By Internet Janitor
In 1996, Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson created the slasher satire classic Scream, whose influence is still felt today. So, I guess it must have made sense to bring them back for a big studio film to do the same for the werewolf genre. Unfortunately, we get an absolute disaster due to either the core material or the never-ending bout of rewrites, reshoots, and recasting.
Orphaned siblings Ellie (played by Christina Ricci from Beetlejuice) and Jimmy (I’m sorry for playing Lex Luthor Jesse Eisenberg) still live in their parents’ multimillion-dollar home. Ellie works in Hollywood, while her brother played a stereotype in school. One night, on a drive home, they get into a wreck and are attacked by a werewolf and their lives are forever changed.
They wanted to re-create Scream so very badly that it does not take itself terribly seriously; the lighting and cinematography are exactly like Scream, and a driving part of the plot is who the werewolf that attacked them, like who was Ghostface. It’s painful, it’s sad, its cheap. For a film I’m assuming cost real money, it all looks really, cheap.
The film, like the worst of the Scream series, part three, is rife with cameos such as Donald Trump sycophant, forever cuck and douche canoe Scott Baio, Milo Ventimiglia (from Heroes), Nick Offerman (from Parks and Recreation), Shannon Elizabeth (from American Pie) and Michael Rosenbaum (from Smallville).
All of the performances are awful, especially Ricci, who I have liked in everything else. Her pencil-thin eyebrows consistently make her look confused, and like everyone else, she has two seconds of backstory. Eisenberg is, well, the same as he is in every single movie he’s ever made, but he does manage to be marginally less irritating here.
Oh, I forgot Joshua Jackson (from Dr. Death, etc.) is here, as well as Red Herring #142 and Stereotype for sleazy male whore #213-c. Easy to forget, he doesn’t matter.
The special effects, especially those of the werewolves, are awful. Near the end, we see a full CGI transformation, which, even for the day, is really, really bad. Apparently, in all the numerous reshoots, there were practical effects, including primarily practical werewolves, but that all changed for a reason. However, if you’re interested in some of those reasons, read up on the story of Harvey Weinstein… I won’t get into all that here when I’m trying to keep it all fluffy.
I remember being so incredibly disappointed when this came out. I was a massive Scream fan, loved the work of Wes Craven (who does admit this was one done solely for a paycheck) and it just crushed me. All of these years later it’s just as bad.
If you love the Craven, skip this one. Don’t do it.