Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid, Mikey Madison, Jenny Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Sonia Ammar, Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Kyle Gallner, Chester Tam, Reggie Conquest, Heather Matarazzo, Brooke Barnhill, Stephen West-Rogers, Milli M, Roger Jackson.
It is only when you re-immerse yourself back into the realm of previous encounters that you witness just how much of it was for your benefit, the sense that the scene before you taking place was possibly scripted, that you were fooled into believing one thing, when in actual fact the opposite was the true course of action taken; it is enough to make you scream time after time, but one that is of anguished understanding rather than let down annoyance.
We all believe that the end is the end, a reasoned moment of clarity that sees humanity accept that every tale must begin, as it must finish, but in the world of cinema, the truth we have accepted is forgotten, washed over, a new generation is treated to a chapter almost conveniently inserted in between the opening and closing credits, and the eyes roll at the audacity of the film-makers…except perhaps that when a trilogy is self-aware and finds a way to keep the interest high, then that is the mark of genius.
Even in the passing of its original creator, Wes Craven, the Scream franchise will find a way to re-imagine itself whilst staying true to its design and concept, and unlike other trilogies that have overstepped their mark, have found a way to return like a zombie to chow down on the living, Scream’s sense of self-awareness keeps it on the side of appropriately handled…not so much a trilogy anymore but an event, a zealot like appreciation and stance that what happened in the fictional town of Woodsboro is deeper than the fan could ever believe, or even perhaps dream of.
A film, a series that is self-aware of its position in the minds of the cinephile can surely not fail to please, and with the returning Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette, arguably in his strongest showing as Dewey Riley, amongst the scene stealing ensemble, there is an abundance of cheer to find within this fifth instalment of the Scream franchise.
The final cut is yet again postponed, for Scream continues to deliver with serious, and irreverential dominance.
Ian D. Hall