KERR9000 Horror House Review SCREAM (AKA Scream 5)

 

I was always a massive Wes Craven fan, I loved the Original Nightmare on Elm Street as well as The Last House on the Left, the Hills have eyes, in fact I would go so far as to say the man was one of the true Masters of Horror. When the original Scream first came out it was in my humble opinion a great movie because it took Wes Cravens brain for horror but added in what at the time was modern technology and fresh ideas. Craven directed all 4 of the Scream films up to this point but with his passing the question was who would be at the helm for the 5th film and would they be able to live up to the high standards set by a Master of Horror like Craven.

I am very happy to say that this fifth film in the SCREAM franchise went way beyond my personal expectations, I was really worried that without Wes Cravens influence it would miss a step and just become a hollow cash grab hollowed out corpse lacking all its former glory but that is not the case at all


This new film finds the franchise returning to its former glory, the film kept twisting and turning and keeping me guessing with what I would describe as a smart script that pays just enough tribute to the original 1996 movie whilst also managing to present new and unique ideas of its own. The original Scream felt like a love letter to slasher movies, part slasher film, part parody, but also very aware that while it was pointing out clichés it was also committing to a few itself. This Scream Movie does to the semi sequel semi reboot crop of current Horror movies exactly what Scream did to slashers, it discuses these new requels as it refers to them, it lays out the tricks they pull the rules they follow critiques them, sometimes pokes fun at them but ultimately sets out to to also try and be the best darn example of this genre that it can possibly be.


This film has a great cast, which not only includes plenty of characters from the earlier films, but also plenty of new and talented actors. It is great to see so many of the classic characters and where they are in there life, how the events of previous movies have affected them but the film doesn't linger on them too long either it helps set up the new characters equally well. If your anything like me you will soon find yourself not only deciding who you care about and who you want to see survive, not only will you pick your favourites though you will also start making guesses about who to trust and who not to.


There are lots of bits of this film that I would like to talk about things that I personally think are really cool or are neat little touches but I think the film works better if you go in to it fresh and discover these for yourself so I would rather keep this review spoiler free and in stead talk about the general spirit and feel of the film instead of run it down scene by scene. I think its the ideal film to discuss and ruminate on with friends though, particularly if you have all seen the earlier films in the series, so grab a pizza, grab a buddy or two and give it a go.

It's bloody at times its also funny it's tension-filled and has a fantastic payoff, without giving too much away this film has a surprisingly intelligent connection to the original. Overall I would give this film a 9 out of 10 and call it a must see Modern Horror, its a fantastic Tribute to Wes Craven the Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett should be incredibly proud.