Internet Janitor
In 2002, the Scream franchise came back from the dead with a successful mix of old and a little bit of the new. Now in 2025, we have the fourth movie in one of the better Scream-inspired clones. And, of course, they go with the idiotic trend of naming a sequel the same name as the original, but that’s just the level of creativity we’re dealing with here. Only they overestimated the nostalgia for the first (and only the first) movie with a cast of paranormally attractive Barbie dolls.
Our tale begins with the engagement of Danica Richards (played by TEMU Sarah Michelle Gellar), who is marrying Teddy Spencer (played by TEMU Ryan Phillipe) among all of her easily related, hyper-rich, thin and successful friends. Our hero Ava Brucks (played by TEMU Jennifer Love Hewitt) suggests a nostalgic drive back to their hometown. Unsurprisingly, there is an accident which, in hindsight, wouldn’t have been their fault at all, making the rest of the movie pointless, and they make a pact to keep a secret. Soon enough, a killer in a slicker with a hook shows up to move the plot forward.
It’s difficult to put into words how lazy this was, how soulless the entire movie was with its uninteresting or unlikable characters. The original film, Yes, I can relate to the entitled rich girl, her very wealthy father, and her fiancé’s very wealthy father. Our hero is no Julie James (from the original), and worst of all, the killer is obvious. Yes, there is also a twist which will ruin whatever faith in humanity you have, but that’s a spoiler.
You should be able to tell who the killer is within the first 20 minutes. It then becomes clear that, through their inept storytelling, it could only be a very small handful of the cast. Sure, there’s a red herring tossed in late, but that’s too obvious to be of any value. Whoever wrote this just does not in any way understand how this kind of thing is supposed to work. I get it, the killers in Scream 5 and 6 are not exactly outstanding, but at least they weren’t telegraphed from the first time you see them.
The film did poorly and should, hopefully, spell the end of the franchise if this is the care they give it.
Sure, we have an inconsequential return of Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is nice to see in the role again, and even Freddie Prinze Jr drops by, but it’s not enough. The kills are generic, the CGI blood is awful, and the green screen, overly bright finale is a bore.
Thanks to films in 2025 like Sinners, there is proof that horror is alive if you put the effort into bringing it to life.
But this franchise is just better off dead.