorn and drink, I was ready for the chills and thrills. I got comfortable in my seat and was ready to watch.
After watching the movie, I think my expectations were too high – that this was going to be an exciting thriller. As I walked out of the theater slightly disappointed with most of the movie, there were some things that I really enjoyed.
The pros of the movie were the exciting and thrilling scenes, the return of the original characters, and the movie’s soundtrack.
The slasher scenes were better in this movie than in the past ones. Some of the scenes you could see coming, but what made them better was the way the victims were killed and the extent the killer went to.
One victim was slashed in the stomach and the back, while another was slowly getting stabbed with a knife to the throat. The worst one yet was when a victim was going through the absolute ringer by getting burned, stabbed, and shot.
All the while you were hearing the exciting and thrilling music from the movie’s soundtrack. Some of the amazing songs that were played were “Red Hand Man” by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and “Fall Out of Love” by Salem featuring Carlie Hanson.
Another positive for this movie is the way it brought back the original characters from 26 years ago. Seeing Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette brings a smile to my face as the original cast members come back to try and save their little town.
These actors and actresses did an amazing job which I expected nothing less. They also brought back some dead characters in the form of pictures or an urn.
The cons of the movie were the main character, the introduction of Ghostface, and the number of important characters who died.
The main character is Samantha Carpenter played by Melissa Barrera. I found her lacking in emotion, a quality which would have made the movie more interesting.
I actually believe Tara Carpenter, who plays her sister, would have done a much better job as the lead character rather than the character who was laid up in a bed. Tara Carpenter fought for her life throughout the entire film battling Ghostface, especially while in the hospital, which made her that much more interesting and exciting to watch.
When it came to the introduction of Ghostface, I feel the movie flopped in bringing back a character who was already dead and a ghost. There was no real point to it.
I was also disappointed in the number of important characters who were killed off and some of the more unimportant characters who lacked in acting skills made it to the end of the film. Their inexperience made the film mediocre at best.
After all this you would probably not imagine that I would go see this movie again the next day, but I did. I honestly liked it better the second time as I caught all of the small throwbacks.
The second time I saw “Scream 5” I liked it more, but still felt the main character was not much to desire for. I am pleased with what Kevin Williamson, James Vanderbilt, and Guy Busick have created and am eagerly anticipating the next movie.
B
Wes Craven would be proud.