While Wes Craven’s 1996 movieScreamspent much of its runtime going meta on the rules of the slasher movie, the old “the bad guy can always come back” rule that governs much of the horror genre has been proven by the franchise to be the one rule that even they cannot ignore. Now twenty-five years on from the firstScream, we are eagerly awaiting the fifth installment, also calledScream, which arrives in cinemas on January 14th, 2022, bringing in new blood and fan-favorite characters from the series. It also goes without saying that the iconic Ghostface mask is also coming back, and the first poster for the movie makes that perfectly clear, while also reiterating what the franchise always taught us - It’s always someone you know.
The official Twitter account for the movie shared the official poster, which sees the knife-wielding killer heading in for another victim. While the use of the Ghostface mask has become something of a parody of itself, thanks in no small part to films likeScary Movieusing it for comedic purposes, and of course that was kind of the tongue-in-cheek way Wes Craven pitchedthe original Screammovie, making note that the use of a mask has been a trope of the genre for decades. Many are hoping that this new movie, which reverts back to the simple title ofScream, can also bring back the inventive scares of the horror master’s original work.
The movie stars Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, Kyle Allner, Jasmine Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, Jack Quaid andMelissa Barrera in an undisclosed role. In addition to the new cast, the past movies will be represented by long-term franchise stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette who will be reprising their respective roles of Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley.Scream 4’s Deputy Judy Hicks will also be making a return in the form of actress Marley Shelton. Of course, with Wes Craven’s passing, thisScreamwill be the first movie in the franchise not to be directed by its creator, with Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin stepping into those big director’s shoes.
“I think one of the things we can say is that when [writer] Kevin [Williamson] and Wes created the firstScream, horror movies were kind of a fringe genre in a lot of ways,” Gillett shared during the film’s Virtual Production Press Day. “It wasn’t a wildly mainstream style of storytelling. And now, in 2020, and for the better part of the last decade, horror films have really been on the rise. And so there’s certainly a bit of that conversation in this story, but to what Matt had said, one of the amazing things that I think is just naturally packed into the DNA of what aScream movieis, is added. It’s about what’s happening right now. There is a large conversation within this film that addresses the conversations that we’re all having in our lives about entertainment and media and the genre specifically.”
Screamslashes its way intomovie theaterson January 14th, 2022 to usher in a whole new generation to the franchise that redefined the slasher movie.
