SCREAM (2022) The Popcorn JUNKIES Movie REVIEW (Light Spoilers)

Scream (also known as Scream 5) is a 2022 American slasher film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. It is the fifth installment in the Scream film series. Though billed as a relaunch of the film series, the film is a direct sequel to Scream 4 (2011) and is the first in the film series not to be directed by Wes Craven, following his death in 2015. The film is dedicated to Craven at the beginning of the closing credits. The film stars Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, and Jack Quaid, alongside Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell, who reprise their roles from previous installments. In this film, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past. Although fifth and sixth Scream installments were discussed after the release of Scream 4 in 2011, Craven, writer Kevin Williamson, and executive producer Harvey Weinstein had doubts on their likelihood following the less-than-expected box office performance of the fourth film. A Scream television series was then produced, airing on MTV from 2015 to 2016 across two seasons, with a third season airing on VH1 in July 2019. After the 2017 sexual assault allegations against Weinstein and the closure of The Weinstein Company, the rights to the Scream franchise were acquired by Spyglass Media Group in November 2019, who confirmed a new film would be made. The following year, Williamson, who was returning as an executive producer, confirmed the film would not be a reboot, and Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett were hired to direct in March 2020. Campbell and Arquette were confirmed to be returning later that month, with Cox and the new cast members joining throughout the summer. After production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming took place from September through November 2020 in North Carolina. To avoid story leaks, numerous versions of the screenplay were produced and several additional scenes were filmed. Scream was theatrically released in the United States on January 14, 2022, by Paramount Pictures. The film has grossed over $84 million and was praised by critics as honoring Craven's legacy and offering thoughtful meta-commentary on horror films, with some calling it the best of the Scream sequels