Horror franchise celebrates decades of squeezing screams for profit
The recycling of typical slasher movies has long been a major trope in media, and the Scream franchise is not exempt from this phenomenon. Not only falling victim to the trope, but bringing light to it in a dark and humorous fashion. Although a lot of the movies remain strikingly similar, the quality does not.
#6: Scream 3
Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley are called to Hollywood to advise the newest Stab, a fictional movie franchise that parodies the so called ‘true’ events from the plot of the other films in the franchise. The two eventually become entrapped in another murder mystery. The setting deviates too far from the original feel of the ‘small town murders’ of the preceding movies. The revealing of the killer proves messy and anticlimactic with a muddled timeline and lack of explanation of aforementioned events. All of this earns its rightful last place ranking.
#5:Scream 6
This film serves as a sequel to Scream 5 as the characters from that previous movie are now relocated in New York. This change of setting, much like that of Scream 3, gives the film a more crowded feel and allows the movie to feel as if it is escaping its respective franchise. The reveal of the killers, however, brings back the shock-factor that the series rests upon. Although the sprinkling in of clues remained present, the killers were still rather unassuming characters, some of which viewers had not met until their reveal.
#4: Scream 5
Scream 5 captures the zeitgeist of modern horror movie prequels, sequels, and remakes with the addition of legacy characters as the main protagonists. The daughter of the original Ghostface killer, Billy Loomis, is the protagonist and navigates the murders of the descendants of the original victims. This proves an interesting and refreshing take on the original storyline, as well as maintaining the classic formula of the franchise. While not the best Scream movie, it is a bright spot of the oftentimes mutilation of well known horror movie remakes.
#3: Scream 4
Sydney, following the publication of her book entailing the traumas of the past, returns to her hometown of Woodsboro. The story follows her Cousin Jill, which allows for the further development of her character as she grows outside of the “final girl” archetype. The physical look of the film provides a scarier ambiance, one unique to the franchise as a whole. The overall storyline grows with the time period as the Scream series comes out of the 90’s and enters the 21st century’s internet crazed world. This film provides just the right amount of deviation from the original, while still maintaining the structure that is so imperative to any good Scream movie.
#2: Scream 2:
Following soon after the Woodsboro massacre of the first movie, Scream 2 follows traumatized, but jaded Sydney Prescott with fresh wounds yet to heal. Everything has changed for the once teenagers of Woodsboro, and yet murder remains the same. With the first Scream fresh in the minds of viewers, the sequel keeps the same wide shot and around the corner jumpscares that were first introduced in the original film. While its plot and overall cinematography allows it to climb to the number two spot, it does not break away from its roots enough to truly become its own film.
#1: Scream
“What's your favorite scary movie’ ruled horror with an iron fist for an entire generation, and single handedly revitalized the slasher sub genre to a new high. Billy and Stu’s unveiling as the murderers was one unexpected by many viewers, and a truly surprising element of a horror movie, something that had become foreign before Scream. Although now a seemingly unoriginal horror movie plot, the idea that the killer could be within the inner circle of the protagonist was a cutting edge plot device of the time period. What allows for this films #1 spot is its ultra-meta commentary on the once sub-par horror genre and dialogue of ‘real’ teenagers.
by Eddie Tornow & Anika Flores
Published November 4th, 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue II