SCREAM
The brutal first trailer for SCREAM (2022), the fifth installment in the franchise, dropped this week and it quickly skyrocketed to the top of YouTube’s trending chart, racking up millions of views in its first 24 hours. The original SCREAM is my favorite movie of all time (I saw SCREAM 4 in theaters five times in 8th grade…), so this first look at the newest installment could have been Neve Campbell reading a phonebook for 2 minutes and I would’ve freaked out. But if you’re feeling jaded by recent disappointments like THERE’S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE and HALLOWEEN KILLS, this trailer might single-handedly restore your faith in the horror genre. Taking a seemingly darker approach (Ghostface is snapping legs! Someone’s been set on fire..?), the trailer has some fans worried that the franchise has done away with its signature meta humor. A few of the film’s stars have insisted that SCREAM “fits perfectly” within the franchise, however, so I’m not too worried. And while this is the first film in the series to not be helmed by the late Wes Craven, it's directed by the highly promising Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directing duo behind Searchlight’s 2019 runaway horror hit READY OR NOT). Moreover, the original Woodsboro trio (Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox) have all returned to star alongside an array of exciting young talent including Jenna Ortega (YOU, THE FALLOUT), Melissa Barrera (IN THE HEIGHTS), and Jack Quaid (THE BOYS), so I couldn’t be more excited. Ghostface looks more terrifying than ever, and if you’re worried about the trailer spoiling who’s hiding behind the infamous mask this go-around, relax: the directors assure that this trailer is “the tip of a very, very deceptive iceberg” full of misdirects. Happy viewing, and with that: I’ll be right back…in January.
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
